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How to Send Emails to Contact Lists in New Outlook
Question details
Users are unable to send emails to certain contact lists in the New Outlook, particularly those that are stored locally rather than in the cloud.
- Product
- Microsoft Outlook
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to compose and send a new email to a saved contact list or contact group within the New Outlook interface.
- Observed behavior
- The email fails to send or the contact list is not recognized correctly because New Outlook lacks full support for local PST-based contact lists.
Ensure you are connected to the internet and verify whether your contact list is saved locally on your computer or synced to a supported cloud account like Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com.
Expand the Contact List into Individual Recipients
Use this method to quickly bypass recognition issues with locally stored contact lists by converting the group into individual email addresses right before sending.
The New Outlook may fail to process emails addressed to local PST-based contact groups as a single entity. By expanding the group in the recipient field, Outlook processes the message as being sent to individual addresses, which bypasses the sync limitations.
Open the New Outlook application and click on 'New Email' to start drafting your message.
Type the name of your contact list in the 'To', 'Cc', or 'Bcc' field and select it from the auto-complete dropdown.
Click the plus (+) button located immediately next to the contact list's name in the recipient field.
Wait a moment for the group to expand into individual email addresses, then click the 'Send' button.
Recreate the Contact List in a Cloud Account
Ensure permanent compatibility by migrating your local contact lists to a supported cloud location.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my local contact lists not working in the New Outlook?
The New Outlook currently has partial support for contact lists and primarily supports cloud-based lists stored in Outlook.com, Microsoft 365, or Exchange Online. Lists stored in local PST files are not fully recognized yet.
Will expanding the contact list hide the recipients from each other?
No, expanding the list in the 'To' or 'Cc' field will reveal all individual email addresses to everyone receiving the email. To maintain privacy, you must place the contact list in the 'Bcc' field before expanding it.
How do I know if my contact list is stored locally or in the cloud?
You can check this by opening the 'People' tab in Outlook and looking at the folder directory on the left pane. If your list is saved under a folder labeled 'On My Computer', it is stored locally. If it is under your main Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 email address, it is synced to the cloud.
Can I import my local PST contacts into a cloud account?
Yes, you can use the classic Outlook desktop application to export your local contacts to a CSV file, and then import that CSV file into your cloud-based Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 account to ensure full compatibility with the New Outlook.
