Community Knowledge Base

Importing and Exporting Contacts

Because people often have multiple email accounts from different providers, SmarterMail makes it easy for users to securely transfer contacts to and from other online address books.

Importing/Exporting Contacts

To initiate the importing or exporting of contacts, use the Actions (⋮) button at the top of your list of contacts. From the dropdown, you'll want to focus on the following:

  • Import - Allows you to import your contacts from an external email client, a separate email service like Gmail, or from another SmarterMail account.
  • Export All to vCard - Exports all of your contacts in the standard vCard format for importing into an email client, separate service or to another SmarterMail account.
  • Export All to CSV - Exports all of your contacts in a "comma separated values" format for importing into an email client, separate service or to another SmarterMail account. CSV files can also be opened using virtually any spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.

Importing Contacts to SmarterMail

SmarterMail supports importing contacts from two different types of files: vCards (.vcf) and comma-separated text files (.csv). SmarterMail also supports importing from a .zip file containing any combination of these file formats. Regardless of the file type imported, each contact MUST have a Display Name in order for SmarterMail to accept the importing of the contact. Other information can be added at a later date.

Follow these steps to import contacts:

  1. Log in to your SmarterMail account and go to your Contacts.
  2. Select Import from the Actions (⋮) dropdown.
  3. The Import Contacts modal will load. Here, you can select which Contacts folder to import your new contacts to, such as the default Contacts folder or any new folders you've created.
  4. Next, you can either drag-and-drop a CSV or VCF file into the "add files" area, or you can click on the "add files" box to open a desktop window so you can select the file you want to import.
  5. Once you've added the file(s), click the Import button.
  6. If any conflicts occur, you will be asked to resolve them by performing one of the actions below:
    • Add Contact - This option adds a completely new contact record with the information in the vCard.
    • Replace - This option replaces the contact in the box with the new one being uploaded. To examine the properties of the close match contacts, however your mouse over the magnifying glass icon in the list at the bottom of the page.
    • Skip - This option skips this contact and omits the uploaded contact information.
  7. Once all conflicts are resolved, the process is complete.

Exporting Contacts from SmarterMail

Contacts can be exported individually in vCard or CSV format. These files can then be imported into Microsoft Outlook or other email clients that accept these file types, or into another SmarterMail account.

To export a single contact:

  1. First, go to your Contacts.
  2. Next, find the specific contact in your list, either by scrolling through your contacts or using the Search bar.
  3. Once you find it, in the top right corner of the contact's card you'll see Actions (⋮). Click on that.
  4. From the dropdown menu, select Export to vCard or Export to CSV.
  5. A standard Save window will appear that allows you to rename the file, choose where you want the file saved, etc.

To export multiple contacts (assuming you're already logged in to your SmarterTools account):

  1. First, go to your Contacts.
  2. The Select button allows you to select multiple different contacts by simply clicking on them.
  3. Once you've selected the desired contacts, click on Actions (⋮)
  4. From the dropdown menu, select Export to vCard or Export to CSV.
  5. Again, a standard Save window will appear that allows you to rename the file, choose where you want the file saved, etc.

To export ALL contacts:

  1. First, go to your Contacts.
  2. Use the Select button and choose Select All from the dropdown.
  3. From the Actions (⋮) menu, select Export All to vCard or Export All to CSV.
  4. Again, a standard Save window will appear that allows you to rename the file, choose where you want the file saved, etc.