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About this lesson

This lesson teaches how to generate a much needed Contacts Backup and save it to your hard drive.

Exercise files

Download this lesson’s exercise file.

5.07, Contacts Backup - Exercise.docx
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Quick reference

Contacts Backup

Secure your most important data from a disaster and backup your contacts!

When to use

More often than necessary we hear about smartphone synchronizing that ruins, rather than secures, your contacts file.
By pre-emptively saving a backup, you will be a step ahead of a potential loss of data.

Instructions

To export and backup contacts

  • Click the File Ribbon

  • Click "Open & Export" on the left panel

  • Click the Import/Export button

 

  • Choose Export to a File and click Next.

  • Choose a file type.

  • Comma Separated Values is compatible to Excel or Outlook.
  • Outlook Data File (.pst) is compatible to Outlook only.
  • Select the Folder to Export from your list.
  • Outlook auto-names the file Backup.pst
    1. You should rename it something descriptive, such as Contacts Backup.pst
    2. Click Browse and store this file somewhere safe on your computer or on a USB removable drive.
       
  • Click Finish.

Tips:

  • Make backup files individually for email, calendar, and contacts.
    Then, in case you need to restore just contacts, you won’t overwrite months of new emails with old ones from a combined backup file.
     
  • Name your backup files accordingly and include the date in the name, i.e.:
    Email backup, 05-05-25
    Calendar backup, 05-07-25
    Contacts backup, 06-08-25

Instructions to import and restore contacts

  • Click the File Ribbon.

 

  •  Click "Open & Export" on the left panel

  • Click the Import/Export button

 

  • Choose Import from another program or File and click Next.

 

  • Choose a file type - pick the same type you chose when exporting.​​​​​​

  • Comma Separated Values is compatible to Excel or Outlook.
  • Outlook Data File (.pst) is compatible to Outlook only.
  • Click Browse ... and find your file.
  • Select which folder to import from (should be the only folder unless you have done many of these.)

  • Click Finish. 
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  • 00:05 It is time to do a contacts backup, because even in the best of times,
  • 00:09 things go wrong.
  • 00:11 And if for some reason you sync your phone and all your contacts vanished,
  • 00:15 you are going to love you took the time to make a backup.
  • 00:19 Let me preface this, the reference guide has all the instructions, and
  • 00:22 the exercise file guides you into making your own backup.
  • 00:26 Let's go ahead and get started.
  • 00:27 As you can see, I have all my contacts on my screen.
  • 00:30 In order to back these up, I will go to the File ribbon up on the top left.
  • 00:35 And notice we have a button that says Open and Export, it does not say backup yet.
  • 00:41 When I click this, now we have a button that says Import/Export.
  • 00:46 I'll activate that one, and it wants me to make a choice.
  • 00:51 It defaults to import, but I actually want to export my contacts file.
  • 00:56 So I'll click Next.
  • 00:58 The option for Comma Separated is if I'm going to send this to Excel.
  • 01:02 But I actually want the Outlook data file, so click Next.
  • 01:08 And now I can choose what I want.
  • 01:10 Contacts, Include subfolders, so
  • 01:12 that means all of the subfolders underneath would be backed up.
  • 01:17 I could filter this, maybe I just want my vendor category backed up, but
  • 01:22 I want everything.
  • 01:23 So hit Next, and this is the first time we see the word backup,
  • 01:28 and it default named it that.
  • 01:30 I can hit Browse, and choose where I want this to be stored.
  • 01:35 And I am renaming this to read Contacts backup, so when I'm looking in my files,
  • 01:41 there's no doubt what this file is, clicking OK, and Finish.
  • 01:46 Now if I had thousands in here,
  • 01:47 you would see little tiny pieces of paper flying across the screen.
  • 01:50 I just had a handful, so it'll happen very quickly, Finish.
  • 01:56 Now, I'm not going to assign a password, click OK, it is done.
  • 02:01 You ready to test this?
  • 02:03 I'm going to select all, and I'm going to delete all of my contacts, delete,
  • 02:08 gone, catastrophe, no.
  • 02:11 Well, I made that backup, so let's go get it.
  • 02:14 Same process, click on File, top left corner, Open & Export.
  • 02:19 It doesn't say import, I just have to know, Open & Export, now,
  • 02:23 we have the Import.
  • 02:26 And now it defaults to the one I want, import from a program or file, hit Next.
  • 02:33 Not the comma separated, because I chose the Outlook Data File, and Next.
  • 02:39 And I have to go find it, and
  • 02:43 remember I named it Contacts backup, and Open.
  • 02:48 So there it is, my Contacts backup.
  • 02:52 Go ahead and hit Next, Outlook Data File,
  • 02:56 Import Items into current folder.
  • 03:00 I can include subfolders, now, keep in mind, you just saw it pop over here,
  • 03:04 I just got duplicates of my subfolders, that's okay.
  • 03:07 I'll take everything it gives me, if there's a catastrophe,
  • 03:12 I want everything, Finish, OK.
  • 03:14 And there we have it, see now, it didn't make the duplicates.
  • 03:17 It showed me originally the duplicates, but now it's not.
  • 03:20 So are they all still here?
  • 03:22 Yes, I got everything back.
  • 03:24 So go through the exercise file, do the step by step instructions and
  • 03:29 make your backup.
  • 03:30 You never know when you're going to need
  • 03:35 to reinstall all your contacts.

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