Tip 529: Create Contacts from a DL

Do you need to convert a distribution list to individual contacts?  Although Outlook doesn’t have an option to save individual contacts out of a DL, you can save the DL as a text file and import it to create individual contacts.

Saving the DL as a text file saves the names and addresses in a tab separated file. The file will need tidied up before importing it into Outlook: Open the text file and remove extraneous information Outlook adds to the beginning of the file and add field names- Name and E-mail (use tab between Name and E-mail).

During the import process, choose tab separated (windows) file type in the Import file type screen (its at the end of the list; you can press T T to jump to it). Use "Name" and "E-mail" field names so they map correctly to Outlook's fields, otherwise you'll need to map your field names to the correct Outlook fields.  Click Map Custom Fields button – your name field should be mapped to Name and the address field maps to E-mail.

Click Ok and you're done. The DL list is now individual contacts.

If you need to review the import or add categories, sort by the Modified date field and the newly imported contacts will be grouped together.

Published July 17, 2008. Last updated on April 22, 2016.

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