Outlook 2007 - How to remove corrupted contact file & import good

[Grindy]

Here's my issue:
The contacts associated with my main .pst file has many "corrupt" entrys.
I've exported them out to Excel and have "cleaned them up" ( about 2300 of
them ).
What I want to do now is get them back into Outlook, but not before I can
get "rid" of the ones that are there.
What is the best way to do this?
Thanks in advance...

 

[Karl Timmermans]

Your explanation is confusing given the terminology used.

Under normal circumstances, the term "corrupt" generally would mean the
items are inaccessible - but you said you exported them to "clean them up"
so the items are accessible (so the term <corrupt> means what exactly?). If
you've exported them all and have them to the point you want in the Excel
file, why can't you do the following:

#1 - Delete ALL the contacts in the folder you exported them from to start
with? and then....
#2 - Reverse the process and import the same Excel file that contains the
<clean> contacts

*** before importing, make sure that you have an Excel <Named Range> to
cover all 2300 contacts including the header row with the column names OR
simply save the worksheet as a .CSV file and import that file instead.

Karl
___________________________________________________
Karl Timmermans - The Claxton Group
ContactGenie - Importer 1.3 / DataPorter 2.0 / Exporter
"Power contact importers/exporters for MS Outlook '2000/2007"
http://www.contactgenie.com

 

[Grindy]

Thanks for the prompt reply, Karl.
When I said that the contacts were "corrupt", what I meant was that when I
looked thru them I could see that a lot of the fields contained information
from a different contact than the one I was looking at, etc. There was,
however, enough "good" information - ie. many contacts that had the proper
information - so that I decided to export them out to Excel in order to
"clean" them up ( that way I could create macro's whenever possible to
expedite the cleanup ).

And your answer to simply "delete" the contacts, then import is exactly what
I thought I should do.

Is importing from an xls or csv the "preferred" method? What I mean is - is
one better than the other?
thanks

 

[Karl Timmermans]

Re: XLS vs CSV

Neither is better or worst then the other for the most part under normal
circumstances as long as all your field formatting is correct (i.e. text vs
numeric datatypes). Both will import the same data. If you're familiar with
Excel "Named Ranges" (something that is a frustration for many) - use the
XLS file.

Karl
___________________________________________________
Karl Timmermans - The Claxton Group
ContactGenie - Importer 1.3 / DataPorter 2.0 / Exporter
"Power contact importers/exporters for MS Outlook '2000/2007"
http://www.contactgenie.com

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Here's my issue:
The contacts associated with my main .pst file has many "corrupt" entrys.
I've exported them out to Excel and have "cleaned them up" ( about 2300 of
them ).
What I want to do now is get them back into Outlook, but not before I can
get "rid" of the ones that are there.
What is the best way to do this?

To empty the existing contacts from the folder, press Ctrl-A to select them
all and then click or press Delete. Keep in mind that importing may leave
the phone numbers and mail addresses of the imported contacts unresolved and
you'll have to manually open each one and save it again. Importing usually
does an incomplete job of restoring all the data.

 

[Karl Timmermans]

If those issues (resolving of email addresses etc) do occur when using when
importing via the Outlook import wizard, then either of the ContactGenie
Import products are an alternative option - those problems don't occur and
would never have to open and resave a contact after import.

Karl
___________________________________________________
Karl Timmermans - The Claxton Group
ContactGenie - Importer 1.3 / DataPorter 2.0 / Exporter
"Power contact importers/exporters for MS Outlook '2000/2007"
http://www.contactgenie.com

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

If those issues (resolving of email addresses etc) do occur when using
when importing via the Outlook import wizard, then either of the
ContactGenie Import products are an alternative option - those problems
don't occur and would never have to open and resave a contact after
import.

Clearly your products are superior to the importers included with Outlook.