This article describes how you can use the Microsoft Outlook 97 Import and
Export Wizard to import text data into Outlook and export Outlook data to a
Use of a text file is helpful when the converters provided with Outlook do
not directly match the format of the other program. Most programs can
export and import text files, so you can often use a text file as a common
file format for exporting and importing data with Outlook.
Outlook's Import and Export Wizard can import and export the following
types of text data:
Comma Separated Values (MS-DOS)
Comma Separated Values (Windows)
Tab Separated Values (MS-DOS)
Tab Separated Values (Windows)
MS-DOS Versus Windows
You should make the decision to use the MS-DOS or Windows converter based
on the text character set used in your data. ASCII is a character set used
by many MS-DOS programs, and ANSI is a character set used by many Windows
programs. The largest difference between ASCII and ANSI are the upper 128
characters; the lower 128 characters are the same. The upper 128 characters
are often referred to as extended characters. ASCII extended characters
include line draw characters while ANSI extended characters include
international characters and publishing symbols.
Comma Versus Tab
The character used to separate (delimit) each field in your data determines
if you use the comma or tab separated converter. If you open your data in
Microsoft Word 97 and see commas between each field, then your data is
comma separated. Comma separated values are sometimes referred to as a CSV
file. If rather than commas you see space between the fields, then your
data is either tab separated or uses a fixed width field. Outlook's tab
separated converter looks for a tab character between fields. In Word 97
you can select the Show/Hide option; tabs appear as arrows that point to
the right, and space characters appear as small dots.
NOTE: Do not save your file as a Word document, since Word uses a different
Importing Text Data
Follow these steps to import data from a text file:
- On the File menu, click "Import and Export" to open the Import and
- In "Choose an action to perform," click "Import from Schedule+ or
another program or file" and click Next.
- In "Select file type to import from," click to select the file type
that matches your data and click Next.
- In "File to import", type the path and file name of the file you want to
import, or click Browse to navigate to the file and Click Next.
- In "Select destination folder," click the folder you want to import
into and click Next.
- Click "Map Custom Fields" if you want to control how fields map from
your text data into the destination folder fields, otherwise click
Exporting Text Data
- On the File menu, click Import and Export to open the Import and
- In "Choose an action to perform," click "Export to a file" and click
- In "Select folder to export from," click the folder you want to
export and click Next.
- In "Create a file of type," click to select a format for the file you
want export and click Next.
- In "Save exported file as", type the path and file name for the file you
want export and click Next.
- Click Map Custom Field if you want to control how fields map from
your folder to the text file, otherwise click Finish.
For more information about types of files you can import and export, type
in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to
view "File types you can import or export from Outlook."