Custom import and export from Microsoft Outlook

Once you customize an Outlook form, you're going to want to put data into it or get that data out. It comes as a big shock to many people that you cannot use Outlook's built-in Import and Export wizard to handle data in custom forms. User-defined fields simply do not appear on the data mapping grid in the wizard. Furthermore, if you try to export from items that were created with custom forms, you don't even get the built-in Outlook fields -- you get no data at all.

For exporting, one quick-and-dirty workaround is to view the Outlook folder in a table view, then select all items, copy them, and paste into an Excel worksheet. 

The ideal solution is to write code to handle all import/export chores involving custom forms. Your data source and available tools will usually dictate where this code should be written, but it's probably easiest to do it in VBA in either Outlook or the other program (often Excel or Access). The code involved is not difficult. Many samples are available that you can adapt. There are also a few third-party tools for the job.

Samples

From Sue's book

You can download these samples from my book --  Microsoft Outlook Programming: Jumpstart for Administrators, Developers, and Power Users -- using the Get Sue's Code link at the bottom of any page:

• Listing 22.4 -- Extract the Members of a Distribution List to an Excel Worksheet
• Listing 24.4 -- Create New Contacts from Data in an Excel Worksheet
• Listing 24.5 -- Import Data from a Comma-Delimited File to a Custom Form

From OutlookCode.com

• PST2TXT - export all items to text files
• Import Appointments from Excel - including recurrence information
• Export Contacts as XML
• Saving sent email Information to XML (C#)
• Export Outlook Folders to File Folders -- as .msg files
• To convert imported data to custom fields -- Import data to the built-in form, then convert items to a custom form and use this code to move the data from the built-in fields to your custom fields. This is a good solution if you have only a small number of custom fields.
• Recording Training Completion into Excel -- Extract data from the body of a mail message and export it to Excel

From Microsoft

• Exporting a Microsoft Access Table into an Outlook Contacts Folder
• OL2002 How to Programmatically Import Outlook Items from Microsoft Access (DAO)
• OL2002 How to Programmatically Export Outlook Items to Microsoft Access (DAO)
• Easy Task Reports with Outlook and WordProcessingML -- Export  Outlook 2003 data as XML and then use Word's XML features and XSL to create a menu of different reports. Sample code available.

From Helen Feddema

• Import Access data into Outlook Contact items
• Export Contact data from Access to Outlook
• Importing Contacts from a Text File into Outlook -- using Access as an intermediary
• Export Outlook Contact data to an Access table
• Exporting Contact items to an Excel worksheet
• Exporting Calendar items to Excel
• Exporting Contacts to a Word Mail Merge document -- using Access or a text file as the data source
• Access 97 and Access 2000 samples to import data from custom Outlook contacts.

Others

• Export Microsoft Outlook items to XML using MSXML
• Using External Data in Excel to access Outlook journal files
• Personal Message Store Export Utility
• Connecting Outlook and Exchange to Databases
• Xml Export Sample -- using VSTO 2005 and VB.NET
• Personal Message Store Export Utility - export messages (but not attachments) to text format; VB6 source code included
• Outlook Meeting Tracking Export - export meeting attendee tracking information (who's coming and who's not) to Excel