How do I preserve Outlook connections, contacts, etc, when upgrading?

[pcraine]

My company had an agreement with Microsoft that allowed employees to install the full Office 2013 suite at home for personal use for $10. It was great while it lasted, but we've been informed the agreement ends at the end of the year, so I'll need to uninstall it and buy my own. Fishhooks!

Anyway, I've gotten used to using Outlook at home, so whichever version I buy will have that, but I'm not sure about how to do this with the least amount of hassle. I realize Word and Excel documents aren't affected when you uninstall, but what about Outlook connections, settings, contacts, emails, folders, and such?

Can I uninstall what I have and then install my new version, and all that old Outlook stuff will automatically get picked up, or do I install the new version first and somehow import it? Or do I have to set everything up from scratch? I dread having to download all those emails again.

 

[Ranger4]

As you already have Office 2013 installed you should be able to just change the Activation Key, without the need to uninstall & reinstall.
You would need to purchase the same version of Office 2013 that is already installed on your computer. So if, for example you have Office 2013 Professional, which includes Access & a few other programs, then you would need to purchase the Pro version.
Read through this website on how to change the Activation code for Office 2013.

How To Properly Change Product Key Of Office 2013