import contacts csv file into windows 8 people app

We can’t import contacts directly to the People app from a CSV file.

This is not an acceptable design.  Programs like email apps need ways to export files so that they can be imported directly into the same or similar app on another computer.  Obviously Microsoft is aware that people sometimes change their PCs and therefore created export features and ways to save individual contacts, but how does it happen that no one on the team handling the new Win 8 OS realized that they'd need a way to import these contacts?  I mean, how does this level of incompetence occur?  It's 2014 and I'm going to need to manually recreate my email contacts because Microsoft's engineers don't have a clue how to provide features as basic as this?  This is embarrassing and unprofessional: for a company that has been in the software industry for decades you should act like it.

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Hi Ian,

Welcome to the Microsoft Community forums where you can find answers to all your Windows related queries.

I have done all the steps in your directive.   The data structure match as well as I can see unless there is something in the date structures I cannot see.   I finally gave up and am not using the e-mail. I made an app icon for my e-mail and am using it.

We can’t import contacts directly to the People app from a CSV file. However, if you visit http://people.live.com/ you can import the contacts through manage option. You can refer these steps:

a) Visit http://people.live.com/ and login with the same Microsoft ID that you have synced with the People app

b) Click on “Manage” on the top and click on “Add people”

c) Click on “import from a file”

d) Browse and import the CSV file from your computer

Note: It might take some time for the contacts to be updated in the People app in your computer.

Hope this helps. If you have any other queries related to Windows, please get back to us and we’d be happy to help.

Sadly, this procedure restores all the email addresses that I have worked so hard to remove from my contact list!!I want only the phone numbers but this site seems to get my emails probably from my Google account and add it to the list they have from somewhere... bah!

i imported contacts into gmail .csv format then synched gmail with people.  took 2 minutes and worked like a charm

I'm confused. Using Explorer ->User->(user name)->Contacts there are several options to import contacts, including CSV or WAB(oe). Once imported, they are stored as Vcards. Why wouldn't Microsoft allow the People App to populate from the Contacts folder?