How to Search Outlook Contacts by Name Instead of Email Address
Question details
The user needs Outlook to suggest contacts by their names rather than just their email addresses when typing in the recipient field.
- Product
- Microsoft Outlook
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Composing a new email and adding recipients in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields.
- Observed behavior
- Outlook successfully finds contacts when an email address is entered but fails to auto-complete or suggest the contact when their name is typed.
Ensure that the contact's name and email address are correctly saved in your Outlook Contacts or Address Book before testing the search function.
Enable and Update the Outlook Auto-Complete List
Turn on the Auto-Complete feature in Outlook settings and send an initial email to register the contact's name in the suggestion cache.
Outlook's Auto-Complete list is built from the recipients you have previously emailed from that specific computer. If a contact has not been emailed recently, their name might not appear until you send them a message at least once.
Launch Microsoft Outlook, click on 'File' in the top left corner, and select 'Options' from the bottom of the menu pane.
In the Outlook Options dialog box, click on 'Mail' in the left-hand navigation pane, then scroll down until you find the 'Send messages' section.
Check the box that says 'Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines', then click 'OK' to save your changes.
Compose a new email message, manually select the contact from your Address Book (or type their full email address), and send the message. The next time you type their name, Outlook will suggest them automatically.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my Outlook Auto-Complete suddenly stop working?
This usually happens if the Auto-Complete cache gets corrupted, or after migrating to a new computer or updating Microsoft Office. Emptying the Auto-Complete cache in the Mail settings and rebuilding it often resolves the issue.
How do I remove a wrong email address from the Outlook Auto-Complete list?
Start typing the name or email in the 'To' field. When the incorrect suggestion appears in the dropdown list, hover your mouse over it and click the 'X' icon next to the suggestion to permanently delete it from the cache.
Does the Address Book automatically sync with the Auto-Complete list?
No, the Auto-Complete list operates independently of your Address Book. It only stores names and addresses you have previously sent emails to. Simply adding a contact to your Address Book will not make them appear in Auto-Complete until you email them.
