How do I stop Outlook from showing fax numbers when I check names

[Rich]

I have contacts in Outlook 2003 with an email addresses and a fax numbers.
When I type a name in a message "To" box, expecting autocomplete to function,
it doesn't on their names. I then use CTRL-K to "check names" and get a box
with two lines--one with the email address (that I wanted) and one line with
a business fax number.
(1) Why does Outlook do this?
(2) What can I do to keep the fax numbers from showing up?
(3) How do I get Outlook to show ONLY the email addresses?
....and, yes, I know I can delete the fax number from the contact. That is an
unacceptable solution.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Fax # are legit electronic addresses - if you don't want them to show up,
you'll need to move them to a different phone field or prefix them. See
http://www.slipstick.com/contacts/nofax.asp for more information.


--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
(e-mail address removed)

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

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[sonny94]

I have contacts in Outlook 2003 with an email addresses and a fax numbers.
When I type a name in a message "To" box, expecting autocomplete to function,
it doesn't on their names. I then use CTRL-K to "check names" and get a box
with two lines--one with the email address (that I wanted) and one line with
a business fax number.
(1) Why does Outlook do this?
(2) What can I do to keep the fax numbers from showing up?
(3) How do I get Outlook to show ONLY the email addresses?
...and, yes, I know I can delete the fax number from the contact. That is an
unacceptable solution.

edit the fax name number field and type FAX in front of the number. I
ended up getting Data Fields Manager so I can do in mass.

so: FAX 1-800-FAX-number couldn't believe we had to do this either.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I have contacts in Outlook 2003 with an email addresses and a fax numbers.
When I type a name in a message "To" box, expecting autocomplete to
function,
it doesn't on their names.

Autocompletion does not reference your contacts in any way. It merely
remembers the most recent 1,000 unique addresses to which you've sent mail.

 

[Dan]

For the last few years, I had avoided fax numbers from showing up with the
well documented "Fax: " prefix on all my fax numbers. Now, I'm at a new PC
with Outlook 2003 installed, and the fax numbers are once again showing up
with the Fax: prefix.

Has something changed? What's the workaround now? What a pain! Has
Microsoft really modified their code to allow the Fax: prefix and think they
are doing us all a favour?

Dan

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

You are saying that you have contacts with FAX prefixed on the Fax number
and they are showing up in the address book? How is it listed in the
address book and on the contact? ie, +1 FAX (202) 555-1212 or FAX +1 (202)
555-1212 etc

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

This was never a recommended workaround. "FAX:" is also valid format for fax
numbers used for programmatic or one-off faxing. Use one of the many more
reliable workarounds. One method to hide fax numbers from the address book
is to prefix the fax number with one or more letters (maybe B for business
fax, H for home, O for
other). If the fax number begins with a letter, Outlook won't show it in the
address book.

There are a couple of techniques or utilities that can help you hide fax
numbers from the
address book. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/305361/en-us
http://www.rsoutlook.com/us/rshifa.htm
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/Outlook_Solutions.htm (Hide Fax Numbers)
http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/toolbox/

Another way to avoid having fax numbers appear in the address book is
simply not to enter data in the fax fields. Put fax numbers in some other
(non-phone) fields.

 

[Dan]

That is correct. I wish I could paste a screenshot...

What's showing up for "some" of my prefixed contacts is:

"Microsoft Office Outlook found more than one "john smith"
Select the address to use:

Display Name E-mail Address E-mail Type
John Smith (johnsmith@... johnsmith@smith... SMTP
John Smith (Business Fax) FAX: (403) 555-1 FAX

Interestingly, this does not happen to all of my FAXed contacts. And if I
edit the contact, change the fax entry and resave it, the problem no longer
repeats.

I can also check the ones that it will fail with by viewing my whole contact
list by selecting the To: button in the compose window. The ones that it will
fail on will show the FAX numbers in the list.

Dan

You are saying that you have contacts with FAX prefixed on the Fax number
and they are showing up in the address book? How is it listed in the
address book and on the contact? ie, +1 FAX (202) 555-1212 or FAX +1 (202)
555-1212 etc

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

For the last few years, I had avoided fax numbers from showing up with the
well documented "Fax: " prefix on all my fax numbers. Now, I'm at a new
PC
with Outlook 2003 installed, and the fax numbers are once again showing up
with the Fax: prefix.

Has something changed? What's the workaround now? What a pain! Has
Microsoft really modified their code to allow the Fax: prefix and think
they
are doing us all a favour?

