---
schema_version: "1"
id: 3c914066008dcc784e8d92e770eeb1ba7770503891fd20027f2c721a90f751b3
title: Get Ready to Sync Contacts with Lightning Sync for Microsoft® Exchange
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sales/264-0-0/productivity_sync_exchange_user_get_ready.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.productivity_sync_exchange_user_get_ready.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 38233444d3ea4c32f66d432189225ab91f2bc803519846b56fd5ae4e1b87e14b
description: Learn how to sync contacts between your company’s email application and Salesforce using Lightning Sync.
products:
  - Sales Cloud
  - Cross Cloud
  - Service Cloud Voice
release: "264"
---
# Get Ready to Sync Contacts with Lightning Sync for Microsoft® Exchange

Learn how to sync contacts between your company’s email application and Salesforce using Lightning Sync.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available to sync records from: Salesforce Classic, Lightning Experience, and the Salesforce mobile app</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available to set up from: Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Professional</strong>, <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Lightning Platform</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small permission">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:50%">
          <col style="width:50%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" id="d111916e81">User
              Permissions Needed</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d111916e81 ">To sync contacts both ways:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d111916e81 ">
              <p>Read and Edit on contacts</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">AND</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Read on accounts, AND contact
                sync direction set to Sync both ways in an active Lightning Sync
                configuration</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d111916e81 ">To sync contacts from Salesforce to Exchange:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d111916e81 ">
              <p>Read on contacts</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">AND</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Contact sync direction set to
                Salesforce to Exchange in an active Lightning Sync
                configuration</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d111916e81 ">To sync contacts from Exchange to Salesforce:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d111916e81 ">
              <p>Create on contacts</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">AND</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Contact sync direction set to
                Exchange to Salesforce in an active Lightning Sync
                configuration</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sales-sales_productivity-264-0-0-production-enus/b2f6c36a-fa61-4a3c-9752-032ce1818a69/images/icon_important.png)

Important

Starting in Winter ‘21, [Lightning Sync isn’t available](https://help.salesforce.com/apex/HTViewSolution?urlname=Lightning-Sync-End-of-Sale&language=en_US) to new Salesforce customers. Use Einstein Activity Capture to sync events, contacts, and emails between your connected account and Salesforce.

If you have Lightning Sync, use the [migration tool](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.lightning_sync_move_parent.htm&type=5&language=en_US) to move to [Einstein Activity Capture](https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=einstein_sales_aac.htm&language=en_US) before Lightning Sync retires in 2027. Before you migrate, review [Compare Einstein Activity Capture and Lightning Sync](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.email_integration_admin_eac_vs_lightning_sync.htm&language=en_US) to understand what to expect when you migrate.

If your org is exempt from migration because of a licensing issue or if your org doesn’t support Einstein Activity Capture, you won’t see the migration tool in Lightning Sync.

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sales-sales_productivity-264-0-0-production-enus/b2f6c36a-fa61-4a3c-9752-032ce1818a69/images/icon_note.png)

Note If you’re set up to sync both ways, we recommend that you or your admin create relevant Salesforce accounts before rolling out contact sync. Otherwise, if you don’t resolve unmatched Salesforce contacts before the next sync cycle, Lightning Sync removes the company from the Microsoft contact.

After your administrator initiates contacts sync for you, Lightning Sync creates a folder in your email application called Salesforce\_Sync. You can find the Salesforce\_Sync folder under your contacts directory. Any contacts that have synced from Salesforce to your email application are in Salesforce\_Sync. Don’t rename, move, or delete the Salesforce\_Sync folder, or syncing between Salesforce and your email application stops.

1. Ask your administrator which direction you’re set up to sync.
    - If you’re set up to sync from Salesforce to your email application only, syncing is already in progress, and you don’t have to do anything else. Soon you can access your Salesforce contacts directly from your email application.
    - If you’re set up to sync from your email to Salesforce or to sync both ways, it’s time to move the contacts that you want to sync into the Salesforce\_Sync folder.
2. In your email application, select the contacts you want to sync. You can select multiple contacts at a time.
    
    ![Select Contacts for Exchange Sync](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sales-sales_productivity-264-0-0-production-enus/b2f6c36a-fa61-4a3c-9752-032ce1818a69/sales_productivity/images/s2x/exchange_sync_contacts_to_Salesforce_Sync_folder.png)
3. Move—do not copy—your selected contacts to the folder Salesforce\_Sync. If you copy your contacts, you get duplicates, which are a hassle!

The contacts you move to the Salesforce\_Sync folder begin to sync every few minutes. If you move numerous contacts to Salesforce\_Sync, your first sync can take some time.

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sales-sales_productivity-264-0-0-production-enus/b2f6c36a-fa61-4a3c-9752-032ce1818a69/images/icon_note.png)

Note Contact sync doesn’t support Outlook categories, so contacts labeled with a Salesforce\_Sync category that don’t exist in a contacts subfolder of the same name don’t sync with Salesforce. To avoid this issue, disable contact categories and select the Salesforce\_Sync folder for new contacts in Outlook. See [EAC - New Contacts Created In Outlook with ‘Salesforce\_Sync’ Category Do Not Sync to Salesforce](https://issues.salesforce.com/issue/a028c00000j5kg9AAA/eac--new-contacts-created-in-outlook-with-salesforce_sync-category-do-not-sync-to-salesforce).