/ Working with CSV Files

Working with CSV Files

Need help working with the .csv extension for exporting my contacts in Outlook Express. Celeste Stewart

The CSV file extension stands for “Comma Separated Value” which doesn’t make much sense to the casual user. However, if you’ve ever worked with spreadsheets, it starts to make more sense. For example, spreadsheets consist of data inserted into columns and rows. If you had a contact list, each row would represent one contact’s information with the information entered into different columns such as Name, E-mail address, and Phone Number. When exporting data in a spreadsheet or database, you need to be able to differentiate between the different columns; otherwise the text would blend together into one big clump such as: nameemailaddressphonenumber. The CSV format separates each value placing a comma in between such as: name, emailaddress, phonenumber. When you import a CSV file, the import utility recognizes the commas as a separator and divides the data accordingly.

Exporting Outlook Express Contacts as CSV Files

Outlook Express and other e-mail applications use several import/export formats, including the CSV format. In Outlook Express, go to File > Import and Export > Export to a File. Click Next and select Comma Separated Value. Click Next and select the Contacts folder. Click Next and then Browse to a location on your hard drive where you will save the file such as My Documents. Give your file a meaningful name such as “EmailExportList.csv.” Click Next followed by Finish.

Now, your EmailExportList.csv file is ready to be imported into your new e-mail application using the new program’s import utility.

Importing CSV Files

Depending on which application you are using, the steps for importing the CSV files will vary. For illustration purposes, let’s look at importing a CSV file into Windows Live Mail. In this example, you would first need to click the Address Book and then go to File > Import > Comma Separated Values (.CSV). Next, browse to the stored .csv file (in this example it would be in My Documents\EmailExportList.csv) and click Next. Follow any additional prompts to finalize the import.

In addition, you can open the .csv file in Microsoft Excel or some other spreadsheet. This is useful if you want to modify entries quickly or use them for other purposes.