Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2017 17:52:42 GMT
Help, before I murder someone.
I have about 100 email addresses in Excel.
I would like them in an Outlook.com distribution list (or contact list as Microsoft calls them). I repeat OUTLOOK.COM, not the outlook mail program that used to come with MS Office.
If I import them as contacts first, I need to keep them in a group so that I know which is which.
I have googled and read help, a sign of my desperation.
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Post by Hofmeister on Oct 23, 2017 21:29:38 GMT
Help, before I murder someone. I have about 100 email addresses in Excel. I would like them in an Outlook.com distribution list (or contact list as Microsoft calls them). I repeat OUTLOOK.COM, not the outlook mail program that used to come with MS Office. If I import them as contacts first, I need to keep them in a group so that I know which is which. I have googled and read help, a sign of my desperation. I dont know the answer, but if there isn't an easy to find answer, as its only 100 items I would create the new dist list group(s) on outlook, then cut and paste. Any mileage in exporting excel into CSV then into Outlook? Via a vcard importer? |
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Post by tyrednexited on Oct 23, 2017 21:57:39 GMT
Outlook.com (the browser version) will happily import contacts (and I suspect lists) in CSV format as long as the file is presented in Outlook (application) export CSV format.
AFAIK, this would (for the contacts at least) require the appropriate column headings (there is a required syntax) inserting as the first row in Excel, with the associated value(s) for each contact aligned underneath, and then the file saved as CSV.
If the syntax is correct, then outlook.com has an "import from" option, where Outlook (implicitly CSV) is an option.
If you're desperate, I could probably try a test export from Outlook tomorrow to reverse engineer the syntax. (What fields have you got in your excel spreadsheet?)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 9:30:36 GMT
I've worked bits out. i,e, I can export a .csv list into my contacts, though I haven't done it yet.
There are actually 190 email addresses, no other details, that I wish to import. I really want to import them into just one contact list. If I import them into my contacts then its going to be a nightmare trying to keep those 190 odd separate from my other several thousand contacts.
I'm not overly struck on the idea of then having to add all those contacts one by one into a contact list, even if I have worked out how to keep them separate, but I guess that is at least manageable.
Perhaps I forget the idea of doing a contact list and simply copy/paste them all into the To: field of an email once and then reply/all going forward. Ugly but perhaps the best way.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 9:32:09 GMT
>>I dont know the answer, but if there isn't an easy to find answer, as its only 100 items I would create the new dist list group(s) on outlook, then cut and paste.
Tried that, doesn't work, don't know why not.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 9:32:25 GMT
Thanks though, I do appreciate the thoughts.
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Post by tyrednexited on Oct 24, 2017 9:49:29 GMT
I don't play much with distribution lists, but I suspect that Outlook won't (at least easily) let you create one without having the underlying contacts in the "address book".
If you simply have an excel file (and Excel), this can be edited to two columns for the correct import format for importing into (browser-based) Outlook by adding a first record for column headings as follows:
above the "Name" Name (why this, I don't know, and I'd suggest copying it for syntax correctness)
above the "Email Address" Email Address
It looks like you may not actually have names, but why not simply edit in something like "ZZ1" "ZZ2" etc. to keep them separate from other valid contacts (ZZ could even be related to the contact list name)
Saving as CSV should then give you an importable (Outlook Export) format file.
You'll still then have to create a distribution list, but if you've named as above that shouldn't be too difficult.
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Post by Humph on Oct 24, 2017 9:55:24 GMT
...that shouldn't be too difficult...
If you can retain the will to live...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 11:26:14 GMT
>>why not simply edit in something like "ZZ1" "ZZ2" etc. to keep them separate from other valid contacts
Because I'm an idiot and hadn't thought of that. Job's a good'n.
Genius, thank you.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Oct 24, 2017 12:08:58 GMT
If you were creating a contact/distribution list manually in Outlook.com, could you type in all the relevant email addresses without them actually having their own contact?
If you could then what I'd have done would be:
1. Open the email addresses in Excel as a CSV with one on each line
2. Highlight all of the email addresses and select copy.
3. Go to Word and open a blank document
4. Do a Paste-Special and select Unformatted Text (so you don't get a table)
5. Do a Search and Replace and put in ^p as the search text and ; as the placement text (so replace a paragraph mark with a colon)
6. Remove what is probably a ; at the very end of what now is a single line of email addresses which are colon delimited (or does Outlook want commas?)
7. Copy the line into the new contact list in Outlook.com
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 12:14:24 GMT
Outlook does not require an email address to be in your contacts just because you want to put it in a distribution list.
Exporting the Excel spreadsheet and importing it into contacts is not an issue. Cutting and pasting those addresses into a Contact List does not work. I can find no way of importing into a contact list.
I've gone with the suggestion from the Scotch bloke.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Oct 24, 2017 13:41:46 GMT
My suggestion was to do the text manipulation in Excel and Word and simply copy the text of the distribution list from Word to Outlook.com. But that assumes Microsoft allows you to just type a list of email addresses into a contact list, i.e. CTRL V in the text box or right click and select paste.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2017 13:50:46 GMT
Again "Cutting and pasting those addresses into a Contact List does not work".
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Oct 24, 2017 14:36:04 GMT
That's just poor web application design then.
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