Doug D.
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: How do I export contacts to .csv format from my Mac?

I am trying to export my contacts in .csv and open in another program.  but contacts only allows you to export a Vcard or an .ABBU file

 

Doug

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Mar 18, 2014 5:15 AM

by SGIII,Apple recommended
SGIII SGIII
Level 6 (10,796 points)
Mac OS X
A:

Hi Doug,

 

contacts only allows you to export a Vcard or an .ABBU file

 

 

Actually, it's easy to get information in .csv format out of Contacts. Instead of using File > Export, you can do this.

 

If you have Numbers 2.3:

 

Select multiple contacts in Contacts (you can drag all contacts into a new group and select them all from that group) and drag them to the Numbers 2.3 canvas.  Then File > Export > CSV...

 

If you have Numbers 3:

 

Select multiple contacts in Contacts, command-c to copy, click once in a cell of an existing table, and command-v to paste.  Then in Numbers 3 File > Export to  > CSV...

 

Note that the above is for the comma-separated flavor of CSV (character-separated-values). If you want tab-separated, instead of File > Export to > CSV from Numbers, simply select the cells with the data, command-c to copy, and in an open document in a text editor, command-v to paste. Then save with the desired file suffix.

 

There are also AppleScript solutions that extract directly from Contacts to a .csv file. But going through Numbers (because you posted to this forum I assume you already have it) is probably the easiest.

 

SG

Posted on Mar 18, 2014 7:52 AM

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Doug D.

Q: How do I export contacts to .csv format from my Mac?

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  • by Barry Hemphill,

    Barry Hemphill Barry Hemphill Mar 18, 2014 5:20 AM in response to Doug D.
    Level 8 (38,185 points)
    Peripherals
    Mar 18, 2014 5:20 AM in response to Doug D.

    To my knowledge, you cannot. The export formats are a function of the contacts application.

     

    Barry

  • by SGIII,Apple recommended

    SGIII SGIII Mar 18, 2014 7:52 AM in response to Doug D.
    Level 6 (10,796 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 18, 2014 7:52 AM in response to Doug D.

    Hi Doug,

     

    contacts only allows you to export a Vcard or an .ABBU file

     

     

    Actually, it's easy to get information in .csv format out of Contacts. Instead of using File > Export, you can do this.

     

    If you have Numbers 2.3:

     

    Select multiple contacts in Contacts (you can drag all contacts into a new group and select them all from that group) and drag them to the Numbers 2.3 canvas.  Then File > Export > CSV...

     

    If you have Numbers 3:

     

    Select multiple contacts in Contacts, command-c to copy, click once in a cell of an existing table, and command-v to paste.  Then in Numbers 3 File > Export to  > CSV...

     

    Note that the above is for the comma-separated flavor of CSV (character-separated-values). If you want tab-separated, instead of File > Export to > CSV from Numbers, simply select the cells with the data, command-c to copy, and in an open document in a text editor, command-v to paste. Then save with the desired file suffix.

     

    There are also AppleScript solutions that extract directly from Contacts to a .csv file. But going through Numbers (because you posted to this forum I assume you already have it) is probably the easiest.

     

    SG

  • by TinPigeon,Helpful

    TinPigeon TinPigeon Dec 16, 2014 4:09 PM in response to Doug D.
    Level 1 (15 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 16, 2014 4:09 PM in response to Doug D.

    The workaround I use goes like this:


    Export from Mac Contacts as Vcard.

    Import Vcard into Gmail Contacts.

    Export from Gmail as .csv which will open with Numbers of NeoOffice.

  • by Wayne Contello,Apple recommended

    Wayne Contello Wayne Contello Dec 16, 2014 5:48 PM in response to Doug D.
    Level 6 (19,416 points)
    iWork
    Dec 16, 2014 5:48 PM in response to Doug D.

    select the contacts you want (in the application Contacts), then copy

    switch to Number, paste

     

    If this does not work you may need to allow Numbers to access the contact information by opening System Preference > Privacy & Security

     

    now click the "Privacy" segment then select "Contacts" on the left.  Now click the "+" to add Numbers as an application allowed to access contact information

     

    repeat the previous steps

     

    now export using the menu item "File > Export To > CSV..."

