Jeri from Wisconsin writes:
I recently wanted to import my contacts from Windows Live Mail to my Gmail account. Their help page didn’t include information for Windows Live Mail. Is there an easy way to do this?
There was a time not too long ago when we kept all our important contacts in an pocket-sized address book, but today they are more often stored in our phones or online. So, knowing how to manage them is important. Here is how to export your contacts from Windows Live Mail and import them into Gmail.
Step 1: Exporting Contacts from Windows Live Mail
Start by launching Windows Live Mail. Then click Contacts in the bottom left-hand corner of your inbox screen.
On the tool bar at the top of your screen, click the Export button, and choose to export your contacts as a .CSV file.
When prompted, click Browse to choose where you would like to save it. Be sure to save the the CSV file somewhere that you can easily find it later, e.g. your Desktop. Now, enter a file name, and then click Save.
Once you have chosen the name of you file, and have chosen where to save it, click Next.
You now have some options pertaining to the fields you would like to export. Select the check boxes next to the fields that you wish to include in your export. This is the final step before you export your contacts so be sure to select the fields you want, then click Finish to save the file with all your contacts.
Step 2: Importing Contacts into Gmail
Now you are ready to import your contacts into Gmail so begin by signing in to your Gmail account. Now click the word Gmail in the top left hand corner of the screen, and then select Contacts from the drop down menu.
On the Contacts toolbar you will see a button labelled More. Click it and then select Import…
In the pop-up window, click the Choose File button and find the CSV contact file on your desktop that you saved earlier. Click on the file, and then click Open.
Now click the blue Import button and wait a few moments for your Windows Live Mail contacts to be imported into Gmail. Once the import is complete, you should see a list of your contacts listed below.
If you already have some contacts stored in Gmail, you may see a message that says “Contacts have been imported, but not yet merged. Find and Merge Duplicates.” If you do see this message, click Find and Merge Duplicates to continue.
To return to your Gmail inbox, click Contacts in the top left-hand corner, and select Gmail.
Your contacts are now imported and ready to use in your next email.
~ Jonathan
Is there a way to export only group contacts (not my whole address book) with Windows Live Mail 11 and Windows 7? I have been trying for quite awhile and haven’t figured out how to do it. When I try to put in csv form it is made into an excel file. I can’t seem to find anyone that can help me do it. I would greatly appreciate any help to do it.
Thank you so much for this! Saved me a couple hours of figuring it out on my own, I’m sure.
this post was so helpful!
so relieved to have all my contacts back in one place!! bless you (y)
I did this, however the email addresses appear in a large OTHER box to the right, not in email field. So, when I try and compose, there is no prompting of choices for example??? What am I missing, Jim new to gmail
This left the email address in the notes section. Not very helpful for sending emails.
First time user of your site:
I did all the steps above. However, google required to access the “old google contacts”, which resulted in only 2 contacts being converted to a CSV file. the repeating of the process only resulted in the same contacts being converted to a CSV file.
Great help! Thank you
Thanks worked well for me
Thank you, not only imported but merged duplicates too! and saves space on computer. Great stuff
Hello. And Bye.
Thank you so much for this!
It worked great – extremely easy to follow, even though Google has a new beta version, so you need to follow the link to their older system to actually import. (And then refresh the original screen.)
(Now, if I could only find how to AUTO-delete gmails which I have DOWNLOADED to Windows Live Mail on my PC, that would be great…)