Importing and Exporting Your Data

Although Impor t and Export isn't the best method to use when backing up your messages, calendar, and contacts, or when you move to a new computer and need to set Outlook up with your old messages, it's the method most people discover and use.

Suggested uses for Import and Export include

• Use it when you want to share your calendar or contacts with someone else. Export to a PST and others can either import the items or use File, Open , Outlook data file to view the items.

• Use it when your appointment times are messed up because of time zone or daylight saving time settings. Set the computer's time so that the appointment times are correct, and then export to Excel or Comma Separated Value (Windows). Delete the calendar items or move them to a new folder before correcting the computer's time and importing the items back into the calendar. After you're satisfied that the appointments were imported correctly, delete the old appointments.

• Export your contacts to Excel or a CSV file to use in a mail merge that doesn't support Outlook address books.

Don't use Import and Export to back up your data. See the next section for the proper way to back up or move to a new computer.

Task: Use the Import and Export Wizard

The Import and Export Wizard supports many file types and, in most cases, handles importing or exporting data very well. There are some limitations when you export to other file types; for example, the receive date is not exported.

1. Start the Import and Export Wizard by choosing F ile, Impor t and Export. If you have Outlook's Business Contact Manager installed, select Outlook to open the wizard.

2. Choose the action to perform (see Figure 19.7). Although you'll choose Export to a File for this exercise, you can import from a number of sources using this wizard.

   Figure 19.7. Use the Import and Export Wizard to import vCards, vCalendar, and iCalendar files, import from another program or file, and import account settings and addresses from Outlook Express.

   

3. After selecting Export to a File, you'll be able to choose the file type to export to, including

   • Comma Separated Values (*.CSV)

   • Microsoft Access Database

   • Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

   • Personal Folder File (*.PST)

   • Tab Separated Values

   For this task, choose Personal Folder File.

4. After selecting the file format, the folder browser dialog opens for you to select the folder or folders from which you want to export. To export the entire message store, select the top-level folder of your mailbox, shown here as Hotmail (see Figure 19.8).

   Figure 19.8. Select the folders to export. When you select the entire mailbox and include subfolders , Deleted Items and Junk E-mail will export if the folders contain deleted items or junk email.

   

   You can create filters to restrict the items exported. The Import and Export Wizard uses the filter dialog used by Advanced Find and Search folders.

5. Select the file that you want to Save Exported F ile As. It can be an existing file or you can create a new one. Choose how you want to handle duplicates.

6. Click Finish and Outlook exports the items.

The Excel Spreadsheet format is a good choice for backing up appointments or contacts. It's the recommended format to use when you need to export your appointments before correcting time zone problems.

When you need to import the items, repeat the steps and choose Import from Another Program or File. Choose Personal Folder File (PST) and browse to locate the file (see Figure 19.9).

Figure 19.9. Select the folder or folders to import. When you have more than one folder in your profile, you can choose which folder to import the items into.

Like Export, you can create filters to control what is imported. Import enables you to select where the items are imported. Choose Finish when you're ready to complete the import.