How to Add Windows Contacts to Thunderbird

Thanks to the popularity of Mozilla's Firefox Web browser, its sister product, the Thunderbird email client, has enjoyed a steadily rising user base. You may have considered trying Thunderbird only to be put off by the idea of re-typing all of your Windows contacts. A Thunderbird add-on has made this unnecessary, however. With the Windows Contacts Importer add-on, Thunderbird users can easily import their contacts.

Things You'll Need

• Thunderbird email client
• Internet connection
• A computer running the Windows operating system

Instructions

1. Visit the link for the Windows Contacts Importer Thunderbird add-on using the link in the "Resources" section of this article.

2. Click the box labeled "Let me install this experimental add-on," then click "Download now." Save the file to your desktop.

3. Launch Thunderbird. Click on the "Tools" menu, then click "Add-ons." Click the "Install" button. Browse to your desktop, and double click the downloaded file. Click "Install Now." Thunderbird will restart after the installation is complete.

4. Click on the "Tools" menu, then click "Import Windows Contacts." The process will complete instantly. No confirmation message is displayed.

5. Click the "Address Book" button, and your Windows contacts will be shown. This confirms that the import operation was successful.

Tips & Warnings

• This tool will only import names and email addresses, not information stored in other fields.

Resources

• Thunderbird Windows Contacts Importer Plugin
• Official Thunderbird Web site