Dan

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

As Russ mentions, fax: is a valid qualifier. Compare the ones it happens on
to the ones that aren't showing in the address book - I'll be there is an
extra space or no colon. Use another format for the code - F: or FAX (no
colon) etc.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

That is correct. I wish I could paste a screenshot...

What's showing up for "some" of my prefixed contacts is:

"Microsoft Office Outlook found more than one "john smith"
Select the address to use:

Display Name E-mail Address E-mail Type
John Smith (johnsmith@... johnsmith@smith... SMTP
John Smith (Business Fax) FAX: (403) 555-1 FAX

Interestingly, this does not happen to all of my FAXed contacts. And if I
edit the contact, change the fax entry and resave it, the problem no
longer
repeats.

I can also check the ones that it will fail with by viewing my whole
contact
list by selecting the To: button in the compose window. The ones that it
will
fail on will show the FAX numbers in the list.

Dan

You are saying that you have contacts with FAX prefixed on the Fax number
and they are showing up in the address book? How is it listed in the
address book and on the contact? ie, +1 FAX (202) 555-1212 or FAX +1
(202)
555-1212 etc

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

For the last few years, I had avoided fax numbers from showing up with
the
well documented "Fax: " prefix on all my fax numbers. Now, I'm at a
new
PC
with Outlook 2003 installed, and the fax numbers are once again showing
up
with the Fax: prefix.

Has something changed? What's the workaround now? What a pain! Has
Microsoft really modified their code to allow the Fax: prefix and think
they
are doing us all a favour?

Dan

:



:

I have contacts in Outlook 2003 with an email addresses and a fax
numbers.
When I type a name in a message "To" box, expecting autocomplete to
function,
it doesn't on their names. I then use CTRL-K to "check names" and
get a
box
with two lines--one with the email address (that I wanted) and one
line
with
a business fax number.
(1) Why does Outlook do this?
(2) What can I do to keep the fax numbers from showing up?
(3) How do I get Outlook to show ONLY the email addresses?
...and, yes, I know I can delete the fax number from the contact.
That
is an
unacceptable solution.

edit the fax name number field and type FAX in front of the number.
I
ended up getting Data Fields Manager so I can do in mass.

so: FAX 1-800-FAX-number couldn't believe we had to do this
either.

 

[Dan]

Thanks Diane. It does appear that the ones that are prefixed with "FAX:"
show up more often than "Fax:" or "fax:". With that said, not all of the
"FAX:" names show up, and if I overtype "FAX:" with "FAX:" and resave the
contact, it disappears. I'm going to chalk this up to some sort of MS
Outlook / Exchange / Contacts mystery and leave it at that.

If you're truly curious, I've got a PST file with two copies of the same
contact; one that works and one that doesn't. I simply typed FAX: back into
the one that now works. Let me know how I can get you the PST file and you
can take a look for yourself. It's 265 KB.

Cheers,

Dan

As Russ mentions, fax: is a valid qualifier. Compare the ones it happens on
to the ones that aren't showing in the address book - I'll be there is an
extra space or no colon. Use another format for the code - F: or FAX (no
colon) etc.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

That is correct. I wish I could paste a screenshot...

What's showing up for "some" of my prefixed contacts is:

"Microsoft Office Outlook found more than one "john smith"
Select the address to use:

Display Name E-mail Address E-mail Type
John Smith (johnsmith@... johnsmith@smith... SMTP
John Smith (Business Fax) FAX: (403) 555-1 FAX

Interestingly, this does not happen to all of my FAXed contacts. And if I
edit the contact, change the fax entry and resave it, the problem no
longer
repeats.

I can also check the ones that it will fail with by viewing my whole
contact
list by selecting the To: button in the compose window. The ones that it
will
fail on will show the FAX numbers in the list.

Dan

You are saying that you have contacts with FAX prefixed on the Fax number
and they are showing up in the address book? How is it listed in the
address book and on the contact? ie, +1 FAX (202) 555-1212 or FAX +1
(202)
555-1212 etc

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]



Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

For the last few years, I had avoided fax numbers from showing up with
the
well documented "Fax: " prefix on all my fax numbers. Now, I'm at a
new
PC
with Outlook 2003 installed, and the fax numbers are once again showing
up
with the Fax: prefix.

Has something changed? What's the workaround now? What a pain! Has
Microsoft really modified their code to allow the Fax: prefix and think
they
are doing us all a favour?

