Export WLM Contacts

[earlp]

My machine is a Compaq, Windows 7, 64-bit. I've gone to the Contacts, clicked the Export, selected CSV and exported. The resulting file contained only the headers, no contacts at all.

I prefer WLM, but my ISP, Charter Communications, has become restrictive on my sending to bulk email addresses (club organization with about 250 addresses), so I've been trying to figure out how to copy/export my Live Mail Contacts to Charter and use their web mail for these bulk mailings. Not even sure if that will work or not, or even if I can import a contacts list. Any other suggestions would be welcome.

Oh, and my Windows Live Mail is version 2011.

 

[roncerr]

If Charter does not have an "Import" feature for contacts then you won't be able to import them all at once. You could find the exported .csv file from WLM, open it in Notepad, and clean it up so only the email addresses are visible, one per line. Then copy and paste one address at a time into the Charter program.

Here is another way, not requiring an export. If you have been "signing-in" to WLM, then your contacts are duplicated at the contacts.live.com website. Go to the website and highlight an email address so it is blue with white lettering. Then right click on the blue area and select "copy". Then "paste" into Charter. After 250 copy/pastes you're done.

If Charter limits bulk emailing, I don't see how changing the location of the contacts list will somehow circumvent the limitation. Perhaps you can email them directly and explain what you want to do.

 

[earlp]

I have talked with the Charter Support folks and they are no help. In fact one agent said that since I have a Cherter email address, all my WLM contacts should already reside at Charter.

Now, I just want to be able to export them to a .csv file. I do the Export, a .csv file is created, but it only contains the headers. I did it with only one field checked, "Email Address", and that one header line was all that was in the .csv file.

 

[roncerr]

That comment about WLM contacts residing at Charter makes no sense to me.

As far as the csv file goes, I hope you are working within WLM Contacts and not in your browser at some web site. I'm not using the newer 2011 version of WLM yet, but the old version exports to csv just fine. Maybe there is something wrong with the contacts list. Have you tried checking off all fields just to see if the email addresses show up somewhere in the csv. Are you viewing the csv in a text editor like Notepad or Wordpad?

 

[earlp]

Right, I am working in Window Live Mail 2011. I did another export, this time selecting all fields, got all the headers and one line of data. I opened the csv file with notepad and wordpad, both were the same.

That one line was the name "Dan" in the First Name and Name fields... nothing else.

This makes me wonder if this might be related to another problem I'm having, apparently with WLM. I have one contact in my list whose first name is Dan and I email him frequently. I believe since installing version 2011 I've been getting this response when trying to send to him... The message could not be sent. Some of the recipients for this message are not valid. Please verify the names.

To work around this, I can create a new email address for Dan, call it Dan7 and the email will go out ok. The next time I try to email to Dan7, I get that error. I create a new account for Dan8, and it goes out ok.

This does not appear to be an error from my ISP, Charter, instead it appears to be a quick response directly from WLM 2011.

Trying to go back to an earlier version of WLM, I uninstalled WLM, but re-installing WLM all I could install was the 2011 version.

 

[roncerr]

After installing 2011, try doing a repair of "Windows Live Essentials" via "Programs and Features". It will repair the installed components of Essentials, including Mail. 2011 has been out for quite some time and this is the first I've heard about a problem exporting contacts.

It is possible to go back to the 2009/2010 version but I believe you have to revert back to the older version of the entire Live Essentials Suite of programs. Also, you won't be able to use Messenger since the 2011 version is required for that. If you really want to try the old verion here is a link:
http://g.live.com/1rewlive3/en/wlsetup-web.exe
but we can't be sure it will fix the csv issue you are having. If you decide to try the old version you must uninstall the 2011 version of Live Essentials first.

 

[earlp]

I've done the Repair which didn't fix anything.

I'll try your link to go back to that earlier version tomorrow.
Hope my contacts survive.

 

[roncerr]

...Hope my contacts survive.

They may not. The older version stores contacts in a slightly different place in Window Explorer...instead of "Windows Live/Contacts" for 2011 it's "Windows Live Contacts" for 2009/2010 (under "AppData/Local/Microsoft"). Also, I can't be sure dragging them to the new location will work. Don't you have any other copies? If you have been signing in to WLM the contacts are duplicated at the contacts.live.com website; if that's the case then they will be imported into the new program as soon as you sign in to the new install of WLM.

 

[earlp]

I've drilled down in users/earl... to Windows Live Contacts and further to those .edb files, but found nothing that looked like my contacts. I normally open Window Live Mail and have not found any need to sign in with that sign in option over on the right side. It just doesn't seem to be necessary.

OK, I just signed in with that option. Should I now have my contacts duplicated somewhere else?

I logged in to windows.live.com and tried to import contacts. I have used Windows Live Messenger once with a friend and that friend's name is the only one that appeared. I did not see anything that would allow importing from my Windows Live Mail contacts.

I do a twice weekly backup of my entire system. So, if I remove WLM 2011 and install WLM 2009/10 and lose my contacts do you think I might be able to restore contact from my backup, restoring to Windows Live/Contacts? Or what is the full path to the 2009/10 Live Mail contacts?

 

[earlp]

While viewing my contacts, I did a copy/paste (25 at a time - total 725) into a Word document for my backup. I uninstalled Windows Live Mail. Tried to install the 2009/10 from your link. It will not install, tells me I'm running a newer version. Do I need to uninstall all Windows Live Essentials? Those appear to be Messenger, Writer, Family Safety, Photo Gallery & Movie Maker,Windows Live Mesh, Messenger Companion. I don't believe I use any of these. I may want to use Movie Maker at some point in time, but guess I can re-install later.

 

[earlp]

OK, uninstalled all Windows Live Essentials. Installed WLM 2009/10 and appears the only think lost was 5 addressess. Had 725 originally, now have 720. I was also able to send to that one individual that was not accepted. I was able to export my contacts to a csv file.

Thanks for all the help.

Do you suppose those problems I had with version 2011 should be reported to Microsoft?

 

[earlp]

My backup .doc file contained 725, the new contacts listed 720. Checking against that backup .doc file i found that there were about 25 additions and deletions that were not reflected in the new 2009/10 WLM. With that .doc file I think my contacts list is back to normal. And I can now export it to a .csv file.

 

[earlp]

Feeling good about reinstalling WLM 2009, my friend with a Windows 7 machine and Windows Live Mail 2011 did an export of his contacts to a .csv file... successfully. So, I uninstalled Live Essentials 2009, reinstalled 2011. Attempted to export my contacts to a .csv file. Again, all that exported was the headers.

So, back to 2009 again.

 

[roncerr]

Too bad you have to go back to the older version after using so much of the 2011 Suite of programs. I can't imagine why you can export in 2009 but not 2011, especially since your friend can.