Import Contacts from AOL, LIVE and YAHOO, (also txt) - CSContactImporter

Christopher Tart  (from MSFT) wrote a very nice helpful tool which makes your live as System Engineer a bit more easier. You can now through all your other clients away if you have PIC licensed and you are allowed for Federation.

Download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29558

This tool will provide a way to import contacts from external IM platforms to OCS/Lync.

Importers currently available:

·    AOL Instant Messenger (blt export, version 2)·    Windows Live (csv export)
       o  Cannot import groups
       o  Windows Live may export non messenger contacts.  There is no way to determine if an exported contact is a messenger contact or not, so some invalid contacts may be imported.

·    YAHOO Messenger (Yahoo csv export)o  Cannot import groups

·    Plain Texto  One line per contact, optionally add comma and group name
       § Ex. john@contoso.com,Familyo  For distribution groups, enter the group email and then _dg_ as the group name
       § Ex. accounting@contoso.com,_dg_

Interoperability

Various IM platforms are now interoperable, so users which have contacts against other IM platforms would need connectivity to the applicable platforms for those contacts to work.  A key example here is Google Talk interoperability, as compatibility with Google Talk requires an XMPP gateway be setup before users can communicate with Google Talk contacts.

Requirements

Administrative user must have permissions to execute DBImpExp for export and import operations.  Reference the DBImpExp information for details on what permissions are needed.

Compatibility

Should work against:

·    Office Communications Server 2007 R2

·    Lync Server 2010

Best Practices

Use a current DBImpExp export file to ensure that contacts go into the appropriate groups.  If the DBImpExp export file is out of sync with the current status of a users contact list, there may be unexpected results.

Usage

Prior to running the tool, you will need the following files:

·    DBImpExp xml file exported from your environment containing the information for the user(s) you will be importing contacts against.

·    One (or more) exports of the source contact lists in the appropriate format.

Single User

The single user tab is used to import contacts for a single user.  In order to complete the import please set the following:

1.    Choose the appropriate contact type from the “Import contacts from” list.

2.    Enter the full path to the source contact file in the “Source contact file” field.  Optionally you can use the folder button on the right side of the field to choose the file.

3.    Enter the full path to the source DBImpExp XML file in the “Source DBImpExp file” field.  Optionally you can use the folder button on the right side of the field to choose the file.

4.    The “Destination DBImpExp file” field will be automatically populated with the source DBImpExp XML file name with _Merged appended to it.  If you wish to modify this field then enter the full path to the destination DBImpExp XML file to write to.  Optionally you can use the folder button on the right side of the field to choose the file. 

5.    Enter the SIP address of the OCS/Lync user which the contacts are being imported for.

6.    Choose to check or uncheck the “Carry over groups” box.  This option will find or create groups with names that match the groups in the source file and import the users into those groups, if possible.

7.    Click “Generate” to process the file and write the output DBImpExp file.

Batch

The batch tab is used to import contacts for two or more users in a single operation. 

In order to complete a batch import, the source contact files must all be in the same folder, and the file name for each file must match the SIP address of the user they will be imported into.

Example: john@contoso.com.blt

After the batch import process is complete, a BatchImport.log file will be generated in the folder containing the source contact files which will indicate the result for each individual user.

In order to complete the import please set the following:

1.    Choose the appropriate contact type from the” Import contacts from” list.

2.    Enter the full path to the source contact folder in the “Source contact folder” field.  This is the folder that contains all the source contact files. Optionally you can use the folder button on the right side of the field to choose the folder.

3.    Enter the full path to the source DBImpExp XML file in the “Source DBImpExp file” field.  Optionally you can use the folder button on the right side of the field to choose the file.

4.    The “Destination DBImpExp file” field will be automatically populated with the source DBImpExp XML file name with _Merged appended to it.  If you wish to modify this field then enter the full path to the destination DBImpExp XML file to write to.  Optionally you can use the folder button on the right side of the field to choose the file. 

5.    Enter the file extension used for your source contact files.  This will be automatically populated with the default file format for the source chosen in the “Import contacts from” list.

6.    Choose to check or uncheck the “Carry over groups” box.  This option will find or create groups with names that match the groups in the source file and import the users into those groups, if possible.

7.    Click “Generate” to process the file and write the output DBImpExp file.

Importing back into OCS/Lync

Once the process is complete, the resulting DBImpExp XML files must be imported back into OCS/Lync using the DBImpExp.exe tool.

Author: Thomas Pött Managing Consultant Microsoft UC