Manage Your Outlook Email Address Auto-Complete List
Do you ever find it frustrating that you can’t make changes to the auto-complete entries in Microsoft Outlook? Even more annoying is the fact that items in your address book aren’t immediately added to the autocomplete list.
There’s a small utility named NK2View by the excellent Nirsoft that can help with this problem. You can delete items in the list, import from your address book, and even export auto-completed addresses for later import into Outlook as full contacts.
View/Delete AutoComplete Items
The utility should automatically detect the location of your *.nk2 folder, but if it doesn’t you’ll find it in the following location:
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook
You can select items in the list and use the Delete key to get rid of them. You’ll be warned that you should probably close Outlook first.
Unfortunately, you can’t directly edit the items in the list, you can just view them with a double-click.
Import Outlook Contacts to Your Auto-Complete List
You can import contacts from the Address Book, or even the Global Address List if you are on an Exchange network. Just go to the File \ Add Items From Address Book item on the menu.
Select the address book you want, and then add the selected items by using the To button.
After you hit the OK button, the items will be added to the list.
Export Your AutoComplete List
You can export the items in the list into a format that could be imported into Outlook, where you can make any edits you’d like. Choose “Save Selected Items” from the menu (make sure to select contacts first)
Then choose “Tab delimited file – for Outlook import” from the list, and name the file something useful.
Import Auto-Complete Entries into Outlook as Contacts
Open Outlook and go to File \ Import and Export on the menu.
Choose to “Import from another program or file” and hit Next.
Choose to import “Tab Separated Values (Windows)” from the file type list.
Choose the file to import from, and then choose to “Do not import duplicate items”. You don’t want the items in the auto-complete to overwrite existing entries in your list, the idea is to populate only the items missing from your contacts folder.
You’ll be prompted for the folder you want to import to, then on the next screen check the box next to “Import filename into folder: Contacts”, and the mapping dialog will immediately pop up.
Here’s where it’s slightly tricky… you need to map between the left and right hand panes by dragging and dropping the values where you want them. Here’s what I’d suggest as the mappings:
- Email Address -> E-mail
- Email Display Name -> Name
Hit OK and then Finish on the other screen, and your contacts will be immediately imported.
Editing Auto-Complete Entries
Since you can’t use the utility to edit items, what I’d suggest you do is export the items and import them into your Outlook contacts folder, then use the utility to import from your address book after you’ve made your edits in Outlook.
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Some of the other utilities they develop are worth a try as well.
This is great! I had looked for something like this before.
I use Outlook pretty much as my sole organising system and would like a feature that was an ability to add, modify & view comments attached to email headings.
Like the Excel comments that when you pass over a cell or maybe just another right click item, but that allows me to click onto an email in the inbox view to read a comment I may have left tomyself about this email.
The flags are one system but very limited.
Do you know of such a utility please ?
Please help me download the file?
Lee go to nirsoft.net and click Utilities from the panel on the left. Search for NK2View v1.20 and click the hyper link. scroll to the bottom for the next page and click Download.
Hello – I’ve gone to their site, and downloaded the latest version. It shows the autocompleted names, but I can’t seem to import any off my contact list. I click on the contacts drop-down, I see the names, I pick one or two, hit the TO button (as your instructions state) and then hit OK, and NOTHING happens.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks.
This is AWESOME!! Very easy to follow instructions…got it to work on the first try and was able to help out a friend of mine with his work e-mails!! Thanks so much for this tutorial!!
After importing Outlook 2003 to thunderbird 2.0.0.16 I was very stressed when i figured out that all autocompleted emailadresses were not imported as emailadresses but as names, leaving me with a rather unpleasent situation of not being able to track certain messages. i used NK2View to obtain a list of addresses but i dont think that i got them all. it is very disturbing to experience how microsoft locked the emailadresses into outlook, almost making it impossible for me to access and export them. and i dont believe i got all addresses that where in three pst files that accumulated 3 gigs of email and attachments over the last few years. i have a very bad feeling about this.
This was Brilliant!!!!
I had been looking for something like this, I have been sending Work Mails and have lost track of a few important contacts of which I had no written or soft copy record.
NK2View did the Job.
Much appreciate the thoughfulness of the developer.
A clean download and simpple interface makes it even better.
Thanks!
I HAVE BEEN USING MS OUTLOOK FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS AND I GUESS ALL THE EMAIL ID’S TO WHOM I SENT ARE STORED AND AVAILABLE FOR AUTOCOMPLETE OPTION. ID’S REQUIRED ARE SAVED IN ADDRESS BOOK BUT MOST OF THE OTHER ID’S ARE CLOSED ONES OR UNWANTED. COULD YOU PLEASE ADVICE HOW TO DELETE ALL THE UNWANTED FROM THE AUTOCOMPLETE OPTION
dear i didnot find nk2v in my outlook folder data.please suggest me what to do.
thanks.
I am helping the same issue please help me out. thnx
OUTSTANDING!!!
I’ve had a few people ask me to recover autocomplete email addresses in the past – usually after they’ve formated the hard drive tho! Whats even better is that I can add it to my USB tool kit
Awesome app only one that i know that does this…thanks again