Importing and Exporting Outlook Information
You can also use the Import and Export Wizard to transfer data between Outlook and other programs. The most common use of this feature is to help you migrate your data to Outlook from a contact-management program such as ACT! or Lotus Organizer. If the Import and Export Wizard doesn't include the specific name and version number of the program you use, you need to export the data to a delimited text file or a database format and then import it into Outlook.
Tip from 
If you use multiple Personal Folders files to maintain your mail, use the Import and Export Wizard to effortlessly move items from one file to another. Choose File, Import and Export, and then select Export to a File or Import from Another Program or File. In either case, you'll find a Personal Folders File (.pst) option. Follow the wizard's prompts to select the folder or folders you want to move—defining a filter if necessary, so you move only items that match criteria you specify—and choose the name of the destination file.
Importing Data from External Programs
Outlook makes it relatively easy to import personal information, including contacts and appointments, from other software. Using the Import and Export Wizard, choose Import from Another Program or File, and then select one of the following supported file formats. Outlook 2002 recognizes data files created by a number of older contact-management programs, but this list has not been updated in years.
If Outlook can't work directly with the native format of the program that contains the data you want to import, you'll have to first export the data to a supported format. Comma Separated Values and Tab Separated Values are the most common, but the import utility can also read Access, dBASE, and FoxPro files as well as Excel lists.
Note
Both delimited text formats (Comma Separated Values and Tab Separated Values) offer DOS and Windows alternatives. The DOS version uses the ASCII character set, while the Windows versions incorporate the ANSI character set, which includes international and publishing characters. When in doubt, always choose the Windows option.
To import the data, follow these steps:
Choose File, Import and Export.
In the Import and Export Wizard, choose Import from Another Program or File; then follow the wizard's prompts to select the specific data format and the file that contains the data.
In the Import a File dialog box (see Figure 9.33), specify how you want Outlook to handle items that duplicate those in the current folder. You can replace the existing item with the imported one, ignore the duplicate item, or allow Outlook to create duplicates. When in doubt, allow Outlook to create duplicate items and manually resolve the differences later.
Figure 9.33. Specify whether you want to create duplicate items (based on the title) when importing information. Regardless of your choice, Outlook does not warn you whether it created or rejected any duplicates.
Tip from 
When you import data, Outlook doesn't give you any feedback as to how many new items it created, or whether it dealt with any duplicate items. If you want to know how many new items were created, open the destination folder before importing and check the status bar (just below the Outlook Bar) to see how many items the folder contains. After completing the import, check the new count to see how many items were added.
→ Under some circumstances, Outlook can help you merge duplicate items that creep into your Contacts list so that you don't inadvertently keep outdated information; see "Merging Duplicate Contact Items".
Select the destination folder into which you want to import the data, and then click Next.
In the last step of the Import and Export Wizard, click the Map Custom Fields button if you want to verify that Outlook plans to stuff information from the source file into the correct folder. The Map Custom Fields dialog box (shown in Figure 9.34) reads the field names from the source file and makes its best guess at matching them in the destination file.
Figure 9.34. The pane on the left shows the field names from the source file; drag names into the pane on the right to match them with Outlook field names.
Tip from 
Whenever you import any amount of data, large or small, into your primary Outlook data file, we strongly recommend that you first create a new, temporary folder. Give the folder a name that describes the data, such as "Imported Addresses," and then start the import. This precaution lets you inspect the imported items for errors and correct any information that was damaged during the import. When you're satisfied that the new items are correct, drag them into the proper destination folder.
Outlook displays the field names from the source file in the left pane. Scroll through the list of mappings on the right to see how Outlook has matched the field names in the source file to Outlook fields. Drag field names from the left pane and drop them on the corresponding fields in the right pane to create a mapping. For example, if your source file includes a field called Full Name, drop it onto the Name field in the right pane.
Tip from 
You don't need to map all the fields from your source file to Outlook. If your original database includes hundreds of fields for each record, but all you want to import is the name and business address so that you can prepare a mailing, click the Clear Map button to eliminate all mappings. Then drag just the handful of fields you want to use into the destination pane.
Exporting Outlook Data
When you need to export data, Outlook offers fewer options than on the corresponding import side. In most cases, you'll need to export the data from one or more folders into a file using a standard data-interchange format.
Outlook enables you to export to an Excel worksheet or a database format (Access, dBASE, or FoxPro); choose the Excel option if you want to manipulate the data using Excel's list-management features.
→ To learn more about working with Excel's list-management features, see Chapter 25, "Working with Lists and Databases".
If you plan to export the data into a non-Office program, choose one of the comma- or tab-delimited text formats. To export data to a file, choose File, Import and Export. In the Import and Export Wizard, choose Export to a File, and then follow the prompts to select the folder you want to export from, the file format you want to create, and the name and location of the resulting output file. As with the import version of this wizard, you can map custom fields. This is an excellent way to quickly export selected information from your Contacts folder into a format that other programs (including Word and Excel) can readily use.
If your exported data contains stray characters that cause problems when you try to open the file in another program, see
"Removing Multiline Addresses from Your Contacts Folder"
in the"Troubleshooting"
section at the end of this chapter.
Synchronizing Outlook Data with a Handheld Device
If you own a handheld computer such as a Palm PC, Handspring Visor, or Pocket PC, you can synchronize data between your Outlook Personal Folders file and the handheld device. Don't use Outlook's Import and Export Wizard, however—instead, use the synchronization software included with the computer. In most cases, this software can exchange data directly with Outlook data files.
To set up and synchronize with a Pocket PC running Windows CE, use the Windows CE Inbox Transfer utility, available from Outlook's Tools menu. This dialog box lets you move files between your handheld device and a desktop or portable PC; you can also configure space-saving options, such as restricting the size of messages on the handheld device and ignoring attachments.
To synchronize with a handheld device running the Palm OS, you must first install Chapura's PocketMirror software. This software adds a button to Outlook's Standard toolbar and also makes a PocketMirror Settings option available on the Tools menu.
Note that this option only synchronizes the Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes folders. If you set up e-mail on your Palm device, only the Outlook Inbox is synchronized. In addition, some information is lost during synchronization. For instance, recurring appointments are typically split into individual appointments on the handheld device.