From: winstonmvp@gmail.com   
      
   Jim the Geordie wrote on 1/30/2026 5:29 PM:   
   > If I use Thunderbird I have several accounts and several address books.   
   > If I post from any account, I can use any of the address books.   
   >   
   > I would like to go back to using (desktop) Outlook, but addresses seem   
   > to be 'attached' to specific accounts. This seems to mean that I cannot   
   > post to an address which is allocated to a different account.   
   > Am I missing a trick here?   
   >   
   > I have my address books saved in both .csv and .ldif format and would   
   > like to be able to access them from every account. Can I import them   
   > without allocating them to a specific account?   
   >   
   Assuming 'post' means sending an email(since you wouldn't email a newsgroup).   
   Open two instances of Outlook via a shortcut or the Win10 Taskbar.   
   Click on the 'People' icon or text for 'People(Navigation bar, bottom,   
   lower left in each open Outlook instance.   
   For email accounts configured in Outlook you should see:   
   - a listing or all contact accounts   
      => Individual email accounts with contact sync(for Exchange or IMAP;   
   i.e. accounts using the *.ost protocol)   
      => The single Outlook.pst contact file(normally named Contacts -   
   Outlook) used for storing contacts you enter and normally the storage   
   place for or when using POP3 email accounts.   
      
   A few options are availalbe.   
     Copy or move contacts to either direction.   
      - note: doing so, could cause duplicates in each direction if you   
   previously entered in both contact stores, with clean-up of duplicates   
   necessary(manually or using Outlook duplicate tool)   
      
   If not desiring the copy/move route, another option when creating an email   
   The From icon(clicking on) allows choosing the sending email account   
   The To icon(clicking on)  allows choosing the recipient email address   
     - Outlook should display a dialog box(Search for contacts or similar   
   name). In that dialog box there is an Address book category with a   
   selectable option showing the different contact lists.   
     Note: the ordering in the list will(normally should) be the same shown   
   in Outlook's configured email accounts(File/Account Settings/Account   
     - you can send to any address in any of those contact lists.   
      
   Yes, accounts can be imported,...the syncable accounts(might have   
   preferred file import file type extensions - csv, vcf, other. Some email   
   clients might not provide exporting in all formats.   
     - For syncable accounts, it might be better to import into your web UI   
   interface and then let that sync down to Outlook. If you import into   
   Outlook and it syncs up, ensure you check that email account's web UI   
   contact to ensure it imported properly.   
      
   You'll have to decide the best approach for you...and also realize that   
   any route could result in duplicate contacts necessitating later cleanup.   
      
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