Tip of the Week from the LPM Department

Deleting a Name (with an incorrect email address) from the Auto-Complete List in Email (and optionally removing all names from the auto-complete list)

The Auto-Complete List in Outlook is the feature that displays suggestions for names and email addresses when you start to type in the To, Cc or Bcc fields. This can be incredibly helpful in saving time by automatically filling in the name of the recipient as you start typing. The bad news is this feature is often the reason emails are misdirected. What can be really frustrating is when it fills in an old email address, even though that email address has been deleted from your Contacts.

If you want to remove an auto-completed email address that is no longer accurate, here’s how:

1. Start typing the name in the To field. Outlook will display a list of names that begin with the name you just typed.
2. Select the unwanted email by using the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW.
3. Click X to delete the name and email.

Outlook will now stop filling in the incorrect email! Although auto-correct is a time-saver, some people have decided to turn it off so they must type the entire email address. If you decide you want Outlook to remove all names from your auto-complete list, here’s how:

Open Outlook and click on File.

1. Click on Options.
2. Click on Mail.
3. Under Send messages, click on Empty Auto-Complete List.

If you want to turn Auto-Complete back on:

1. Open Outlook and click on File.
2. Click on Options.
3. Click on Mail.
4. Put a check in the box next to Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines.

Using the Auto-Complete function is a big time-saver. If you use it, though, it is always best to take one last look at the addresses in the To, Cc and Bcc fields before you hit Send!

Contact Reba Nance at reban@cobar.org if you have questions.