 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussionsAccessExcelInfoPathOutlookPowerPointPublisherWordDirectoryUser Groups Related Topics Outlook ExpressInternet ExplorerWindowsMS Server ProductsMore Topics ... |
MS Office Forum / Outlook / Contacts / October 2005Contacts imported from excel as .txt file
When importing an Excel .cvs file into Outlook Contacts, the resultant "Contacts" are stored as .txt files and cannot hold format changes or take attachments. I need to attach files/items to each and highlight (bold/underline) text in the "Notes" field. Some contacts, when imported, come in stored as .rtf format and I can edit them. How do I control whether a contact is imported as a .txt or .rtf format??? It is driving me crazy. Thanks > When importing an Excel .cvs file I think you mean .csv (comma-separated values) > into Outlook Contacts, the resultant > "Contacts" are stored as .txt files and cannot hold format changes or > take attachments. How exactly did you import? What exactly did you see for each step of the process?  SignatureBrian Tillman You're correct, I meant CSV. I've done it a hundred times so I'm miffed. I have a test file, 11 records which was an Excel (xls) file saved as a CSV file. Then imported and mapped. It works fine and when I open the contacts individually, I can do a "Save as" and see that the file type is RTF. Hence I can set format (highlight) and attach files or items (eMails). However, when I take another file (647 record vendor master) and do exactly the same thing, the reords come in as .txt file types and cannot be edited. .rtf type is not even showing or available in the "save as" dialog box. Very strange. > > When importing an Excel .cvs file > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > How exactly did you import? What exactly did you see for each step of the > process? > You're correct, I meant CSV. I've done it a hundred times so I'm > miffed. I have a test file, 11 records which was an Excel (xls) file [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > cannot be edited. .rtf type is not even showing or available in the > "save as" dialog box. I'm very curious why you want to use Save As at all. Once you've imported the contacts into the Contacts folder, there's no further need to save them. They're where they belong - the Contacts folder. SignatureBrian Tillman I really don't want or need to use "save as" but when I could not format and attach files I tried everything to figure out why. It just happened that I selected "save as" just to see where it was storng the contacts and noticed that they were in .txt format. The contacts that can me modified with format are stored in .rtf format. Hence my dilema. So i am back to teh root question: What controlls the format when creating contacts from "Import" of a .CSV file? > > You're correct, I meant CSV. I've done it a hundred times so I'm > > miffed. I have a test file, 11 records which was an Excel (xls) file [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > the contacts into the Contacts folder, there's no further need to save them. > They're where they belong - the Contacts folder. > I really don't want or need to use "save as" but when I could not > format and attach files I tried everything to figure out why. It [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Hence my dilema. So i am back to teh root question: What controlls > the format when creating contacts from "Import" of a .CSV file? The "Save As" selection does not tell you how the Contacts are stored in the Contacts folder. It tells you how the contact record will be store as an EXTERNAL Windows file system object if you were to save it OUTSIDE of Outlook. SignatureBrian Tillman Man I appreciate your dialog and interest in helping, but you are missing the point. I understand the "save as" issue and I am NOT trying to save anything. I'm trying to determine why some of my contacts are able to be modified (i.e. formatted with font highlights; files attached etc.) and some cannot!!! In assessing/debugging this dichotomy the only difference between contacts and/or contact folders created in what appears to be the SAME manner is that some of the contact records can be “saved as” .rtf files and those that cannot be modified can only be saved as .txt. This tells me that either the format or the attributes of the contact records are different. What I am trying to determine is WHY are they different; and how can I change them??? I know that I can, one at a time, export to a .vcf card format and then import to a contact folder. When I do that the record format if different and I can now make the desired changes. If I could batch export to .vcf and batch import, that would help, but then I loose the “Notes” filed data, as it does NOT export. That’s the rub since the data field I am trying to modify is the NOTES field!!!!! Whew!!! So again, when and why is the record format different and how can I create or change it? If you read back in this thread, you will see that I can import a small .csv file with the resultant correct contact record attributes allowing modifications to the Notes Field, but I cannot import a larger file (the one I need) with the correct resultant record format. CAN ANYONE OUT THERE HELP ME????? You can call me 281-702-8338 > > I really don't want or need to use "save as" but when I could not > > format and attach files I tried everything to figure out why. It [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > EXTERNAL Windows file system object if you were to save it OUTSIDE of > Outlook. > In assessing/debugging this dichotomy the only difference between > contacts and/or contact folders created in what appears to be the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > contact records are different. What I am trying to determine is WHY > are they different; and how can I change them??? Can you see any differences in the CSV files that you used for the two imports? Are all the fields defined and labeled identically? SignatureBrian Tillman OK. I think I finally have it figured out. If I map any data field, from the .csv file to the Contact's "NOTES" field, Outlook stores the "record" in a .txt format and we know that the txt format does not support formatting. If I leave the "Notes" field blank, Outlook stores the Contact record in a .rtf format and rtf supports "Office" capabilities, e.g. formatting, attachments, etc. OK, so I have to save that information andthe Note field is the only place I have. Now the questions becomes how can I do that?? Any ideas? > > In assessing/debugging this dichotomy the only difference between > > contacts and/or contact folders created in what appears to be the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Can you see any differences in the CSV files that you used for the two > imports? Are all the fields defined and labeled identically? |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.