How to Export Gmail Contacts to Thunderbird?
Need to export Gmail contacts to Thunderbird? You have no idea, what is the correct procedure to do this? If yes, keep reading. In this technical guide, we will let you go through the complete instructions to import Gmail contacts folder to Thunderbird in detail. So, let’s get started.
Managing contacts and keeping them safe is essential to staying in touch with people. Gmail is the best service not only for email communication to keep contacts safe. However, there come times when there is a need to switch accounts from Gmail to Thunderbird for both personal and professional reasons. In such scenarios, transferring contacts also becomes essential for hassle-free communication with people.
Quick Steps to Export Gmail Contacts to Thunderbird
- Open Gmail and go to Contacts and export them
- Open Thunderbird and click Tools >>Import.
- Select Address Book and then select your Gmail contacts.
- Click Next and then Finish
How to Export Gmail Contacts Files to Thunderbird ?
The process basically takes place in two stages. First you need to export your contacts from Gmail account and then import them to Thunderbird account. Both stages are described in detail below, please review them.
Stage 1: Export Contacts from Gmail Account
- Open your Gmail account and select the Grid icon in the top right panel.
- Go to the Contacts option and select it.
- Select All Contacts List, and then click Export
- Select Export as Google CSV and click Export.
- Your contacts will be saved in the download folder.
Once all the contacts are saved in CSV format, it’s time to import them into Thunderbird.
Stage 2: Import Gmail Contacts to Thunderbird
- Open the Thunderbird application on your computer.
- Go to Tools and select the Import
- Now, from the Import option, select Address Book and click Next.
- Select a Text file (LDIF, .tab, .csv, .txt) and click Next.
- Browse and select the Gmail contacts you just exported and click Open.
- Now, in the next option, either you can leave everything at its default position or you can check “First record contains field names”
- Now, finally click on Next button then OK and Finish.
This is how you can manually export Gmail contacts to Thunderbird. However, it should be noted that the process is a bit difficult and technical.
During the process, you may need to follow several procedures to match Thunderbird address book fields with Gmail fields. You should also make sure that the primary email is aligned with the email address and the last name is aligned with the name. This is because Gmail has a standardized name field and does not distinguish between first and last names.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that Gmail allows you to export contacts in either Google CSV or vCard for iOS contacts format. So, you may face some interference while importing Gmail contacts to Thunderbird. To get rid of this situation, you can refer to a third-party solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: Is it difficult to import Gmail contacts to Thunderbird?
No, it’s basically a simple process that involves two stages: 1: Export contacts from Gmail. 2: Import it into Thunderbird directly.
Question 2: I exported my Gmail contacts in vCard format, can I import them directly into Thunderbird?
No, Gmail allows you to export contacts in vCard compatible with iOS. If you want to use them in Thunderbird, you can use a professional 4n6 VCF converter to convert them to Thunderbird compatible vCard.
Question 3: Are there any restrictions on the number of contacts I can export from Gmail?
No, there are no restrictions on the number of contacts you can export.
In Conclusion
Exporting Gmail contacts to Thunderbird is essential if you are switching between accounts. In this article we have described in detail how to export Gmail contacts to Thunderbird. There are basically two stages through which you can complete the job.
