Exported .csv files can be imported as standard Address Books or added to an existing Address Book eg: Personal Address Book.

You cannot import to a subfolder/Mailing List because the Mailing lists do not exist as files in their own right.

All contacts must be in an Address Book. All contacts you want to use in a Mailing List (sub group of main address book) must have a valid email address.

When you add a contact to a Mailing List it is like adding a special tag to the contact in the Address Book, so it allows that name to be seen in the Mailing list. This means one contact in the address book can appear in more than one Mailing List.

To import a .csv file:

• Click on 'Address Book
• click on 'Import'
• Select: 'comma or tab separated file (.csv, .tsv)'
• click on 'Continue'
• Locate the *.csv file and select it
• click on 'Open'

• You may get asked to 'Match field names'
• The field names on the left need to match the Thunderbird Address Book field names on the right.
• If necessary, uncheck all the blue ticks on the right so you can start at the top of the list and work your way down reselecting and matching the correct field names.
• Click on 'Continue'

You will get asked where to import them:

• Either choose eg: 'Personal Address Book'
• OR select the last option 'Create a new directory called xxxx' - this creates a new address book which you can easily rename if required.
• click on 'Continue'
• Then click on 'Start Import'

NOTE: If you add them to the existing 'Personal Address Book' - then you can create Mailing Lists as sub lists to the personal Address Book - then drag and drop selected contacts into the various Mailng Lists.

Please note if you already have these contacts in the Personal Address Book then you do not need to import the .csv file. Create the Mailing Lists Select contacts and use drag and drop to put them into a Mailing List.

Although this link has images of an older version the Option2: method has not changed. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-create-and-use-mailing-lists-thunderbird

Unfortunately that does not solve my problem. As I said before, I created those 'Lists' awhile ago and made a .csv backup of each list, the problem is that when Thunderbird changed to the version where the address book icon is on the left side of the screen I am no longer able to Drag and Drop from other than the Personal Address Book into a list with a group of contacts. I have included a screen shot of the system as it was and how I would like it to be again. Any help is appreciated.

If you have separate csv files for each, the steps are simple: - first, create the new, empty, address books. - now, click tools>import from main pane, select the addressbook option, and it will prompt you through the selection of csv input and then display the addressbooks to which you wish to import the addresses.

Unfortunately that was not the issue, I can reconstitute my address book files without any problem, the problem was that I could not create my former lists from a .csv file. I used to be able to create a new email and select "Family" or one of the other files and it would include all of the contacts/email addresses from that particular list. I have resorted to the old fashion method, retype the contacts within each list. Thank you for trying.

What view are you using? There is horizontal - like the old method and Vertical which is new.

Suggest you use Horizontal because I can drag and drop from 'Personal Address Book' into any of the Mailing Lists under that address book.

So if you imported into 'Personal Address Book' and then using 'Horizontal' view, drag and drop contacts.

Where is Horizontal view? To the right of the 'search' is an icon - clickon it and at the bottom you will see the other view.

The horizontal/vertical is immaterial, if you look at my included screen shot there is a Personal Address Book under which there are "Family", "Family-us", "Friends" and "Golf" lists. Beneath those are three address books, Family, Friends and Golf. All I was trying to do was either import the corresponding .csv files into my ists. When I tried to copy and paste the separate address book file contacts into my list files I was unable to do so. The only copy/paste I was able to do was from the main Personal Address Book to the individual lists. Thanks you for trying to help, I have copied the corresponding contacts into the appropriate lists by hand and everything is working again,

re: The horizontal/vertical is immaterial,

There is a bug which needs fixing - it means currently you can only drag and drop contacts from an address book into a mailing list if using Horizontal view. So yes, if using drag and drop method the horizontal view is important at the moment.

re :All I was trying to do was either import the corresponding .csv files into my lists.

As previously mentioned....When advising about importing the .csv files - I suggested you import *.csv files directly into the 'Personal Address Book'. NOTE: If you add them to the existing 'Personal Address Book' - then you can create Mailing Lists as sub lists to the personal Address Book - then drag and drop selected contacts into the various Mailng Lists.

If you have followed this advise then you would not have all those imported address books and you would also easily drag and drop into mailing list.

It would have been so much easier for you if you had followed this advise. I have no idea why you chose to ignore this information.

re :When I tried to copy and paste the separate address book file contacts into my list files I was unable to do so.

Correct, as I already mentioned ...you have to import into the address book that has the sub-mailing lists. So, that means if you imported the .csv files and set up as separate address books (It appears you decided to import as completely separate address books) then you would have to drag and drop the contacts from the imported address books eg: Family into the address book that has the sub- mailing lists - which in your case is 'Personal Address Book'.

Currently, you cannot drag and drop contacts from an unconnnected address book into a Mailing list of another address book.

As already mentioned...You cannot import anything directly into a mailing list because the mailing list is not a separate file. It is like a display of filtered contacts - it's a virtual list. The contacts have to be imported into the address book that contains the mailing lists.

There are some bugs that relate to this situation which I'm hoping will get some serious attention before the next big upgrade as fixing them would make using the address book and mailing lists much more convenient.

Bugs: Drag and drop of contacts to a mailing list in another address book no longer works See bug : https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1782397

I have also posted a bug requesting enhancement so it becomes easier to move/copy into list perhaps via right click menu option.

Contact right click menu has no option to add to a mailing list, or move/copy to address book See bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1782397

Now all of my address books and list are gone!!!

Que Pasa??

Yes, that, too, has happened to me. I shut everything and rebooted and all was like it had been prior to disappearance.