Import Personal Distribution Lists from Outlook

 - This article is a Community contribution and may include unsupported customizations.

The Zimbra Migration Wizard does not include the ability to import Personal Distribution Lists (PDLs) from Outlook. The following is known to work on:

• Outlook 2000
• Outlook 2003
• Outlook 2007

1. Open the distribution list in your Outlook Address Book

2. Go to File > Save as..

3. Change file type to txt to save as plain text

4. Parse file for email addresses using a perl script or an online tool: http://www.surf7.net/product/tools/extractor.php

perl -wne'while(/[\w\.\-]+@[\w\.\-]+\w+/g){print "$&\n"}' emails.txt | sort -u > output.txt

5. Copy resulting emails

6. In Zimbra Address Book begin creating a new "Contact Group"

7. In the "Group Members" field paste email address, ensuring you have one per line

8. Save and enjoy

Note: This method does not require, or create, contacts for each member of your group.