emailing address book to another computer

[strongirishwoman]

Is there some way to email my address book in Outlook Express at work to my computer at home where I also use Outlook Express?  I hate to have to add all the contacts again at home that I already have in my address book at work.  Help!  Thanks!

[soybean]

Yes.  In OE, open Address Book by clicking Tools, Address Book.  Then, in the Address Book panel, click File, Export, and select Address Book (WAB).  Make note of where the file is saved so that you can locate it when composing a message to yourself and attach it to your message.  Then, import that file into the Address Book on your home computer. 

Note: if you have contacts in the Address Book on your home computer that are not in the Address Book on your work computer, I'm not sure whether this import procedure would overwrite them or add to them. 

[strongirishwoman]

Yes, I tried that.  But when I exported it and saved it and then tried to open it, I could not read any of it.  It was all written in crazy shapes and designs.  How can I get it to open in a readable format? 

Yes.  In OE, open Address Book by clicking Tools, Address Book.  Then, in the Address Book panel, click File, Export, and select Address Book (WAB).  Make note of where the file is saved so that you can locate it when composing a message to yourself and attach it to your message.  Then, import that file into the Address Book on your home computer. 

Note: if you have contacts in the Address Book on your home computer that are not in the Address Book on your work computer, I'm not sure whether this import procedure would overwrite them or add to them. 

[strongirishwoman]

Yes, I tried that.  But when I exported it and saved it and then tried to open it, I could not read any of it.  It was all written in crazy shapes and designs.  How can I get it to open in a readable format? 

[soybean]

Did you IMPORT on the home computer?

[strongirishwoman]

I don't know what that means nor how to import on my home computer.  Help!  Thanks!

[soybean]

Did you export from the work computer, according to the procedure I previously posted?  Importing is the same, except that you select Import instead of Export.

[strongirishwoman]

I am still at work now.  When I get home tonite, I will try to import.  However, I am guessing if I can get it, it will be in those strange symbols.  Any idea on how I can get it in a readable format after I export it???

[soybean]

Well, let's wait and see whether it's in a readable format after you import it.  If you've done the export and import procedure correctly, there should be no problem.

But, if the address book data contains garbled characters after the export/import, I suggest exporting to CSV file format instead of address book format.  The menu sequence in Address Book, to export, would be File, Export, Other Address Book, and then select Text File (Comma Separated Values).

[strongirishwoman]

What does CSV file format mean? 

When I tried something like that, it asked me how I wanted to open it - with what program.  I tried all the options, but none of them were anything that would come up in a readable format. 

Thank you for your help and patience. 

[soybean]

Open it with WordPad and describe what you see in that file. 

[strongirishwoman]

Yes, I got that to work.  Now I have attached it to an email message and sent it to my computer at home. 

But then if I can open it at home, will I still need to enter all those contacts in my address book at home?  Any way to get the contacts to go directly to my address book at home?  Know what I mean?

[soybean]

Again, import.

[strongirishwoman]

What would I import it to?  Would it give me the option of importing it to my Outlook Express Address book on my home computer? 

[soybean]

Yes.