Fig 1.0 Click on the WINDOWS CONTACTS sub-menu menu-item to continue
Fig 1.1 Select the CSV (Comma Separated Values) option and then click on the EXPORT button to continue
| SAVE WINDOWS MAIL E-MAIL AND ADDRESS BOOK |
In these next two sections I will explain how you export (from Windows Mail on a Windows Vista computer) and then import (into Windows Mail on a Windows 7
computer) your Address Book (Windows Contacts) and E-Mails (E-Mail Messages) using their built-in Import/Export Tools (Wizards). You normally want/need to
export and then import windows contacts and/or e-mails when you are upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 or when buying a computer with Windows 7 on
it.
I will start by showing you how to export your Windows Contacts (Address Book) from Windows Mail. The first thing to do is open Windows Mail and then
click on its FILE menu (Fig 1.0). From there. Hover over the EXPORT menu-item, which is actually a sub-menu, and then select (left click on) the WINDOWS
CONTACTS sub-menu menu-item. The Windows Contacts Export Tool window will then appear (Fig 1.1 below).
The Windows Contacts Export Tool window requests you to click on either the vCards (Folder of .vcf files) option or the CSV (Comma Separated Values)
option before clicking on the EXPORT button. In this example click on the CSV (Comma Separated Values) option and then click on the EXPORT button to
continue. The CSV (Comma Separated Values) option creates your exported Windows Contacts (address book) as a list of text that is separated by commas,
therefore the format of that exported file in known as a CSV (Comma Separated Values) formatted file. A very popular file format. The vCard (.vcf),
business card, file format on the other hand is not so popular and is of no real use for this example, so just ignore it and stick with the CSV option.
Clicking on the EXPORT button brings up the CSV Export window. It asks you to BROWSE, via a SAVE AS File Requester that appears (Fig 1.3), for the folder
where you would like your Windows Contacts saving (exporting) to as well as enter the file name for the exported CSV file - The exported CSV file is a
file that is created, and then saved (exported), with the content of your Windows Contacts inside it. In this example I used the BROWSE button (and
therefore the SAVE AS File Requester) to tell the export tool I want to save the CSV file, with the file name: Contacts, onto my Flash Drive (F:). Upon
clicking the file requester's SAVE button (Fig 1.3) you are then returned to the CSV Export window (Fig 1.2) whereby its edit box now contains the CSV
file's path name (folder name and file name). The edit box on the CSV Export window is initially empty, until you BROWSE for a path name.
After clicking on the NEXT button (Fig 1.2 above), with your path name complete, the CSV Export window then asks you to select all the fields you want to retain in your Windows Contacts. Unless you are one of those people who purposely go into your Windows Contacts to fill in people's Middle Name, Nickname and so on just leave the fields alone - leave them ticked and unticked as they are by default. Saying this. There is no harm in ticking all the fields, as I have done, just to make sure that you do not exclude any forgotten about contact entries that are perhaps not in all contact entries. So if you do want to retain the Middle Names inside your Windows Contacts for example (i.e. middle names of family members, friends, clients and so on) then tick the Middle Name field (check box / tick box). When you have decided which fields you want to leave ticked and which fields you want to further tick/unticked click on the FINISH button to continue. The rest of this process is just a case of clicking on an OK button (Fig 1.5) and a CLOSE button (Fig 1.6).
The Windows Contacts Export Tool window stays open after an export (save) just in case you want to export again, in a different format and/or in a
different location for example.
The above process for exporting an Windows Mail windows contacts file is the same process you use when exporting an Outlook Express address book file.
You may want to export a Windows Mail windows contacts file so that it can be imported into Windows 7 for example.
| EXPORT E-MAIL |
To export (save) your e-mails (e-mail messages) from Windows Mail first open Windows Mail, if it is not already open from following the above example, and then click on its FILE menu (Fig 2.0). From there. Go down the menu-items until you reach the EXPORT sub-menu and then select (left click on) the MESSAGES sub-menu menu-item. Doing so will execute (run/launch) the Windows Mail Export Wizard (Fig 2.1).
When the Windows Mail Export Wizard is launched (above) click on the MICROSOFT WINDOWS MAIL option and then on the NEXT button to continue. The MICROSOFT WINDOWS MAIL option is the option for exporting emails (email messages) in the .eml file format, which basically means your email messages (.eml files) will be saved inside a folder of your choice (accompanied by a .fol file). Therefore the next step is to locate your chosen folder using the Windows Mail Export Wizard, and more precisely its BROWSE button.
In this example I have already created a sub-folder called WM_Emails on my Flash Drive (F:) main folder, ready for my emails to be exported (saved) in to. Using the BROWSE button of the Windows Mail Export Wizard (above) I navigated the Select Folder requester that appeared (not shown here) to select that sub-folder whereby its path name was then inserted into the Folder PATH NAME edit box (above). The sub-folder, for some unknown reason, gets duplicated; therefore creating a sub-sub-folder of the same name when the .eml files are exported. Anyway. After locating your chosen folder click on the NEXT button to continue.
After clicking on the NEXT button (Fig 2.2 above) you are then asked to select the Windows Mail folders you would like export. For this example, and as a general rule, leave the ALL FOLDERS option selected and click on the NEXT button to continue. If you do want to select individual folders though simply select the SELECTED FOLDERS option and then click on each folder you want whilst pressing down on the CTRL keyboard key. Once you have made your selection, with whatever option, click on the NEXT button to continue. A green progress guage will then appear as your selected folders and their email files are exported into your chosen folder.
When the export process has finished click on the FINISH button to close the export wizard. Your selected Windows Mail folders and the email files inside them will then be available/viewable from your chosen (export) folder.
As you can see, the Email (Windows Mail) folders I have just exported (saved) are now inside the WM_Emails sub-sub-folder created by the export wizard,
named after my original WM_Emails sub-folder. They could have easily been exported onto a CD/DVD though for safe keeping. After all, they are only data
files at the end of the day.
In the next section I will show you how to import (open) a Contacts List (Address Book) into Windows Live Mail on a Windows 7 computer, as well as explain
how to get .eml files into a folder of windows live mail.
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.
