Learn How to Import Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird Account

Microsoft Outlook and Thunderbird are the two most trendy email clients. Both services are amazing in their own way. Nowadays, more and more people want to import Outlook contacts to Thunderbird because Thunderbird is an open-source email service, and sometimes they are left with only Thunderbird as an option. Let’s take a look at the user query to understand the situation more clearly why will a user need for transferring the address book from Outlook to Thunderbird?

The Microsoft corporation launched Outlook in different versions like Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, etc. So, the method to thunderbird import contacts from Outlook is different for different versions. But if you are importing the outlook express address book to thunderbird using an automated solution. Then, you do not need to worry simply read the complete article, and easily thunderbird import contacts from outlook.

Query – Why Export Address Book from Outlook to Thunderbird?

“Hello, I was using Outlook 2019 on my Windows PC. Last week my daughter deleted data from hard drive on Windows 10. I have recovered my PST files but not able to reinstall Microsoft Outlook. Now, I have decided to move to Thunderbird. But do not know how to import Outlook contacts to Thunderbird. Does anyone know any reliable and proven method to execute this task? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.”

It must be clear from the above user scenario, the necessity for this conversion. In the next section, we will be telling you the different reasons for importing the Outlook address book into the Thunderbird mail client.

Different Reasons For Choosing Thunderbird Application

1. Most of the users prefer Mozilla Thunderbird because of its simple GUI. It’s easy to use GUI provides the customers with great experience as compared to any other email client.

2. Another major reason is that it is an open-source service whose source code is easily available and customizable. On the other hand, MS Outlook is a paid service.

3. We know startup culture is booming and mostly they prefer to use Thunderbird as it does not cost a single penny.

4. Furthermore, the configuration in Thunderbird is quite simple even for novice users as compared to the Outlook application.

Moving on, in the next section, we will discuss a method to export address book from Outlook to Thunderbird account.

Import Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird – Smart Solution

Practically, to do this export process of contacts, there are basically two methods available. One is manual method and the other is proven and expert recommended automated solution. However, manual method demands for installation of Outlook application on your system. 

So, in the absence of Outlook application or if you have an orphan PST file, the manual method does not work for you. What will you do in that case? Do not worry, we have an ultimate solution to this problem. Go for automated SoftwarePro vCard Export Tool. This utility will instantly export Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003 Contacts to Thunderbird without any inconvenience.

And to know more about the tool in depth you can even download the free version from below.

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Step by Step Guide of Tool to Export Outlook Address Book

• Download, install and Launch the software on any version of Windows OS.
• Browse or Auto Detect Outlook PST File from the default location on computer. Then, tap Add button to move further. 
• After this, just have a preview All the added Outlook Contacts on the software’s interface.

• Then, just select the CSV file format as an export option in order to use it on Thunderbird application.

• Finally, browse the location path on the computer wherever needed and then mouse-click the Export button. The tool will immediately start the export process of contacts. You will get a notification message on the screen of the completion of the task, tap OK.

Manual Method to Export Outlook Contacts to Thunderbird

• Launch your Microsoft Outlook desktop application first. Then, click on the “File” from the navigation panel.
• You will see the Open & Export option > Import / Export option. Now, just select the “Export to a file” option from the window and click on “Next” to proceed.
• A new window will appear on the screen. Here, choose “Comma Separated Values (Windows)” from the given drop-down list which you want to export.
• Now, move to the location of the file where you want to save the exported contacts file on the computer.
• Select the “Next” button in the “Export to a file” window and finally, hit the “Finish” button to finish with manual task.

Till now, you have got the file containing Outlook contacts either by manual or automated method depending on the situation. Now, you need to import this file into the Thunderbird application. Let’s go through the steps to complete the import job.

Step 2: – Export the CSV File to Mozilla Thunderbird

• Open your Thunderbird application, and click on “Tools” from the right navigation panel. Select “Import” from the drop-down menu.
• Select the Import from a File radio button, tap continue and choose the “Import Address Books” option. Choose “Continue“
• Now, mouse-click “Comma or tab separated file (.csv, .tsv)” option from the list of available options. Click “Continue”
• Go to the location where you saved your exported Outlook contacts and select the CSV file, tap Open.
• Select the checkbox next to “The first row contains field names”
• Choose the “Move Up” and “Move Down” buttons to match the Outlook contact fields to Thunderbird. Then, you can either “Create a new directory called “contacts-report” or import it into “Personal Address Book“.
• Finally, click “Continue” and then tap the “Start Import” button to accessing all the Outlook contacts in your Thunderbird account.

Time to Conclude

In the above blog, we have discussed manual as well as automated methods to import Outlook contacts into Thunderbird. However, choosing any technique is entirely up to you. But remember the limitations of the manual method. Therefore, in this case, it is highly recommended to use an automated solution. As the software is more reliable, quick and efficient to work with. Apart from this, it also provides a number of features to optimize the process.

Read More: Learn to Export Outlook Contacts into vCard File Format.

Import Outlook Address Book into Thunderbird – FAQs