Many people are switching over to cloud-based services. If you’re moving from Microsoft Outlook over to your Windows Live Mail/Hotmail account, you may want to take your Outlook Contacts with you. We’ll show you how to import your Contacts from Outlook into your Windows Live Mail account.
First you have to export your contacts from Outlook to a CSV file.
1. In Outlook, select File > Import and Export…
2. One the first screen of the wizard, select Export to a file, then click Next.
3. Select Comma Separated Values (DOS), then click Next.
4. Choose Contacts in the list, then click Next.
5. Save the file to a location. Click the Browse… button if you want to avoid typing the full path. Click Next.
6. Click Finish.
7. The file is exported with a .CSV extension.
Now that we have our export file, we can import the contents of it into Windows Live Mail/Hotmail.
8. Login to your Hotmail account.
9. Select the Contacts option on the left pane.
10. Click the Manage link and select Import.
11. Under the Add people from other services section, select the Outlook option.
12. Click the Microsoft Outlook (using CSV) selection, then click the Choose File button.
13. Select the file you exported from Outlook in steps 1 through 7.
14. Click the Import contacts button.
After a few seconts the contacts should import to Windows Live Mail/Hotmail successfully.
Last modified January 24, 2012
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
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I seem to be having the same problem as Mary. My contacts are in a .pst file. The file is 2.19 MB. When I try to import the file, I get the message that the file is over 500kb, with no further instructions. Is there a workaround to this? Thank you.
Brilliant information, it works without any shortcomings. Thank you very much!! :)
After all the misinformation I found elsewhere, this worked on first try.
Some places told me to reinstall after importing! Thank you!!!!
tried this as suggested but get this message…
The file you want to import is too large. Please delete some of the contacts and then try importing the file again.
I only have 178 contacts! How can this file be too large? Help
Good info, but it doesn’t work for me. I follow the above mentioned instructionsI but I get a message that the file is empty. Can anyone help me please? Thanks.
Brilliant post, straight-forward with your help! Thanks!
Had previously transferred contacts as a .pst from an old XP machine running outlook 2003. Downloaded the Microshoft Off*ce demo and opened the .pst contacts in outlook 2010.
Worked VERY well and it worked the first time. Thanks for the help
how would you import all of the subfields at the same time using .csv? This appears impossible and it doesn’t like .pst files.
Good info BUt…on OUTLOOK i had created subfolders and I have created same subfolders in window live mail.
However cannot import direct to subfolder in windows live mail. It all goes in to contacts…dont want to search through contacts and find 100 names and drag into subfolder..any ideas
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