How to Export Microsoft 365 Distribution Group Members To CSV?

Read time 5 min

When the data in Microsoft 365 mailboxes increases in size substantially, the user is bound to take a backup of the data. The administrator can also take the backup of associated accounts. Office 365 (Exchange Online) also has a feature called Microsoft 365 Groups which saves some crucial data, and the user must take a backup of it. But it is not easy to retrieve the Group’s data directly; the user also requires retrieving the information related to the Group’s members.

For instance, if you’re performing tenant to tenant Microsoft 365 migration, you’ll have to export Group membership information to provide reports on current Group memberships and update the target groups. The Group members information is often presented in a CSV file. So, the main concern of organizations is how to export Microsoft 365 Group members to CSV file.

In this article, we will discuss the most effective methods to export Microsoft 365 Group data to a CSV file.

What are Microsoft Distribution Groups?

Microsoft Distribution groups are ideally used for sending emails or meeting requests to a list of people without adding their email addresses individually every time. Distribution Groups are also known as Distribution List, which is ideal to use while broadcasting information to a group of employees like employees in the sales department or all employees at your company.

Manual Methods to Export Microsoft 365 Group Data to CSV

There are two effective manual methods that can be used to export Microsoft 365 Group members to CSV. The first method involves using the Exchange PowerShell script and the second method involves using the Exchange Admin Center. So, let’s have a clear look at all these methods.

1^st Method – Export Microsoft 365 Group Members Using PowerShell Script

Using PowerShell script is one of the best ways to export Microsoft 365 group members to a CSV file. The Exchange Online PowerShell can be used to collect Microsoft 365 Group information, and after accessing the list of groups in your tenant, you can retrieve group member information easily. Here is the script that can be used to export group members’ information to CSV.

1. 1. Connect to Exchange Online Remote PowerShell.
   2. Now, use the below command to list all the Microsoft 365 groups in Microsoft 365.

Get-UnifiedGroup -ResultSize Unlimited

1. After the groups are listed, use the below command to select the members of an existing single Microsoft 365 group with the following parameters – Identity and LinkType.

   Get-UnifiedGroupLinks – Identity'<group-name>' – LinkType Members – ResultSize Unlimited

   • However, if you want to list the members of all the Microsoft 365 Groups, then first you’ll have to get the results of Get-UnifiedGroup, and then you can get the list of all Microsoft 365 group members. Use the below command to achieve this:

   Groups = Get-UnifiedGroup -ResultSize Unlimited
   $Groups | ForEach-Object {
   $group = $_Get-UnifiedGroupLinks -Identity $group.Name -LinkType Members -ResultSize Unlimited | ForEach-Object {
   New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property @{
   Group = $group.DisplayName
   Member = $_.Name
   EmailAddress = $_.PrimarySMTPAddress
   RecipientType= $_.RecipientType
   }}}
   

2. Once you get all the information related to every Microsoft 365 Group member, you can use the Export-CSV cmdlet to export the group members to a CSV file. Below is the cmdlet that you’ll have to achieve this.

   $Groups = Get-UnifiedGroup -ResultSize Unlimited
   $Groups | ForEach-Object {
   $group = $_
   Get-UnifiedGroupLinks -Identity $group.Name -LinkType Members -ResultSize Unlimited | ForEach-Object {
   New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property @{
   Group = $group.DisplayName
   Member = $_.Name
   EmailAddress = $_.PrimarySMTPAddress
   RecipientType= $_.RecipientType
   }}} | Export-CSV "C:\\Office365GroupMembers.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
   

Using this script, the list of Microsoft 365 Group members will be exported to CSV file. But, this approach require good knowledge of Exchange PowerShell Scripts; so a normal user cannot perform this method easily.

2^nd Method – Export Distribution Group Using the Exchange Admin Center

Using the Exchange Admin Center, you can export Microsoft 365 Groups to CSV. Now, follow the below steps to export O365 Groups to CSV.

1. Login to Exchange Admin Centre; you’ll see Recipients in the left pane.
2. Select Recipients > Groups.
3. In the Group tab, select the distribution group that you want to export. Click the More button and choose Export data to a CSV file.
4. The Export Data window will appear on the screen, select the column name and click Export.

Hence, you can easily export Microsoft 365 Groups to CSV.

These two methods are a great way to export Office Group data to CSV file. However, if you want to export Microsoft 365 user mailboxes, archive mailboxes, and public folders along with Microsoft 365 Group data, then you can use Kernel Office 365 backup & restore tool.

Kernel Office 365 Backup and Restore

Kernel Office 365 Backup & Restore allows users to back up their Microsoft 365 mailboxes to PST format and restore as well as to restore mailboxes from PST to Microsoft 365. It helps to backup and restore shared mailboxes as well as Microsoft 365 Groups too. It is an amazing tool that offers selective backup of Microsoft 365 mailboxes based on date, mailbox type, item type, etc. Some of the extensive features of Kernel Office 365 Backup & Restore are:

• Backup multiple mailboxes to PST file format
• Allow backup of the archive, shared, public folders, and distribution groups
• Restore Microsoft 365 mailboxes from PST file
• Use CSV file to add multiple mailboxes
• Back up shared mailboxes, Microsoft 365 Groups, etc.
• Advanced filtering options to backup & restore specific data

Conclusion

The article explains the common methods to export Microsoft 365 Distribution Group Members to CSV and how Kernel Office 365 Backup & Restore software reduces the complexity. The software accesses the data present in the Groups, and you can save the backup in a PST file. There is no limitation in the backup procedure, and later you can restore the PST file to Microsoft 365 mailbox.