2. Select Export.

3. To export an entire address book, select Contacts. Select the drop-down arrow to choose a Google Contacts group.

4. Choose an export format:

• ## The Outlook CSV format exports all data and converts names to the default character encoding.

• ## The Google CSV format exports all data and uses Unicode to preserve international characters. Some email programs such as Outlook do not support Unicode.

• ## The vCard format is an internet standard that is supported by many email programs and contact managers such as OS X Mail and Contacts.

• 5. Select Export.
• 6. Download the file (named Contacts) to your computer. You can rename the file anything you want, like gmail-to-outlook.csv (for the Outlook CSV format), gmail.csv (for Google CSV), or contacts.vcf (for the vCard format).

• Where to Find Contacts Automatically Added by Gmail
• Your list and file of contacts may be large because Gmail adds new contact entries to your address book when you reply to an email or forward it to a new address. These new automatic entries are found under Other contacts in Gmail Contacts.
  

Prevent Gmail From Adding Contacts Automatically

• To prevent Gmail from adding new addresses to your Contacts automatically:

1. Go to Gmail and select the Settings gear in the upper-right corner of the page.

2. Select See all settings.

3. Under the General tab, scroll down to Create contacts for auto-complete section and select I'll add contacts myself.

4. Select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.