OL98: Error Converting Outlook Contacts to Schedule+ (180421)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 98
This article was previously published under Q180421

SYMPTOMS

When importing Microsoft Outlook 98 Contacts into Microsoft Schedule+ 7.0, you may get one of the following error messages:
The import file has too many fields. Make sure the character you selected to separate the fields matches the separator in the import file and that you select the correct character to surround strings.

-or-

There was a problem importing the file. The problem occurred near line x.

CAUSE

Outlook stores much more information about contacts than Schedule+. If you export the entire Outlook data set, this generates more fields than the Schedule+ importer can handle. Also, if a date field is empty, it is exported as 0/0/00, which is not acceptable to Schedule+.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, import the file into Microsoft Excel for an interim cleanup step. In Excel, remove any empty date fields and any completely unused columns.

MORE INFORMATION

To Export Contacts From Outlook

  1. On the File menu, click Import And Export.
  2. Click "Export to a File" and click Next.
  3. Click the Contact folder you wish to export and click Next.
  4. Click "Comma Separated Values (Windows)" and click Next.
  5. Type a path and file name for the file to be exported and click Next.
  6. Click OK and Finish.

To Import and Manipulate Contacts in Microsoft Excel

  1. On the File menu, click Open.
  2. Navigate to the file exported above and click Open.
  3. On the Edit menu, click Replace.
  4. Type 0/0/00 in Find What.
  5. Leave Replace With, blank.
  6. Click Replace All.
  7. click to select any completely unused columns and on the Edit menu, click Delete.
  8. On the File menu, click Close, click Yes, and then click Save to replace the existing file.

To Import Contacts into Schedule+

  1. On the File menu, point to Import and click Text.
  2. Type or browse to the file name to be imported, and click Next.
  3. Click Yes and then click Next.
  4. Click Comma, select the quotation mark (") as "character used to surround text fields", and click Next.
  5. Click Contact List and click Next.
  6. Select types for each field in the incoming file.
  7. Click Finish.

    NOTE: Once set, Schedule+ retains these settings.

REFERENCES

For information on exporting Outlook Appointments to Schedule+, please see the following article(s)in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

179912 OL98 How to Convert Outlook Appointments to Schedule+ 95

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/13/1999
Keywords:kberrmsg kbhowto kbinterop KB180421
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