Troubleshoot Microsoft Outlook Contacts Imports

Errors Importing the Contact File Data

Resolve the most common causes for import errors by saving the export file in Microsoft Excel or by deleting all unneeded columns in Excel.

Marketing Cloud is designed to handle files created in Microsoft Excel. If you choose an export file format type other than Microsoft Excel (.xls), follow these steps to avoid errors.

• Open Microsoft Excel and browse to the CSV or TXT file that Outlook created.
• In the Open dialog box, choose to view files of all types: *.*
  

  Note For .txt files, Excel prompts you with the Text Import Wizard. Accept all defaults in this wizard, and Excel opens the file.
• Save the file in Excel.
• When Excel warns you that the file may contain features not compatible with its original format, choose to keep the new format, which leaves out any incompatible features.
• When you close Excel, you are prompted to save changes. Click No.

Field-Mapping Issues

• Custom contact fields: Custom contact fields that you create in Outlook are not available in the Outlook import or export wizard.
• Individual name and address fields: When you enter contact names and addresses in Outlook, Outlook automatically parses the data. In other words, it splits a contact's name into a title, first name, middle name or initial, last name, and suffix fields. Likewise, Outlook splits an address field.
• Full name and address fields: Although Outlook's automatic parsing offers greater granularity to export the pieces of a name or address separately, this parsing also makes it difficult to map a full name or a full address as a single field.
• Full name: The full name is not automatically mapped. It is not included by default in the Field list.. To include the full name in the mapping, drag the full name from the Value box into the Field box.
  

  Note Outlook uses the format Last Name First Name for full names.
• Spaces in full address and name: The full name and full address contain no spaces between the elements. For example, the address would appear as 20 N Meridian StIndianapolis, IN, with no space between "St" and "Indianapolis." To map over the full address rather than the pieces of the address, open each contact's record in Outlook and add a space at the end of each address line before including the address in the mapping.