Import and export contacts

Contacts can move in and out as vCard files (.vcf), the standard format most address books understand.

Import contacts

1. Export your contacts from your old address book as a vCard file.
2. Open Contacts. If you want them in a particular address book, open it first.
3. In the sidebar, choose Import vCard and pick the file. It must be a .vcf file of 5 MB or less, with at most 5,000 contacts.
4. A message tells you how many were added, for example Imported 42 contacts, skipped 3. Skipped means entries that could not be read.

The imported contacts are saved to the address book you had open. If none was open, they go to your default address book.

Export contacts

Choose Export vCard in the sidebar. Your browser downloads a file of the contacts in the book you are looking at, or all of them from All contacts. Use it as a backup or to move to another service.

Use contacts when you write

Start typing a name or address in To in Mail, or in Guests in an event. Suggestions appear from:

• people you have written to recently,
• your contacts,
• colleagues and groups in the workspace directory.

You do not need to do anything to switch this on.

Good to know

• Only vCard files work for import and export. Spreadsheet files are not accepted.
• Importing does not delete anything. If you run the same import twice, you may get duplicates, so check the address book first.
• You can only import into an address book you are allowed to write to.

Common problems

• "That file is too large (5 MB at most)." Split the export into smaller files.
• "too many contacts in one file". Split the file: 5,000 contacts is the most in one import.
• Nothing imported. The file may not be a vCard. Export again and choose the vCard (.vcf) format.

Back to Keep contacts in address books.