How to Export Windows Live Mail Contacts to Outlook 2016?

Read time 5 min

Many users have asked queries related to migration from Windows Live Mail to Microsoft Outlook application. While exporting data from Windows Live Mail to Outlook, you may require migration of not only emails but also contacts. The older contracts also need to be exported along with emails for maintaining the continuity in emailing experience. There is an efficient and reliable converter tool like Kernel EML to PST Converter for converting EML files to Outlook PST files and more destinations like Office 365, but for contacts migration from Windows Live Mail to Outlook, there is no such reliable utility available yet. So, for your help, we would describe a manual solution utilizing both the email clients for the export of contacts.

Export Contacts from Windows Live Mail to MS Outlook 2016

Windows Live Mail email client includes an Export option to export its Contacts to either Comma Separated Values (.CSV) or to Business Card (.VCF) file format. In the manual solution, you would require a CSV file with exported Windows Live Mail contacts only as the Microsoft Outlook application supports Comma Separated Values (.CSV). Find out the detailed procedure to export Windows Live Mail contacts to Outlook 2016.

The whole process of Windows Live Mail contacts export to Outlook is divided into two stages.

1. Export Windows Live Mail Contacts to CSV File
2. Import CSV File to Microsoft Outlook 2016 Contacts

Export Windows Live Mail Contacts

1. Start Windows Live Mail, select Contacts, Expand Export, and click Comma separate values (CSV).
2. Click Browse, provide a Saving Path and File Name and click Next.
3. Choose the required contacts and click Finish.

Import CSV to Outlook 2016 Contacts

1. Launch Outlook 2016 and click File> Open > Import/Export.
2. In the new wizard, select Import from another program or file and click Next.
3. Select Comma Separated Values and click Next.
4. Click Browse and add CSV file created earlier, choose the required option, and click Next.
5. Choose Contacts from Outlook mailbox folders and click Next.
6. Perform operations like Map Custom Fields and Change Destination if needed and click Finish.
7. View the exported contacts in the Outlook Contacts folder finally.

Hence the Windows Live Mail Contacts to Outlook 2016 exported successfully.

This conventional method can be tested and tried easily, but remember this export requires the installation of both the Microsoft Outlook and Windows Live Mail application on the system.

Summing Up

The manual process to migrate Windows Live Mail’s contacts to Outlook is a lengthy one, and many steps should be followed minutely. A single mistake can corrupt the whole data. To save your data during the migration, you should use Kernel EML to PST Converter to protect the source content from the EML file. It will convert the selective data to PST format, and it has adaptive filters where you can select only the contacts and convert them.