Exporting Contacts to Outlook Express

[Jethro]

I have a new laptop running on Vista that came with Windows Mail. I also
have an older desktop running on XP and it has Outlook Express. I use the
desktop like a server, for long term storage and as a backup device. I
exported my Contacts from Windows mail using both a CSV file and also vCards
stored into a folder. I copied both the CSV file and the vCards folder into
my desktop, but I haven't imported them into my Outlook Express yet. The
reason is because I don't see my "Contact Groups" anywhere in the exports.
What's the deal here? Contact Groups don't get exported??? Could someone
please advise and thanks!

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

The CSV file does not include groups information.
The only way I know of to transfer the groups info is to upgrade
both email programs to Windows Live Mail, which will then keep all
the contacts info perfectly synchronized between the two computers
(via a common Hotmail account).

 

[Jethro]

G, where can I view that option to make this upgrade? Is this a freebie
download or not? And can it also be downloaded to my XP machine if I decide
to go this route. Thanks in advance!!

 

[mac]

G, where can I view that option to make this upgrade? Is this a freebie
download or not? And can it also be downloaded to my XP machine if I
decide
to go this route. Thanks in advance!!

Here http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview

Free = Yes.

XP = Yes.

 

[Jethro]

Thanks Mac! I have a question though.... in another post, Gary notes: "The
CSV file does not include groups information. The only way I know of to
transfer the groups info is to upgrade both email programs to Windows Live
Mail, which will then keep all the contacts info perfectly synchronized
between the two computers (via a common Hotmail account)."

So my question is..... MUST I HAVE HOTMAIL?? I don't use hotmail. I use my
cable company's email system so my email is in the format of ___ @
optonline.net. Please let me know and thanks again!

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

You are not required to have a Hotmail account in order to use
Windows Live Mail. However, without a Hotmail (or Live.com) account,
your two sets of Contacts will not stay in sync, and transferring the groups
information becomes a more difficult, manual intervention.
You do not need to use Hotmail for email. I only use it for the sync feature.

 

[Jethro]

G, you say you use it for the sync feature. Do you still have to choose a
Hotmail email address and then logon to Hotmail as if you're going to use it?
I'm trying to picture just how my current batch of 400+ contacts in Windows
Mail will get into the Windows Live Mail. I don't want any risk of losing
them so I'm relying on you to advise me that they will be safe.

Also, on my XP driven PC that has the Outlook Express on it, I have a lot of
email. About 30 folders and over 1,300 emails which I need to keep. I don't
want to risk losing them either. Will those emails be able to be safely
brought into Windows Live Mail?

I don't want to spend a ton of time on this, so if it's an easy exercise for
a fairly well-experienced PC user like me, OK fine. Lastly, do you
necessarily recommend ALL users of Windows Mail to upgrade to Windows Live
Mail because it's superior?? Is it a web-mail system or a PC bound system?

Thanks again....... J

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

You can configure Windows Live Mail (WLM) to do auto-login to the
Hotmail server. It's called a "Live ID" in WLM. The login happens in the
background, so you need not do anything.

I'm going to backtrack a bit. It's been so long since I installed WLM
that I can't remember if it imported the contacts' group information from
Windows Mail. I do know for sure that once you have it set up the
way you want it, it will keep the contacts information perfectly synced
with all other computers that have WLM and use the same Live ID.
It certainly doesn't hurt anything to try it. It does not remove anything
from your existing email programs.

WLM is not webmail. It is a desktop email program like Windows Mail.
WLM has more features, and it is actively being improved by MS.
Users who are happy with Windows Mail can stay with it, realizing that
no bug fixes or new features will be forthcoming.