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How to Import AOL Messages and Contacts Into Gmail
By Heinz Tschabitscher
Email Expert
Steve Prezant/Image Source/Getty Images
You can put a Gmail plug-in into AOL Mail and preview your inbox there. What
about the other direction, though? What if you want to switch from AOL Mail to
Gmail and take your messages, folders and contacts even with you?
Fortunately, it's easy to copy all your archived and inbox messages into Gmail
from AOL Mail. You can migrate your address book in the same go, too.
Having all that mail with which to play is great for just trying out Gmail as
well, of course.
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Import AOL Messages and Contacts Into Gmail
To import just about all your mail from AOL Mail into Gmail — and your
address book to boot:

Copy all messages you want to import from your AOL Mail Recently
Deleted, Sent andSpam folders to the AOL Mail Saved Mail (or another custom)
folder.

Click the Settings gear in Gmail.

Select Settings from the menu that comes up.

Select the Accounts and Import tab.

Click Import mail and contacts.

If you have previously imported mail, clickImport from another address.

Enter your AOL email address under What account do you want to import
from?.

Click Continue.

Enter your AOL Mail password under Enter the password for
[email protected]:.

Click Continue.

Make sure Import contacts and Import mail are checked.

To have messages you receive at your AOL account automatically copied to
your Gmail inbox for a month, check Import new mail for next 30 days.

Optionally, check Add label to all imported mail:.

This label lets you easily find all imported AOL Mail emails in one place. You
can always remove the label from individual messages or delete it altogether.
Imported contacts will not be labeled in any way.

Messages imported from AOL Mail folders other than New Mail and Old
Mail will automatically get a label derived from the folder name. All mail
imported from your AOL "Family" folder will get the "Family" label, for
example.

Messages in your Drafts, Recently Deleted and Spam folders will not be
imported.

All messages and contacts will of course still be available in AOL Mail after
they have been imported into Gmail.

Click Start import.

Click OK.