OL97: Migrating from Internet Mail to Outlook

This article describes how to copy your e-mail messages from Outlook Express or Internet Mail portion of Microsoft Internet Mail and News 1.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT, to your Microsoft Outlook 97 folders. It also describes options for using the Windows Address Book data with Outlook.

Exporting Mail Folders to Outlook

Internet Mail is an SMTP/POP3 mail client. It sends mail to and receives mail from your existing SMTP/POP3 mail server. Internet Mail stores messages in message folders. These folders are in a different format from Outlook and Exchange MAPI folders. Consequently, you must use the Internet Mail export feature to move messages into your Outlook folders. In Internet Mail, follow these steps to export your messages to Outlook:

1. On the File menu, click Export and Messages. You should receive the following message:
   This will export messages from Internet Mail to Microsoft Exchange.
2. Click OK to open the Export Messages dialog box.
3. Choose to either export the contents of all Internet Mail folders or select specific folders, and then click OK.

Your Internet Mail e-mail messages should now appear in the corresponding folders of your Outlook profile.

Using the Windows Address Book with Outlook

The Windows Address Book (WAB) used by Internet Mail and News is in a different format from the MAPI-compliant Personal Address Book used by Outlook and Exchange. You have two choices for using your WAB data with Outlook. First, you can continue to use your WAB to address Outlook mail messages. Second, you can convert your existing addresses from the Windows Address Book to your Outlook Personal Address Book.

For additional information about how to use your Windows Address Book with Outlook, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you want to convert your WAB address data into an Outlook Personal Address Book, Connected Software distributes a conversion utility called WabOut. WabOut is available on the Internet at: NOTE: The URL above is case sensitive.

Wabout has some limitations in that you will not see any contacts that are imported to the Address Book. To make them visible, you must "dirty" the email name (change or re-write at least one of the letters or numbers in the email name).

Connected Software also offers other programs for use with Outlook.

WabOut is distributed by Connected Software, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

For additional information about Internet Mail and News, please see the following articles in the Internet database of the Microsoft Knowledge Base: