• Importing contacts to GMail via CSV

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    #482134

    I exported a list of contacts from AOL as a CSV file, cleaned it up, saved it and then imported it into G-mail contacts. I only have three fields, FirstName, LastName & EMail.

    When I do the import of 194 records, 15 of them import with the First and Last name, the rest are blank, just showing the email address. Of the ones that do import with that info, they are scattered throughout the list, there isn’t really any rhyme or reason to it, not every 10th record or anything like that. I have looked at the names and can’t see anything that would be different. I have even tried using the Format Painter to copy the format from one that works to others that don’t and they still don’t import correctly.

    Any ideas on what could be wrong? I am doing this on a Windows PC running XP and Google Chrome as my browser. I did try it on a Windows 7 PC and Chrome and got the same result. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

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    • #1324608

      Hi donebb,

      I suggest you edit your AOL contacts before .csv export. This is an example of how one of mine is done. I have the same contacts in Gmail & Hotmail.

      30340-RR

    • #1324614

      Thanks SilverLounger. I finally got it to work. I saw that my two options to import to Gmail were CSV or Vcard. CSV wasn’t working, so I loaded the names into my Windows Address Book and figured I could Export them as a Vcard file. That didn’t work because it would only allow me to export 1 record at a time, so just for the heck of it, I thought I would export as CSV from Windows Address Book, which I did. When I imported that file to Gmail, it all worked fine. Very strange but it is working now. Thanks for the suggestion.

    • #1324618

      Your welcome 4 Star Lounger??????

    • #1324631

      I exported a list of contacts from AOL as a CSV file, cleaned it up, saved it and then imported it into G-mail contacts. I only have three fields, FirstName, LastName & EMail.

      I know you already found a workaround, but FWIW and for anyone else with the same problem, I think the trick is to rename the fields in your header row to what gmail itself uses. That way it doesn’t have to try and guess what each column represents.

      Just export your existing gmail contacts to csv so you have gmail’s header row, then cut-and-paste the data from your AOL csv into the appropriate columns of your gmail csv, and finally upload the gmail csv back into gmail.

      I’ve used this method several times to migrate address books from AOL to gmail for friends and clients, including a hoarder with over 2400 contacts in AOL and another 1000 in an old Palm Treo.

      I also use this technique so I can use Excel to make bulk cleanups to my contacts list. (Tip: to avoid duplication, do a mass delete of your online gmail contacts before reimporting your updated csv.) I like being able to manage complete contact data in one place–street addresses, email, and phone numbers. I put it all into Excel, import into gmail, and it gets synced to google voice and my smartphone automatically. Makes is a cinch to call, text, email, or locate in maps/navigation whenever I need.

      • #1338601

        Old post, but another update that worked for me.

        Mac OS X’s address book has an import function as well. Upon import of a simple, CSV file with header names as filed titles, it offers you the option to assign whatever is in the header row in the import file to an assigned field in the address book itself (ex: LNAME -> Last Name, FNAME -> First Name, etc).

        You can then either export the file from the address book or set up sync in the preferences to automatically sync with your Google contacts.

        Not trolling posting Mac tips in the Windows Secrets forum, just a reply that might help others.

        Thanks for the resources and help,
        Andrew

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