In Outlook, as you start typing a name in the To box, a drop down list may appear, showing names of people to whom you've previously sent an email.
Sometimes those names are out of date, and the list includes old email addresses.
In my Outlook drop down lists there are multiple entries for some people – a current address and one or more older addresses. When sending email to those people, I waste time trying to remember which address is the correct one. I'd like to get rid of the old items in the list, so the correct addresses are the only ones left.
Remove the Old Addresses
- Create a new email message
- Start typing a name in the To box
- When the drop down list appears, click the down arrow (or up arrow) key on your keyboard, to move to the name that you want to delete.
- On the keyboard, click the Delete key.
Now when you start typing the name, the deleted names don't appear.
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This works for the autocomplete lists Internet Explorer stores as well.
An excellent tip. I've sent things to the wrong address by clicking on an outdated address. I've also sent things to the wrong address by not paying attention to the auto-complete function. When Bob Denver died, I sent an e-mail to my wife about how I couldn't believe Gilligan was dead. The problem is that the e-mail went to a client, whom I didn't know that well, with the same first name as my wife's. Luckily, the client just responded by saying "I can't believe it either!"
I now have an Outlook rule that delays the sending of e-mail by two minutes. It's kind of a pain if you send something out just before you leave work, and you want to shut your machine down. But, I leave my machine running most of the time anyway to do maintenance chores.
Thanks, Jan Karel, that's a good tip too.
Toad, Gilligan is dead? Geez, why doesn't anyone email me with important news? I've emailed a couple of things to the wrong person, thanks to that drop down list and its enthusiastic autofill. I've received a couple of erroneously sent emails from clients though, so it all balances out.
Those autocomplete entries are stored in an NK2 file – on my computer the path is C:Documents and SettingsdougApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook. If you back this up before a system reload you can restore all the autocompletes. There are also NK2 freeware editors out there.
Great tip. Of course, it presumes you know which is the correct address and which is the old defunct one!
This works great...Thank you!!!!!
I have never been so frustrated in my life, but this was a great tip....I really appreciate the help
Wow! I was ready to tear my hair out. This information made my day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
I was going nuts. Thanks for the tip! It's so obvious once you know.
I deleted one by accident. I used the full address a couple of times but it is no reappearing on the dropdown list. How do I undelete an address?