Export Microsoft 365 Distribution Group Members to CSV – Free Ways

Updated On - April 12, 2023 by Armaan | Reading Time: 5 minutes

The administrator can set up a distribution group in Office 365 and then send emails to that address on behalf of the group’s members. The administrator may need the information of specific members of one group among many groups or may need to recreate the distribution group with its members. It would be inconvenient to access the Office 365 account’s Exchange Admin Center and open each distribution group individually to retrieve the necessary data. A more convenient and stress-free option is to keep the distribution group members’ information in a file format such as CSV that can easily access at any time. In this blog post, learn how to export Microsoft 365 distribution Group members to CSV.

Purpose of exporting distribution group members to CSV:

Exporting distribution group members to CSV can be useful for a variety of reasons. Some common use cases include:

• Creating a backup of distribution group members for disaster recovery purposes.
• Analyzing the membership of distribution groups to identify trends and patterns.
• Sharing information about distribution group membership with other stakeholders in
• your organization.
• Importing distribution group membership information into other tools or systems.

How to move O365 Distribution Group Members to CSV Manually

If you prefer a hands-on approach, you may use any of these two methods to export Microsoft 365 Distribution Group members to CSV file.

1. Using PowerShell scripts: It requires technical knowledge to implement successfully due to the scripts’ involvement in the export process. This indicates that a first-time user will have difficulty executing the scripts successfully and will benefit from some type of training to achieve the best possible outcomes.
2. Using the Exchange Admin Center Console: It is an easy option for begginers. However, users must pay close attention and carry out the instructions in the order given. Exchange Admin Center’s built-in tools for exporting distribution group members to CSV format are utilize.

With this quick overview, you should have a firm grasp on which of the two manual methods to export Office 365 distribution group members to CSV to implement first. This article, however, makes no distinction between the two approaches and explains the steps required to export Microsoft 365 distribution group members to CSV in sequential order.

Move Office 365 Distribution Group Members using PowerShell Scripts

It is possible to gather data about Microsoft 365 Groups with the help of the Exchange Online PowerShell, and once you have access to the list of groups in your tenant, you can quickly extract information about the members of each group. One of the most convenient ways to export Microsoft 365 group members to CSV file is by using a PowerShell script. If you’d want to save a CSV file containing all of your group’s members’ details, you’ll find the necessary export script below.

1. To begin, log into Exchange Online’s Remote PowerShell.
2. Use the following command to see a complete list of your Microsoft 365 groups.

Get-UnifiedGroup -ResultSize Unlimited

3. Once the groups have been displayed, execute the following command with the Identity and LinkType parameters to select the members of a specific Microsoft 365 group.

Get-UnifiedGroupLinks – Identity'<group-name>’ – LinkType Members – ResultSize Unlimited

4. To acquire a list of everyone in a Microsoft 365 group, you’ll need to first obtain the output of Get-UnifiedGroup. Execute the following command to do so:

Groups = Get-UnifiedGroup -ResultSize Unlimited $Groups | ForEach-Object { $group = $_Get-UnifiedGroupLinks -Identity $group.Name -LinkType Members -ResultSize Unlimited | ForEach-Object { New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property @{ Group = $group.DisplayName Member = $_.Name EmailAddress = $_.PrimarySMTPAddress RecipientType= $_.RecipientType }}}

5. The Export-CSV cmdlet allows you to export the members of a Microsoft 365 Group to a CSV file once you have gathered all the necessary information about each group member. The necessary cmdlet for this task is provided below.

$Groups = Get-UnifiedGroup -ResultSize Unlimited $Groups | ForEach-Object { $group = $_ Get-UnifiedGroupLinks -Identity $group.Name -LinkType Members -ResultSize Unlimited | ForEach-Object { New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property @{ Group = $group.DisplayName Member = $_.Name EmailAddress = $_.PrimarySMTPAddress RecipientType= $_.RecipientType }}} | Export-CSV "C:\\Office365GroupMembers.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8

This script allows you to export a list of members from a Microsoft 365 Group to a CSV file. However, this strategy calls for an expert understanding of Exchange PowerShell Scripts, Hence, make it difficult for the average users.

Export Microsoft 365 Distribution Group Members to CSV using the Exchange Admin Centre 

An easy-to-use feature in Exchange Admin Center allows you to export your whole Distribution list to a CSV file.

1. Navigate to the Exchange section of the Office 365 Admin Center.
2. Choose the Distribution list under Groups in the Recipients section.
3. Select distribution lists which you need to share. Then click Export, you’ll be given a choice to export the selected groups or all groups.
4. Optional group, export duration information will be displayed in a pop-up window after you select an export method. If you wish to proceed, please do so.
5. A CSV document is made.

What will be contained in the CSV file that is exported?

The CSV file will contain the following data types:

• Distribution Display Names
• Group Names
• Group Aliases
• Members Names
• Recipient Type
• Primary SMTP Email Address
• Members Count
• Members Count by Recipient Type
• Authorized Senders and Allows External Recipients. etc.,

These items would be displayed in a tabular format in the resulting CSV file. This data is based on the number of members chosen for the Distribution Group in Office 365.

Common issues encountered during the export process:

There can be a few issues that may occur during the export process, such as:

• Insufficient permissions to run the export command
• Incorrect syntax or parameter usage
• Large distribution groups with a large number of members, which can cause the export to take a long time or fail altogether

Solutions to common issues

One solution to mitigate the issues of exporting large distribution groups is to use a third-party tool such as Regain Office 365 backup tool which can efficiently export distribution group members to CSV or Excel file with various filters and options. The tool can help you to quickly and easily export distribution group members without having to deal with the limitations of native PowerShell cmdlets. Additionally, you may need to work with your IT administrator to ensure that you have the appropriate permissions to export distribution group members in your organization.

Benefits of using a third-party tool to export Office 35 distribution group members to CSV

There are several benefits to using a third-party tool for exporting distribution group members to CSV. Some of these benefits include:

• Increased Efficiency: Regain Office 365 backup tool designed to perform specific tasks with greater efficiency than native PowerShell cmdlets, allowing you to export large distribution groups in a fraction of the time.
• More Features: The software offer additional features and customization options that are not available in native PowerShell cmdlets, such as filtering by specific attributes, grouping results by property, or scheduling exports to run at specific times.
• Improved User Interface: The software provide a more user-friendly interface with graphical representations of data, making it easier to understand and manipulate the results.
• Technical Support: Regain Office 365 backup tool offer dedicated technical support, allowing you to quickly resolve any issues that may arise during the export process.

Overall, using a third-party tool can help simplify and streamline the process of exporting distribution group members to CSV, saving you time and effort while providing more features and functionality than native PowerShell cmdlets.

Conclusion

Both options can be implemented, but with different sets of talents and time commitments. To keep track of who is in your Office 365 distribution groups and use that information later, it’s a good idea to export Microsoft distribution group members to CSV file. Try our fully automated Office 365 backup tool to save all of your important emails, contacts, addresses, and other files. It can export the relevant information from Office 365 to Outlook PST file format for safekeeping. The software can be used by anyone, from beginners to professionals, because of its intuitive design. This is your opportunity to satisfy your needs swiftly; therefore, feel free to accept the arrangement.

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