Importing & Exporting Contacts

Opterius Mail supports importing contacts from other applications using standard file formats, and exporting your address book so you can use it elsewhere. This page covers the full import/export workflow and how to prepare files from popular applications like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Contacts.

Supported Formats#

Importing Contacts#

Import from vCard (.vcf)#

vCard is the most reliable import format because it preserves structured data (multiple emails, phone labels, organization, notes, etc.) without needing column mapping.

1. Go to Contacts → Import.
2. Click Choose file and select your .vcf file.
3. Select vCard as the format.
4. Click Import.

Opterius Mail will parse each VCARD block in the file and create a contact for each one. A summary screen appears after import showing how many contacts were created, skipped (duplicates), and whether any errors occurred.

Import from CSV#

CSV import requires column mapping because different applications export CSV files with different column names.

1. Go to Contacts → Import.
2. Click Choose file and select your .csv file.
3. Select CSV as the format and click Next.
4. A column mapping screen appears, showing the column headers from your file on the left and Opterius Mail contact fields on the right.
5. For each column in your file, select the matching Opterius Mail field from the dropdown (e.g. map "Email Address" → Email, "Given Name" → First name, etc.).
6. Columns you do not want to import can be set to Skip.
7. Click Import to proceed.

If your CSV has multiple email columns (e.g. "Email 1", "Email 2"), you can map each to a different Opterius Mail email slot.

Handling Duplicates During Import#

During import, Opterius Mail checks for duplicates by comparing the primary email address of each incoming contact against existing contacts in your address book.

• If a match is found, you are given the option to Skip (keep the existing contact) or Overwrite (replace the existing contact with the imported one).
• The duplicate handling option appears on the import settings screen and applies to the entire import batch.

Exporting Contacts#

Export as vCard (.vcf)#

1. Go to Contacts → Export.
2. Choose vCard format.
3. Click Export.

Your browser will download a .vcf file containing all your contacts as vCard 3.0 records. This file can be imported into Apple Contacts, Google Contacts, Thunderbird, and most contact management applications.

Export as CSV#

1. Go to Contacts → Export.
2. Choose CSV format.
3. Click Export.

The CSV file includes one row per contact with columns for display name, first name, last name, email addresses, phone numbers, organization, and notes.

Exporting from Other Applications#

Gmail / Google Contacts#

1. Go to contacts.google.com.
2. Click the Export button in the left sidebar.
3. Choose vCard (for iOS Contacts) — this is the most compatible format.
4. Click Export. A .vcf file is downloaded.
5. Import this file into Opterius Mail using the vCard import method above.

Tip: If you choose "Google CSV" format, you can still import it using the CSV import, but you will need to map the Google-specific column names manually.

Microsoft Outlook#

1. In Outlook, go to File → Open & Export → Import/Export.
2. Choose Export to a file → Comma Separated Values.
3. Select Contacts as the folder to export.
4. Choose a save location and click Finish.
5. Import the resulting .csv into Opterius Mail using CSV import.

Alternatively, if you have Outlook 2016 or later, you can export as vCard by selecting contacts and using File → Save As → vCard (*.vcf).

Apple Contacts (macOS / iOS)#

On macOS:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Select all contacts (Cmd+A).
3. Go to File → Export → Export vCard.
4. Save the .vcf file.
5. Import into Opterius Mail.

On iOS: Use iCloud.com → Contacts → Select All → Export vCard. Or use a third-party app that exports .vcf from your device.

Thunderbird#

1. Open Thunderbird and go to Tools → Address Book.
2. Select the address book you want to export.
3. Go to Tools → Export.
4. Choose vCard or Comma Separated format.
5. Import the file into Opterius Mail.

Limitations#

• Opterius Mail imports and stores only the fields it supports (name, email, phone, organization, notes, groups). Custom fields or profile pictures in your source file are silently ignored.
• Contact photos are not supported in the current version.
• There is no automatic background sync between Opterius Mail and any external contact source. Import/export is a one-time, manual operation.
• The maximum import file size is 10 MB. Very large address books (thousands of contacts) may need to be split into smaller files.