How To Export Your AOL Address Book And E-mail
- 3
- Add a Comment
How can I convert my AOL files, Favorites, and Address Book info from the America Online (AOL) program to MSN? I am switching from AOL dialup to a new high-speed connection. Please let me know.
While America Online (AOL) is quite popular with a large group of people, it’s also a common place for people to learn about the Internet then “graduate” to a more traditional Internet Service Provider.
The problem is, AOL has lots of proprietary data formats and its entire AOL software suite seems custom designed to make it hard for you to switch to another service, as you’re now realizing. There’s no convenient “Export Address Book” function, for example. Search for that phrase in the AOL 9.0 help system and you’ll get clear details on how to export from other programs and import those addresses into AOL Mail, but not a word about how to export from AOL Mail.
All hope isn’t lost, however. There are a number of different solutions that might be able to help you, ranging from…
Tags: aol, e-mail, america online, isp, address book
3 Comments
Barbara L. Nolan
May 30th, 2007
at 11:34am
I don’t want to change from AOL, but after so-called help(??) from some of your tecnicians with a problem I had I can no longer access my
address book with all my information in it. I have tried calling but I got
very frustrated talking to a computer. How can I get through to a
technician?????? It won’t work no matter how hard I try–I need to have
a verbal conversation with a live person.
Paul A. Walker
September 23rd, 2007
at 5:07pm
How can I forward an e-mail to several people on my address book? Since changing from dial-up service to high speed, I no longer can forward messages from my address book which is now under contacts.
Baz
October 31st, 2007
at 2:12pm
Slightly different take on this problem, but one which I hope will help: I used ‘AOL Communicator’ (a kind of own-brand version of Outlook Express) for 3 or 4 years and then, this summer, bits started falling off it. Turns out AOL no longer support it; no, that’s an understatement - in a Stalinist rewrite of history, AOL virtually deny it ever existed.
I downloaded the free version of Eudora, didn’t like it, got the free Mozilla Thunderbird, loved it. Now, how to get all my (many indispensible) AOL addresses…..
This worked for me; if it floats your boat I’m delighted but if any technically-proficient people out there want to write in to say my advice is potentially lethal and a sop to Voldemort and evil Communists throughout the world that’s fine:
1) Open AOL Communicator; go to Window/Address Book then File/Export; you’ll see it saves as an “LDIF” file - give it an easy name & save it somewhere obvious. Don’t save it in ‘Northern Rock Bank’. Close AOL Communicator and its Address Book.
2) Open Eudora; go to File/Import; you get a small new window - click ‘Advanced’ then ‘Netscape Messenger’ (no, I don’t know why either); you’re asked to ‘Please locate your LDIF file…. /Browse…./Open’. (If you’ve stayed awake long enough to read this far I’ll assume you know how to do this.)
3) Close Eudora and open Thunderbird. Go to ‘Tools/Import/Address Book/Next/ EUDORA!!!!!!’(bit excited there)/Next.
4) Salivate. Rub yourself privily. Molest any nearby mammal. Thank me. Erase every last trace of AOL from your computer.
Good luck.