How to Import CSV to Apple Mail: A Complete Guide

Import CSV to Apple Mail: A Complete Guide

Comma Separated Values (or .csv) file is a simple text file that saves the data in a table structured format. Basically, it forms a text file containing information separated by commas. Moreover, CSV file is supported by many programs, such as Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Google Spreadsheet, and so on. At times, it happens, from the security point of view, people are moving their CSV file data in Apple Mail. Mac Mail is the default email application in Mac OS and capable to do much more as compare to other email programs. Therefore, in the upcoming section, we will describe the suitable manual approach that import CSV to Apple Mail in a proper way. Before this, let us consider user queries that provide the readers a brief understanding of the situation that how to convert CSV file contacts to vCard for Mac format easily.

User Queries:

"Hello, I took my contacts from the MS Outlook 2013 application and wants to move contacts to Apple Mail. But, the contacts are saved in the CSV format and Mac Mail support vCard file. So, I searched the online solution to convert the CSV card to vCard format. But I did not get any relevant method to import CSV contacts to Apple Mail account. So, if any of my tech friends know the suitable method. Please Kindly let me know. Thanks in advance."

"Hi, I have a single field contact and want to migrate to Mac Mail. Although, I tried a third party application, it does not work it. So, kindly suggest me a relevant approach by which I can move my address book in Apple Mail account efficiently."

How to Import CSV to Apple Mail Manually?

Comma Separated Values (or CSV) file is supported by many applications, including MS Outlook and MS Excel. In this manual method, the spreadsheet and Outlook contacts will consider importing into the Apple Mail. This process is categorized in two steps; first, create a CSV file and then import into the Apple Mail efficiently. Below, the following steps are mentioned in a detailed manner:

Step #1: Create Comma Separated Values File
There are different steps for creating a CSV file in Outlook and Excel sheet. Go through the following mentioned steps carefully:
Save Spreadsheet in CSV

1. Open the data file in Microsoft Excel.
2. Click on File tab. A drop-down menu will appear, select Save As option.
3. Choose CSV(Comma delimited) under the Save as type option. Click on Save.
4. A message will pop out that inform you that Any formatting in the file does not preserve in the CSV format file. Click on the YES.
5. Now, the spreadsheet saves as CSV file format.

Save Outlook Contacts in CSV Format

1. Open MS Outlook 2013 application on your system.
2. Click on the File tab. Go to Open & Export option.
3. Select Import/Export option. Ensure that Export to a file is highlighted.
4. Click on Next Button.
5. Select the Comma Separated Values and click on Next.
6. Browse a location for the resultant CSV file and provide an appropriate name to the file such as “xyzcontacts.csv”.

Step #2: Steps to Import CSV to Apple Mail Account Once the data items exported into the CSV file, then transferred into the Mac Mail. Before the import process, use a text editor on the Mac to confirm the CSV file is formatted correctly or not.

1. Delete any line breaks that occur in contact’s
2. Verify that all the contacts have the same numbers of fields
3. The contact file should separate by a comma only
4. Eliminate any spaces before or after the comma

Go through the following set of instructions to move the CSV file to Apple Mail:

1. Open the Mac Address book and Select the Contacts.
2. Now, click on File and select Import from the menu.
3. Locate the Outlook CSV file that you want to import. Click on Open.
4. Check the field labels and make sure the headers are correctly labelled as “Do not import”.
5. If the .csv file does not contain any header columns, then uncheck the Ignore first card box. Click on OK.
6. Now, click on Import option.
7. After a few seconds, your Outlook contacts will available in Apple Mail address book.

Shortcomings of Manual Method

The manual method to import CSV to Apple Mail is a time-consuming approach because it completes the process in two phase. However, each individual contact should be created as CSV format and then import into Mac Mail. This is indeed a tedious process and users feel the need to have an easy tool. Also, when there is a huge file to be imported then it becomes a real problem. These all complications can be mitigated by the use of efficient third-party application tools.

Professional Approach to Import CSV Contacts to Apple Mail

It is evident from the above, there are various limitations faced by the users while using the manual procedures. Therefore, a user can use some third-party tools available for the same. One of the best tools is CSV to vCard for Mac, which is designed specially to convert CSV file contacts to vCard for Mac in a trouble-free way. Apart from this, it maintains the CSV column structure intact throughout the process. The best part of the tool is, it supports Mac OS X 10.6 and the above versions.

Conclusion

In this write-up, we have discussed the manual approach to import CSV to Apple Mail. Moreover, a professional approach to transfer CSV file contacts to Apple/Mac Mail without losing any data. Additionally, the tool has a self-explanatory interface that makes the whole process easy.