Outlook Auto Complete Memory
Outlook remembers who you send email to and uses this memory to automatically complete names and addresses that you type directly into the To: field of a message. It saves a lot of time because you can just type the first few letters of your frequent contact's name, alias or address and press Enter or Tab to move on.
When someone's address changes, you may need to remove an entry from this auto complete memory. Here's what to do:
- Type the first few letters of the name or address so Outlook opens the auto complete suggestion list.
- Press the down arrow key to highlight the entry you want to remove.
- Press the delete key to remove that entry from auto complete memory.
- Pick the new name from the address book or type the complete address in the To: field.
Removing an auto complete entry may also be necessary for example when an ex-employee mailbox is removed and a group object is added with the ex-employee's address. The group will receive incoming email from the Internet with no problem, but internal mail can be disrupted because Outlook auto complete remembers the mailbox object (which no longer exists) and not the SMTP address.
It can also be necessary to remove an entry from AutoComplete if you've mistakenly typed an SMTP address directly into the from field instead of picking an alias (group) object from the Global Address List (GAL).
Creating and using a new Outlook Profile will clear the auto complete memory entirely. This can be good for clearing out a lot of obsolete entries, but you'll probably find yourself looking for the complete versions of some email addresses Outlook used to complete for you.