If you create user-defined fields and only use these fields within Outlook itself, then this article will be of little or no interest. If, however, you need to (or at some point, think you will need to) share information between Outlook and an external data source, this article will cover some points that can potentially save many problems – specifically in terms of how field names are constructed.

Using the Outlook import/export wizard is not an option when you want to import/export:

1. any user-defined fields (standard message class)
2. custom fields contained in a custom form
3. an Exchange public folder
4. a delegate Exchange folder
5. any standard field that does not appear in the Outlook import/export field map

The Outlook import/export wizard only creates new contacts using the standard contact form (MessageClass = <IPM.Contact>) regardless of what the default is for the form

The reason for this being one of the first articles in the series is that this message is an over-riding theme that will apply to many different upcoming articles.

Yes you can…..

• Use import/export to move Outlook information from one machine to another
• Use PST to PST export/import (for a variety of reasons)
• Name your user-defined fields in the free-form way that Outlook allows

There is no blanket answer as to whether or not you should import/export Outlook data. To incorporate external data into Outlook or use Outlook data in other applications, importing/exporting is the only viable approach but focus of this article is on when “not” to use import/export either via the Outlook import/export wizard or any 3rd party program (including ContactGenie products).

Far too many people use import/export for all the wrong reasons when easier, more reliable and better solutions are at hand.

Welcome to Outlook Contact Import/Export, all things related to issues to getting contact information into and out of Outlook. In addition there will be a variety of other topics covered which are directly and indirectly related to import export such as user-defined fields, custom forms, information on specific Outlook fields, good practices to follow in general, safeguarding your information and the like.