  • by wayne4,

    wayne4 wayne4 Jan 6, 2015 10:37 AM in response to Wayne Contello
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 6, 2015 10:37 AM in response to Wayne Contello

    If you have access to a PC then

     

    download & install the iCloud Control Panel for Windows from Apple’s Website


    iCloud for Windows


    and it will sync outlook to all your icloud / iphone contacts


    Then you can export from outlook 


    see both these 


    http://davidvielmetter.com/tricks/importing-icloud-contacts-to-outlook/


    http://www.wikihow.com/Export-Contacts-from-Outlook


  • by Scuba.Steveo,

    Scuba.Steveo Scuba.Steveo Jan 6, 2015 2:33 PM in response to wayne4
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iTunes
    Jan 6, 2015 2:33 PM in response to wayne4

    This might work if the OP was on Windows...but he's on a Mac. Mac users try to stay out of the Windows ecosystem as much as possible. Thank you though for your tip.

  • by SGIII,

    SGIII SGIII Jan 6, 2015 3:01 PM in response to wayne4
    Level 6 (10,796 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 6, 2015 3:01 PM in response to wayne4

    Thanks for the tip.  Many of us work with both Mac and Windows, and often Windows on the Mac. I'm personally happy to use whichever ecosystem allows me to get the job done.

     

    SG

  • by MickEBoy,

    MickEBoy MickEBoy Jan 7, 2015 5:10 AM in response to TinPigeon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 7, 2015 5:10 AM in response to TinPigeon

    Yes this works. I created a Group of just the records I needed in Mac Contacts first and just exported that group. Gmail matched the name of the group and the fields perfectly. Thanks

  • by Kalsta,

    Kalsta Kalsta Jan 21, 2015 8:39 AM in response to SGIII
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 21, 2015 8:39 AM in response to SGIII

    I was excited to discover that you can drag and drop directly from the Contacts app into Numbers! Less excited to see how buggy it is in practice. I'm on Yosemite 10.10.1 and using Numbers 3.5. If a contact doesn't have an image, each field appears in the wrong column—basically everything is offset one column to the left of where it should be. So it gets particularly messy if some of your contacts have an image and some don't.

  • by SGIII,

    SGIII SGIII Jan 21, 2015 8:47 AM in response to Kalsta
    Level 6 (10,796 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 21, 2015 8:47 AM in response to Kalsta

    If the first contact has an image then I think the headers and data line up ok.

     

    To report the bug, in your menu go Numbers > Provide Numbers Feedback.

     

    SG

  • by Kalsta,

    Kalsta Kalsta Jan 21, 2015 9:00 AM in response to SGIII
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 21, 2015 9:00 AM in response to SGIII

    If the first contact has an image then I think the headers and data line up ok.

    Nope, doesn't make any difference for me whether the first contact has an image or not. The bug still affects all subsequent contacts without an image.


    To report the bug, in your menu go Numbers > Provide Numbers Feedback.

    Done. Not sure if the bug lies with the Contacts app (OS X 10.10.1) or Numbers (3.5.2), so I've submitted via both feedback forms.

  • by Metta108,

    Metta108 Metta108 Feb 15, 2015 6:15 PM in response to Doug D.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2015 6:15 PM in response to Doug D.

    Doug,

     

    I was having the same issue and found a link to http://labs.brotherli.ch/vcfconvert/

    This is a vCard to LDIF/SV convertor.

    Quick and simple.

  • by tuckerannabell,

    tuckerannabell tuckerannabell Feb 26, 2015 9:14 PM in response to Doug D.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 26, 2015 9:14 PM in response to Doug D.

    If you are looking forward to convert contacts from CSV to vCard for Mac then you can go for a third party CSV to vCard converter software. Once the contacts gets exported into a vCard file it can be easily taken to Mac platform for easy accessibility.

  • by Metta108,

    Metta108 Metta108 Mar 2, 2015 5:37 AM in response to Metta108
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 2, 2015 5:37 AM in response to Metta108

    Sorry for the typo

    This is a vCard to LDIF/CSV convertor.


    And it's free!!!!!

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