On 10.01.06, In Outlook stores email addresses in an Autocomplete address list; when these addresses get outdated, they should be deleted to prevent from sending out emails to the wrong address.
Microsoft Outlook has many convenience features to assist us in our day-to-day management of personal information. One such feature is the Autocomplete feature, part of which is used for storing email addresses that we frequently use when sending email messages. While Autocomplete can be a great assistant, I have found it does have some drawbacks as experienced by the end users I support.
The usual problem I encounter is an incorrect email address that makes its way into the Autocomplete. Sometimes, a quick finger is to blame; at other times, the email address stored in Autocomplete is no longer valid. In either case, the address needs to be removed from the Autocomplete list. Removing the address will prevent messages from going to the wrong address, which will prevent non-delivery reports from arriving in the sender’s Inbox. Those non-delivery reports are the source of much end-user grief because they don’t understand the technical jargon in them.
Deleting an address from the Autocomplete list can be tricky because of the habits we acquire when sending email messages. The steps are as follows:
- Follow the steps to send a new email message.
- Click in the To: box and begin typing the email address that you want to delete. DO NOT CLICK IT OR PRESS ENTER!
- Use the arrow keys to highlight the email address you wish to delete on the list (only showing if you have not typed the full email address).
- Press the delete key on the keyboard.
A seemingly simple procedure than can get complicated because of our email habits. We’re used to using the mouse to select an email address, but doing so during this process will populate the address in the To: box; pressing Enter will also do the same. Once the address is in the To: box, it is no longer able to be deleted from Autocomplete.
Best of luck on cleaning up your Autocomplete list in Outlook! If you find something unclear or are unsure of how to proceed, please leave me a comment. Happy computing!
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