Dan

:



:

I have contacts in Outlook 2003 with an email addresses and a fax
numbers.
When I type a name in a message "To" box, expecting autocomplete to
function,
it doesn't on their names. I then use CTRL-K to "check names" and
get a
box
with two lines--one with the email address (that I wanted) and one
line
with
a business fax number.
(1) Why does Outlook do this?
(2) What can I do to keep the fax numbers from showing up?
(3) How do I get Outlook to show ONLY the email addresses?
...and, yes, I know I can delete the fax number from the contact.
That
is an
unacceptable solution.

edit the fax name number field and type FAX in front of the number.
I
ended up getting Data Fields Manager so I can do in mass.

so: FAX 1-800-FAX-number couldn't believe we had to do this
either.

 

[Dan]

Someone might want to tell Sperry Software about this "feature", since they
are charging $25 for a product that does exactly that. From their web site:

For everyone who has Outlook and doesn't like the duplicate email addresses
that popup when you select the "To:" (in the "Select Names" window), this
add-in is for you. It will change all fax numbers for a contact to have a
pre-pended "Fax:" before the number. This has the effect of preventing
Outlook from recognizing it as a valid address. This way, when you select
"To:" and get the Select Names dialog box, you will see only one email
address listed.

Dan

This was never a recommended workaround. "FAX:" is also valid format for fax
numbers used for programmatic or one-off faxing. Use one of the many more
reliable workarounds. One method to hide fax numbers from the address book
is to prefix the fax number with one or more letters (maybe B for business
fax, H for home, O for
other). If the fax number begins with a letter, Outlook won't show it in the
address book.

There are a couple of techniques or utilities that can help you hide fax
numbers from the
address book. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/305361/en-us
http://www.rsoutlook.com/us/rshifa.htm
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/Outlook_Solutions.htm (Hide Fax Numbers)
http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/toolbox/

Another way to avoid having fax numbers appear in the address book is
simply not to enter data in the fax fields. Put fax numbers in some other
(non-phone) fields.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

For the last few years, I had avoided fax numbers from showing up with the
well documented "Fax: " prefix on all my fax numbers. Now, I'm at a new
PC
with Outlook 2003 installed, and the fax numbers are once again showing up
with the Fax: prefix.

Has something changed? What's the workaround now? What a pain! Has
Microsoft really modified their code to allow the Fax: prefix and think
they
are doing us all a favour?

Dan

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Sounds like a job for you.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Someone might want to tell Sperry Software about this "feature", since
they
are charging $25 for a product that does exactly that. From their web
site:

For everyone who has Outlook and doesn't like the duplicate email
addresses
that popup when you select the "To:" (in the "Select Names" window), this
add-in is for you. It will change all fax numbers for a contact to have a
pre-pended "Fax:" before the number. This has the effect of preventing
Outlook from recognizing it as a valid address. This way, when you select
"To:" and get the Select Names dialog box, you will see only one email
address listed.

Dan

This was never a recommended workaround. "FAX:" is also valid format for
fax
numbers used for programmatic or one-off faxing. Use one of the many more
reliable workarounds. One method to hide fax numbers from the address
book
is to prefix the fax number with one or more letters (maybe B for
business
fax, H for home, O for
other). If the fax number begins with a letter, Outlook won't show it in
the
address book.

There are a couple of techniques or utilities that can help you hide fax
numbers from the
address book. See:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/305361/en-us
http://www.rsoutlook.com/us/rshifa.htm
http://www.sperrysoftware.com/Outlook_Solutions.htm (Hide Fax Numbers)
http://www.mapilab.com/outlook/toolbox/

Another way to avoid having fax numbers appear in the address book is
simply not to enter data in the fax fields. Put fax numbers in some other
(non-phone) fields.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

For the last few years, I had avoided fax numbers from showing up with
the
well documented "Fax: " prefix on all my fax numbers. Now, I'm at a
new
PC
with Outlook 2003 installed, and the fax numbers are once again showing
up
with the Fax: prefix.

Has something changed? What's the workaround now? What a pain! Has
Microsoft really modified their code to allow the Fax: prefix and think
they
are doing us all a favour?

Dan

:



:

I have contacts in Outlook 2003 with an email addresses and a fax
numbers.
When I type a name in a message "To" box, expecting autocomplete to
function,
it doesn't on their names. I then use CTRL-K to "check names" and
get a
box
with two lines--one with the email address (that I wanted) and one
line
with
a business fax number.
(1) Why does Outlook do this?
(2) What can I do to keep the fax numbers from showing up?
(3) How do I get Outlook to show ONLY the email addresses?
...and, yes, I know I can delete the fax number from the contact.
That
is an
unacceptable solution.

edit the fax name number field and type FAX in front of the number.
I
ended up getting Data Fields Manager so I can do in mass.

so: FAX 1-800-FAX-number couldn't believe we had to do this
either.