Outlook 2007 e-mail addressing - How can I avoid using Contacts?

[Karl Laun]

I keep a lot of information stored in my Contacts folder. However, there's a
fairly small group of people I e-mail regularly. In previous version of
Outlook, I kept a separate .PAB file for quickly adding e-mail contacts to
my messages.

As it was installed, Outlook 2007 uses my Contacts as the address book that
is used when I click on TO: I see a huge list of names some with several
e-mail addresses and FAX numbers. I understand the PAB option is no longer
available.

What I would like to be able to do is:

-NOT see EVERY entry in my Contacts folder
-NOT see FAX numbers
-NOT see secondary e-mail addresses for the same person


So far, I have been unable to create a separate address book. I am unable to
add names to the Outlook Address Book and cannot add the outlook address
book to my e-mail address books (because it contains no entries). What am I
missing?

Karl

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

There is no separate address book in Outlook and hasn't been for years. The
address book is simply a view of your Contacts Folders. You cannot store
Contacts anywhere but in Contacts Folders.
The Outlook Address Book does not display every Contact. It only displays
those with electronic addresses.
If you want to see only the primary email address in the Outlook Address
Book, store the other electronic addresses in other fields so they will not
display.
Most users have migrated away from using the Outlook Address Book for
recipient selection because it is too inconvenient and cannot be customized.
Contacts Folders on the other hand are highly customizable. Most users now
use autocompletion for quick recipient selection.

 

[Karl Laun]

Thanks for your reply, Russ. Just not what I was hoping to hear. :-/

---RE: "There is no separate address book in Outlook"

I used Outlook 2003 (and previous versions) until recently and I had the
option of using a different (PAB or WAB) address book as a first choice when
I addressed e-mails. This is no longer an option in 2007.

---RE:"If you want to see only the primary email address in the Outlook
Address Book, store the other electronic addresses in other fields so they
will not display."

That kind of of defeats the purpose of storing them in the designated fields
to start with, don't you think? If I move all the FAX numbers out of the
FAX fields, they won't show up in the Contacts views I WANT to see them in.
Just doesn't seem too practical.

---RE: "Most users now use autocompletion for quick recipient selection."

That works great if you know in advace everyone you want to send to. Using
the old method, I used to be able to pick from a short list (as a memory
jog) of intened recipients.
It's usually not the same people each time, or a distribution list would
easily fill the bill.

---RE: "Contacts Folders on the other hand are highly customizable."

(Except that you can't specify which entries appear in the e-mail TO: list)
;-)

I realize that as a home Outlook user, I may be in a minority. The Contacts
and WAB address options work "ok" for me on our corporate servers at work
(like I have a choice). My workflow at home is quite a bit different. Guess
I'll just have to learn to adapt.

Happy Holidays,

Karl

There is no separate address book in Outlook and hasn't been for years.
The address book is simply a view of your Contacts Folders. You cannot
store Contacts anywhere but in Contacts Folders.
The Outlook Address Book does not display every Contact. It only displays
those with electronic addresses.
If you want to see only the primary email address in the Outlook Address
Book, store the other electronic addresses in other fields so they will
not display.
Most users have migrated away from using the Outlook Address Book for
recipient selection because it is too inconvenient and cannot be
customized. Contacts Folders on the other hand are highly customizable.
Most users now use autocompletion for quick recipient selection.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I keep a lot of information stored in my Contacts folder. However, there's
a fairly small group of people I e-mail regularly. In previous version of
Outlook, I kept a separate .PAB file for quickly adding e-mail contacts to
my messages.

As it was installed, Outlook 2007 uses my Contacts as the address book
that is used when I click on TO: I see a huge list of names some with
several e-mail addresses and FAX numbers. I understand the PAB option is
no longer available.

What I would like to be able to do is:

-NOT see EVERY entry in my Contacts folder
-NOT see FAX numbers
-NOT see secondary e-mail addresses for the same person


So far, I have been unable to create a separate address book. I am unable
to add names to the Outlook Address Book and cannot add the outlook
address book to my e-mail address books (because it contains no entries).
What am I missing?

Karl

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I understand. Microsoft seems determined to steer us away from that address
book interface. It's not that bad when you get used to it. Between
autocompletion and the use of Categories and separate Contact subfolders,
recipient selection can be customized to suit your needs.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks for your reply, Russ. Just not what I was hoping to hear. :-/

---RE: "There is no separate address book in Outlook"

I used Outlook 2003 (and previous versions) until recently and I had the
option of using a different (PAB or WAB) address book as a first choice
when I addressed e-mails. This is no longer an option in 2007.

---RE:"If you want to see only the primary email address in the Outlook
Address Book, store the other electronic addresses in other fields so they
will not display."

That kind of of defeats the purpose of storing them in the designated
fields to start with, don't you think? If I move all the FAX numbers out
of the FAX fields, they won't show up in the Contacts views I WANT to see
them in. Just doesn't seem too practical.

---RE: "Most users now use autocompletion for quick recipient selection."

That works great if you know in advace everyone you want to send to. Using
the old method, I used to be able to pick from a short list (as a memory
jog) of intened recipients.
It's usually not the same people each time, or a distribution list would
easily fill the bill.

---RE: "Contacts Folders on the other hand are highly customizable."

(Except that you can't specify which entries appear in the e-mail TO:
list) ;-)

I realize that as a home Outlook user, I may be in a minority. The
Contacts and WAB address options work "ok" for me on our corporate servers
at work (like I have a choice). My workflow at home is quite a bit
different. Guess I'll just have to learn to adapt.

Happy Holidays,

Karl

There is no separate address book in Outlook and hasn't been for years.
The address book is simply a view of your Contacts Folders. You cannot
store Contacts anywhere but in Contacts Folders.
The Outlook Address Book does not display every Contact. It only displays
those with electronic addresses.
If you want to see only the primary email address in the Outlook Address
Book, store the other electronic addresses in other fields so they will
not display.
Most users have migrated away from using the Outlook Address Book for
recipient selection because it is too inconvenient and cannot be
customized. Contacts Folders on the other hand are highly customizable.
Most users now use autocompletion for quick recipient selection.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I keep a lot of information stored in my Contacts folder. However,
there's a fairly small group of people I e-mail regularly. In previous
version of Outlook, I kept a separate .PAB file for quickly adding e-mail
contacts to my messages.

As it was installed, Outlook 2007 uses my Contacts as the address book
that is used when I click on TO: I see a huge list of names some with
several e-mail addresses and FAX numbers. I understand the PAB option is
no longer available.

What I would like to be able to do is:

-NOT see EVERY entry in my Contacts folder
-NOT see FAX numbers
-NOT see secondary e-mail addresses for the same person


So far, I have been unable to create a separate address book. I am
unable to add names to the Outlook Address Book and cannot add the
outlook address book to my e-mail address books (because it contains no
entries). What am I missing?

Karl