How to batch add contacts from Sent Items emails/folder in Outlook?

Author Kelly Last modified 2025-01-08

There are many situations where you might need to add contacts to your Outlook address book. For example, after sending emails to new clients, collaborators, or team members, you may want to save their email addresses from your Sent Items folder for future communication. However, adding these contacts manually can be tedious, especially when dealing with a large number of emails. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to streamline this process:

Manual Method: Adding contacts one by one using Outlook’s built-in features.

Kutools for Outlook’s Batch Add to Contacts: Adding senders and recipients from selected emails to contacts in one go.

Kutools for Outlook’s Batch Add to a Contact Group: Adding senders and recipients from selected emails to a contact group. 👉Video

Adding contacts one by one using Outlook’s built-in features

If you prefer not to use third-party tools, you can manually add contacts from your Sent Items folder. However, this method is tedious for large numbers of contacts.

1. In the Mail view, open the Sent Items folder on the Navigation Pane (or Folder Pane), and click to open the specified sent email in the Reading Pane.

2. Right click the recipient at the top of Reading Pane, and select Add to Outlook Contacts from the context menu. See screenshot:

the screenshot of step about adding a contact from a sent email 1

3. In the opening Contact Card, please click the Save button. And then close the contact card.

the screenshot of step about adding a contact from a sent email 2

So far the specified recipient in the sent email has been added as a contact in Outlook.

4. Repeat the process for each email in the Sent Items folder.

Limitations

Time-consuming for large numbers of contacts.
No batch processing—each contact must be added manually.

Adding senders and recipients from selected emails to contacts in one go

Kutools for Outlook simplifies the process with its Add the Senders and Multiple Recipients of the Selected Emails to Contacts feature. This allows you to batch add contacts from multiple emails at once.

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Step 1. Download and install Kutools for Outlook, then launch Outlook. Navigate to the Sent Items folder and select the emails containing the senders and recipients you want to add to your contacts.

Step 2. Click Kutools > Add Contacts> Add the Senders and Multiple Recipients of the Selected Emails to Contacts.

Step 3. In the popping Add Contacts from Messages dialog,

Select a Contacts Folder: Choose the folder where you want to save the new contacts.
Confirm the Contacts: By default, duplicate contacts will only be added once. Review the list to ensure accuracy.
Click Save: Finalize the process by clicking Save to add the contacts to your selected folder.

Step 4. A dialog pops for reminding the number of contacts successfully added.

Pros

Batch processing—add multiple contacts in one go.
Saves significant time compared to manual methods.
Includes both senders and recipients from selected emails.

Adding senders and recipients from selected emails to a contact group

For users who want to organize contacts into groups, Kutools for Outlook offers the Add the Senders and Multiple Recipients of the Selected Emails to a Contact Group feature. This is ideal for creating distribution lists or team groups.

Unlock ultimate email efficiency with Kutools for Outlook! Access 70 powerful features absolutely free, forever. Download the Free Version Now!

Step 1. Download and Install Kutools for Outlook, open Outlook, go to the Sent Items folder, select the emails containing the contacts you want to add to a group.

Step 2. Click Kutools > Add Contacts > Add the Senders and Multiple Recipients of the Selected Emails to a Contact Group.

Step 3. In the Add people to contact group dialog.

Confirm the Contacts: Review the list of contacts to ensure accuracy.
Choose a Contact Group: You can create a new contact group, search for an existing contact group, or directly click on a contact group in the list.
Click OK: Finalize the process by clicking OK to add the contacts to the selected group.

Step 5. Click OK to exist the dialog.

Pros

Batch processing—add multiple contacts to a group in one go.
Ideal for creating distribution lists or team groups.
Saves significant time compared to manual methods.

Demo: batch add contacts from Sent Items emails/folder in Outlook

Comparison of Methods

Feature	Manual Method	Kutools for Outlook: Add to Contacts	Kutools for Outlook: Add to Contact Group
Ease of Use	Tedious	Very Easy	Very Easy
Batch Processing	No	Yes	Yes
Group Creation	No	No	Yes
Requires Add-in	No	Yes	Yes
Best For	Individual contacts	Batch individual contacts	Batch group contacts

Final Recommendation

If you only need to add a few contacts, use the Manual Method.
If you want to batch add individual contacts, use KTO’s Add Senders and Recipients of the Selected Emails to Contacts.
If you need to create a contact group, use KTO’s Add the Senders and Multiple Recipients of the Selected Emails to a Contact Group.

By leveraging Kutools for Outlook, you can streamline your contact management and focus on more important tasks! Download Kutools for Outlook Now.

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