How to transfer MS Outlook data to Mail and Address Book

[blackglass]

OK guys I've come out of the dark and into the light with my switch from Windows to Mac with my new iMac 27" on order.

To bring myself up to speed on the OS X (Mavericks) system I've watched quite a few instructional videos on Youtube and now feel quietly confident I'll manage the transition pretty well.

BUT!!! One thing that still concerns me is How To Transfer all my MS Outlook contact information and emails and integrate them into Mac Mail and the Mac Address Book. I have found a number of things on the web but they all seem quite complicated. Is there a simple solution that 'any fool can do'?

My IT man charges around $100 per hour for in home support and he reckons the learning curve is "about one day". Whew!!!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

You could try the One to One program Apple offers, if you cannot get help here.

To edit your thread title to a descriptive one, to get a knowledgable audience and help making the thread easier to find for people looking for the same information, just click on the

button on the bottom right of your original post and then click the

button below your message.

An example would be: Transfer MS Outlook data to Mail and Contacts

 

[blackglass]

You could try the One to One program Apple offers, if you cannot get help here.

To edit your thread title to a descriptive one, to get a knowledgable audience and help making the thread easier to find for people looking for the same information, just click on the Image button on the bottom right of your original post and then click the Image button below your message.

An example would be: Transfer MS Outlook data to Mail and Contacts

Thanks... yes it was a stupid topic title considering!

The Apple One On One programme isn't much use to me unfortunately because my nearest Apple Store is almost 3 hours drive away.

 

[rkaufmann87]

OK guys I've come out of the dark and into the light with my switch from Windows to Mac with my new iMac 27" on order.

To bring myself up to speed on the OS X (Mavericks) system I've watched quite a few instructional videos on Youtube and now feel quietly confident I'll manage the transition pretty well.

BUT!!! One thing that still concerns me is How To Transfer all my MS Outlook contact information and emails and integrate them into Mac Mail and the Mac Address Book. I have found a number of things on the web but they all seem quite complicated. Is there a simple solution that 'any fool can do'?

My IT man charges around $100 per hour for in home support and he reckons the learning curve is "about one day". Whew!!!

If you already have the iMac then simply use Migration Assistant. If you are not aware of MA, the read up on it.

 

[blackglass]

If you already have the iMac then simply use Migration Assistant. If you are not aware of MA, the read up on it.

Thanks for your reply and no I haven't got my iMac yet. I might be wrong but most of the information out there seems to suggest Migration Assistant does a pretty poor job of bringing emails over from MS Outlook on Windows.

That's why I was hoping some bright spark on this forum might have a (simple) magical fix.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Contacts are pretty easy...but I can't guarantee you'll get a perfect transfer. See this page on using the vcard format for the transfer.

Is all of your email at an IMAP or Exchange server...or is some of it archived on the computer?

 

[blackglass]

Contacts are pretty easy...but I can't guarantee you'll get a perfect transfer. See this page on using the vcard format for the transfer.

Is all of your email at an IMAP or Exchange server...or is some of it archived on the computer?

Thanks heaps Brian. Your response is part of the problem. Well not your response as much as my understanding of it. I have no idea what you mean when you ask "Is all of your email at an IMAP or Exchange server...or is some of it archived on the computer?"

Basically all my email comes into my Outlook account via Gmail which (I think is a POP account?) That's pretty much all I know. I guess that means I'm stuck with paying my IT man the $100 per hour.

EDIT: As for your question about "or is some of it archived on the computer?" In Outlook I used to get a box pop up occasionally that asked "Do you want to archive your emails?" and I usually answered "yes" but I had no idea what happened to them after that.

 

[Roller]

Thanks heaps Brian. Your response is part of the problem. Well not your response as much as my understanding of it. I have no idea what you mean when you ask "Is all of your email at an IMAP or Exchange server...or is some of it archived on the computer?"

Basically all my email comes into my Outlook account via Gmail which (I think is a POP account?) That's pretty much all I know. I guess that means I'm stuck with paying my IT man the $100 per hour.

EDIT: As for your question about "or is some of it archived on the computer?" In Outlook I used to get a box pop up occasionally that asked "Do you want to archive your emails?" and I usually answered "yes" but I had no idea what happened to them after that.

Have you considered using Mac Outlook (part of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011) instead of Apple Mail and Address Book? This would give you some migration options you wouldn't otherwise have. Outlook is not bad, and it has the advantage of combining email, calendar, and contacts in one application. I prefer Apple Mail for email, but I use Outlook for everything else, in part because it works well with Microsoft Exchange, which many large organizations use for email, calendar, and contacts.

Regardless, if you're going to do this yourself, you'll need to do some research. This page is a good place to start. If you Google "migrate email Mac Windows" or something similar, you'll find many resources on the web.

Of course, you could pay someone to do the migration for you, but I think you'll find that the time you put in learning will serve you well in the future.

 

[rkaufmann87]

Thanks for your reply and no I haven't got my iMac yet. I might be wrong but most of the information out there seems to suggest Migration Assistant does a pretty poor job of bringing emails over from MS Outlook on Windows.

That's why I was hoping some bright spark on this forum might have a (simple) magical fix.

Not necessarily correct. If you search hard enough you will always find people having problems. However if you follow basic instructions and your system is in relatively good shape to begin with there is no reason a migration should not go smoothly.

When you turn on ANY new Mac for the first time it launches Setup Assistant, part of SA will ask if you are migrating from a PC or Mac. In your case choose PC and follow the directions. The two computers (your old PC and the new iMac) will need to be in the same network. As mentioned follow the on-screen directions and it should be fine. Ignore and you will have problems. Here is a link to a slightly outdated instruction article, read it carefully prior to migrating:

http://pondini.org/OSX/SetupLion.html