How to Export Office 365 Distribution Group Members to CSV?
Microsoft or Office 365 is a subscription-based suite for your business communication and productivity. In this, it contains a ‘Distribution Groups’ feature which is very useful for the business. Here, the company creates a group where they add multiple employees’ email addresses. The purpose of this function is to communicate with multiple people at the same time. When a user wants to send an email to various clients instead of sending the same mail one by one. They use this option to send the email to everyone at the same time. It reduces a lot of time and energy for the organizations.
There are some cases where business administrators want to download the distribution groups for their communication and collaboration needs. But, one might raise a question: why is that? To address this we will explain them properly.
Why Need to Save Office 365 Distribution List?
- In the tenant to tenant migration, if you have a distribution group in your account. Downloading them is very important. Because after the migration to a new tenant it helps to recreate new contacts.
- When you are auditing or need compliance and accidental deletion. It is crucial to create a backup of your contacts for these scenarios.
- For auditing, It admins download the distribution list for review of their group members, maintain security policies and access permissions and are able to detect inactive or unauthorized users from the Office 365 groups.
- It also helps you in marketing campaigns. Companies who are starting a brand email marketing, a copy of all their contacts will be very useful.
- To maintenance, cleanup, and recording needs, you may require to export the list of distribution members.
So, there are several scenarios where you need to download your distribution groups. But, to do this, we have simple and secure solutions that can help you.
How to Export Distribution List Members from Office 365?
For a direct way to get your distribution group from Microsoft 365. There are some methods that you can use free of cost. Here they are.
- Exchange Admin Center
- PowerShell Script Commands
We will explain both the solutions with clear steps. So, properly follow them to avoid any human mistake.
Use Exchange Admin to Save O365 Distribution Group
- Login to your Microsoft 365 and choose the Exchange option.
- Go to the Groups option available under the Recipients category.
- Select the Distribution list option and hit the Export button.
- Choose Export groups in this list or Export all groups.
- A pop-up will appear to inform you about taking time, click Continue.
- Thereafter, distribution group members will be exported in a CSV file.
This method is simple but if you are having problems using them. Then, you can use this next way.
Export Distribution List Members from Office 365 Using PowerShell
Just follow the instructions to use the PowerShell command to export distribution list members to the CSV Office 365 account.
- Run this script command to connect the Office 365 PowerShell module.
$365Logon = Get-Credential
$Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri
https://outlook.office365.com/powershell-liveid/ -Credential $365Logon
-Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection
Import-PSSession $Session - Use the cmdlet below to list all Office 365 groups.
Get-DistributionGroup -ResultSize Unlimited - Run this mentioned command to get a list of group members.
Get-DistributionGroupMember -Identity "" -ResultSize Unlimited - Export one Microsoft 365 distribution group members list to CSV file
$DGName = ""
Get-DistributionGroupMember -Identity $DGName -ResultSize Unlimited |
Select Name, PrimarySMTPAddress, RecipientType |
Export-CSV "C:\\Distribution-Group-Members.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8 - Export all distribution list members from Microsoft 365 with membership.
$Result=@()
$groups = Get-DistributionGroup -ResultSize Unlimited
$totalmbx = $groups. Count
$i = 1
$groups | ForEach-Object {
Write-Progress -activity "Processing $_.DisplayName" -status "$i out of $totalmbx completed"
$group = $_
Get-DistributionGroupMember -Identity $group.Name -ResultSize Unlimited | ForEach-Object {
$member = $_
$Result += New-Object PSObject -property @{
GroupName = $group.DisplayName
Member = $member. Name
EmailAddress = $member.PrimarySMTPAddress
RecipientType= $member.RecipientType
}}
$i++
}
$Result | Export-CSV "C:\\All-Distribution-Group-Members.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
This method is only done by experts who have knowledge about PowerShell. Therefore, for common users this method can be a difficult job. Manual methods are free to use, but it is time-consuming and needs technical assistance. But, the next method is much easier and anyone can use them.
Save Distribution List from Office 365 with Professional Method
To easily Export your distribution group, professional methods like BitRecover Office 365 Backup Tool will help you. It is a great software where you can easily and securely download complete Microsoft 365 data without any issues. Once you login to the software using your Office 365 account, it auto-fetches your data. And in less than a few minutes users can instantly extract contacts from Office 365. To know more about the working steps of the process. Follow the steps below.
Steps to Export Distribution List Members from Office 365
- First install the tool on your computer. Enter the credentials of Microsoft 365 details and login to the utility.
- Once it is connected, select the contact list where your distribution group is contained.
- Choose the CSV option from the saving options.
- Click on the Change button to set a destination location and lastly, press the Backup button.
By following these steps users can easily get their contacts without any issues.
Conclusion
Sometimes professionals need to export distribution list members from Office 365. Therefore, in this article, we have provided three best ways to get your distribution groups. The two methods are manual which are free to use, but you may have issues using them. Professional solution on the other hand, is much easier because it automatically exports your contacts. That’s why many experts recommend this tool to save their data.
Frequently Asked User Questions
Q: How to export distribution list members from Office 365 to Excel?
Ans: First use the Exchange Admin Center to export distribution groups from Office 365 to CSV format. Thereafter, double-click on the exported CSV file to open it with your Excel spreadsheet.
Q: Where is the option to create a Distribution group in Office 365?
Ans: Follow these steps to find an option to add a group in Office 365.
- Login to Office 365 and select the Exchange option.
- Choose Groups >> Distribution List option under Recipients.
- Select Add a group option to continue.
- Choose Group type as Distribution and press Next.
- Enter group details like name, description, and email alias.
- Click the Add button to create a distribution list.
Q: Can I copy the Distribution list in Outlook 365?
Ans: Yes, it is easy to copy your Distribution list. Go to the Contacts and open the list. Copy the contact by clicking Ctrl+C, then paste it to a secure place.
Q. How to manage the Distribution list in Office 365?
Ans. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center >> Exchange Admin Center >> Recipients >> Group. Select the distribution list and click on the Edit button to change the settings.
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