Contacts list dysfunctional

[Doug Parris]

When I click the little "open-book" button to the left of
my "To" or "Cc" fields in an email I want to send, instead
of any list or menu I get:

"The address list could not be displayed. The Contacts
folder associated with this address list could not be
opened; it may have been moved or deleted, or you do not
have permissions. For information on how to remove this
folder from the Outlook Address Book, See Microsoft Help."

Now, the facts are, my contacts list is working just fine,
thank you, when I open it, never having been moved or
deleted to my knowledge since Outlook was recently re-
installed, I am the only one who has ever used, or will
use this software so there is no permission to get, I have
no reason to want to "remove this folder from the Outlook
Address Book," (whatever folder they are referring to),
AND THERE IS NOTHING I CAN FIND IN HELP OR THE KNOWLEDGE
BASE to facilitate simply open my Contacts list! I have
used up my free help incidents trying to make simple
operations work that don't (because of cute MS functional
perversions) and for which there is no help available in
the Help files. I am really pissed. You pay hundreds for
software that doesn't do simple things it's supposed to
without knowing the secret tricky methods and then
hundreds more for tech support because Microsoft doesn't
have the courtesy to either make the software work or post
answers keyed to the error messages. What a scam. I spent
20 minutes getting here and I'm not sure I'll be able to
find my way back even if an answer is posted. Meanwhile I
have work to do.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You would make it easier to answer if you posted your Outlook version.

Now you get to read the whole lot.

It is not unusual for the Outlook Address Book to "lose track" of the
connection to its Contacts Folder when you reinstall, move or import your
PST or update your Outlook version or OS. Use the following steps to reset
the connection, depending on your Outlook version. Note that in some
instances you may actually have to remove the Outlook Address Book
completely from your Profile, close Outlook, and then re-add it before you
can get it to work.

Outlook 2000, Corp/Workgroup:
Go to Tools > Services. Make sure the Outlook Address Book service is
listed. If not, add it. Next, R click on the Contact folder or folders you
want the OAB to display, choose "Properties", go to the Outlook Address Book
tab and check the "Show this folder as an E-mail address book" box. You may
also need to go to Tools > Options > Addressing Tab and choose to show your
Contacts folder.

Outlook 2002:
Go to Tools > E-mail accounts > View or change existing directories or
address books > Outlook Address Book. If it is not listed, back up one step
and add it. If it is, then click on Change. to make sure the Contacts
folder(s) you want to display are listed. You may need to enable the
Contacts Folder as an e-mail address book by R clicking the Folder >
Properties and check the "Show this folder as an E-mail address book" box.
Make sure you restart Outlook after making these changes.