Importing contacts to Outlook

Question

Importing contacts to Outlook

Tim Richards 0

I have exported my contacts from my Outlook for Mac v 16.43 and they're now in a folder on the desktop titled 'Outlook for Mac Archive.olm'. I trying to import these to Outlook v 16.111.2 on my new Macbook Pro laptop. There's an IMPORT tab in my FILE menu but when I navigate to the Archive.olm folder it is greyed out. I'm stuck! There is no IMPORT tab in the TOOLS menu.

Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

Tim Richards 0 Reputation points

2026-08-24T16:02:37.56+00:00

This hasn't helped. How can I save the archive.olm file in Outlook itself?? I'm trying to import it into my new version of Outlook for Mac (16.111.2). There is no IMPORT option in the Tools menu, only in the FILE menu, and when I go to the archive it is greyed out.
Hornblower409 14,690 Reputation points

2026-08-25T09:38:02.71+00:00

Appears to be a duplicate or continuation of:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984124/tryin-to-export-my-contacts-and-folders-from-imac

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984141/how-to-get-legacy-outlook

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984183/importing-archived-olm-contacts-into-outlook-for-m

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984202/olm-archive-file-greyed-out
Stefan Blom 351.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-25T09:41:35.5866667+00:00

Please post follow-ups in one of your existing threads on the same topic. The current thread will be locked. Thank you.

1 answer

Tim Richards 0 Reputation points

2026-08-24T16:02:37.56+00:00

This hasn't helped. How can I save the archive.olm file in Outlook itself?? I'm trying to import it into my new version of Outlook for Mac (16.111.2). There is no IMPORT option in the Tools menu, only in the FILE menu, and when I go to the archive it is greyed out.
Hornblower409 14,690 Reputation points

2026-08-25T09:38:02.71+00:00

Appears to be a duplicate or continuation of:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984124/tryin-to-export-my-contacts-and-folders-from-imac

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984141/how-to-get-legacy-outlook

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984183/importing-archived-olm-contacts-into-outlook-for-m

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5984202/olm-archive-file-greyed-out
Stefan Blom 351.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-25T09:41:35.5866667+00:00

Please post follow-ups in one of your existing threads on the same topic. The current thread will be locked. Thank you.

Answer 1

The .olm file should be imported from Outlook for Mac, not by selecting it as a folder in Finder.

For Outlook for Mac, the supported import path for an .olm file is:

Open Outlook for Mac.
Go to the Tools tab and choose Import.
In the Import box, select Outlook for Mac archive file (.olm), then choose Continue.
Locate the .olm file on the Mac and choose Import.
The imported items appear under On My Computer in Mail, Calendar, People, Tasks, and Notes.

In this case, the file being greyed out usually means Outlook is not accepting that selection through the current import path. Also, if On My Computer is hidden, enable it in Outlook > Settings… > General, then clear Hide On My Computer folders.

A key limitation: Outlook for Mac can import .olm and .pst archive files, but it cannot import Outlook on the web contacts or calendars, iCloud contacts or calendars, or Google contacts or calendars directly through this feature.

References:

Import email messages, contacts, and other items into legacy Outlook for Mac