Export Lotus Notes Contacts to MS Outlook

Read time 6 minutes

When one switches from one email client to another, data export or email migration becomes necessary. One of the most popular migrations is the migration from Lotus Notes to Outlook. Unlike the Outlook PST file, the contacts of Notes client are stored in separate files called names.nsf. You might need to export this data also.

This blog discusses feasible solutions to export Lotus Notes contacts to Outlook. Just consider the method which looks easier to you for the export process.

Do It Yourself – Manual Way to Export Lotus Notes Contacts to Outlook

The manual solution to export Lotus Notes contacts to Outlook is not at all a complex process. You just need to have pre-requisites like the Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook applications on your system. Once this is confirmed, you should know that this process involves two stages.

• Export Notes Contacts to CSV File
• Import CSV File to Outlook

Export Notes Contacts to CSV File

To export contacts from the Lotus Notes email client application to the CSV file, you need to follow these steps.

1. Launch the Lotus Notes application and open the desired NSF file.
2. Go to and click My Contacts option so that the contacts from the Address book gets listed.
3. On the right side on the menu bar, click on More and select the Export Contacts option from the dropdown list.
4. The Export Contacts page will get opened. Here, choose contacts to export, specify the required options, add or modify saving location & file name, and select Comma Separated Value option against the Save as type option. Click Export.
5. Hence, the contacts are saved in the defined location in CSV file format.

So, the task of exporting Notes contacts to CSV file format is successfully done. The next stage is to import this CSV file to the Outlook PST file. For that, see the next section.

Import CSV File with Contacts to Outlook

This stage involves the use of the Import/Export feature of the Microsoft Outlook application. Let us see the process.

1. Open the Microsoft Outlook application on your system.
2. In the File menu of Outlook, click Open & Export > Import/Export.
3. Next, the Import and Export wizard will get opened. Here, choose the option Import from another program or file and click Next.
   
4. In the opened wizard Import a File, select the option Comma Separated Values and click Next.
   
5. Next, browse and add the CSV file created in the previous stage, choose the options for duplicate items and click Next.
   
6. For the destination folder, choose Contacts and click Next.
7. On the next wizard, select the added file and click Finish.
8. The contacts will get imported from the CSV file to the Outlook PST Contacts folder.

Thus, the export Lotus Notes contacts to Outlook is successfully done.

Is Everything Fine with Manual Solution?

When we talk about manual solutions, they have some limitations, due to which there arises a need for the third-party utility. Yes, this is right in this case too! The limitations which the user can face with the manual method to export contacts from Lotus Notes to Outlook application are:

• Modification or removal of formatting
• No export of logo or other symbols
• Sometimes, incomplete export of contacts
• Consumes a lot of time
• Two applications (Notes and Outlook) need to be installed

These limitations, whether minor or major, cannot be neglected. An automated solution with the facility to export Lotus Notes contacts to MS Outlook is the need of the hour.

Best Solution – Kernel for Notes Contacts to Outlook

To export Lotus Notes contacts to Outlook, we recommend a professional and efficient exporter tool – the Kernel for Notes Contacts to Outlook. This tool requires only contacts file (names.nsf) from Lotus Notes for the export.

Some important features of the advanced Kernel for Notes Contacts to Outlook here:

• Direct export
• Moves multiple Names.nsf files together
• Preview facility
• Sorting and filtering of contacts
• Automatic search and addition of Domino Server
• Saves contacts in PST File or Excel file
• Compatible with all versions of Notes/Outlook
• Searches individual contacts by initial alphabet or number.
• Adds Domino Server by its IP address.
• Contacts are instantly available after conversion to PST or Excel format.

You can start with the trial version of the software which is available for free download. The free version allows you to preview the contacts and even export 5 contacts per folder to the selected destination. If you are happy with the trial, you can buy the full version of the tool for the complete export of contacts from Notes to Outlook.