OL98: How to Import Works 4.5 Address Book into Outlook Contacts

ID: Q197913

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

Microsoft Outlook does not provide a converter to directly import the Microsoft Works 4.5 Address Book.


MORE INFORMATION

Although Works gives you an option to export the information in CSV format, when you export a file in this format, it does not include the Field Information.

In order to import your Microsoft Works 4.5 Address Book into Outlook Contacts, use the dBASE IV format.

Export the Works Address Book

  1. In Works, open the Address Book, and on the File menu, click Save As.


  2. In the Save File As Type box, click to select dBase IV.


  3. Type a name for the file and click Save.

    Note the location where the file is saved. The file will be saved with a dbf extension. Close Works.


Import the Address Book

In order to import the Address Book file into Outlook, first install the field mapping patch, and then import the file.

You can download the patch from the following Microsoft Web site:
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloadDetails/field98.htm
To import the Address Book file, follow these steps:
  1. On the File menu, click Import And Export.


  2. Click to select "Import from another program or file," and then click Next. Click to select dBase, and then click Next.


  3. Browse to locate the file that you saved earlier. Click to select the file, and then click OK. Click Next.


  4. Click to select the Contacts folder where you want to import the Address book.


  5. Click Map Custom Fields. Drag the field names from the left window to the corresponding field name on the right. Use the following table as a guide. 
    
Works Field      Outlook Field
      ------------------------------
      LAST_NAME        Last Name
      MIDDLE_NAM       Middle Name
      FIRST_NAME       First Name
      POSITION         Job Title


For the Address Fields, you have to decide whether you want the data to import and show as personal addresses, business addresses, or other addresses (because Outlook has three categories of addresses, and Works does not). For each of the Address fields in Works, choose the appropriate field in Outlook. 


      ADDRESS1        Business, Home or Other Street
      ADDRESS2        Business, Home or Other Street 2
      CITY            Business, Home or Other City
      STATE_OR_P      Business, Home or Other State
      POSTAL_COD      Business, Home or Other Postal Code
      COUNTRY         Business, Home or Other Country
Some fields in Works do not have a direct correlation in Outlook. The information in these fields will not be imported. If you want to use the information from these fields in your Outlook Contacts Forms, it is recommended that you map these fields to the Additional Fields "User 1, User 2, User 3, and User 4".

After you have the fields mapped as desired, click OK, and then click Finish to import the data into Outlook.

Additional query words: 98 


Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.5
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: August 3, 1999