Many people who "upgrade" from Microsoft Outlook Express want the option to automatically add addresses you reply to to your contacts folder.
We don't generally recommend doing this because it can fill your Contacts folder with a lot of useless addresses you'll never use again. Remember that you are responsible for making sure that the addresses you add automatically are kept up to date. I personally think that adding addresses automatically is a bad idea, unless you're very restrictive with the rules that trigger the addition. You can always add any address by right-clicking on it and choosing Add to Contacts.
Microsoft Outlook 2010 adds addresses you reply to, to the autocomplete list and if a contact does not already exist, it creates a contact in the Suggested Contacts folder used specifically for contacts it automatically creates. Because the folder is separate from your default contacts folder, it avoids many of the problems associated with saving all addresses you send mail to.
In Microsoft Outlook 2003 and 2007, addresses you reply to are added to your autocomplete cache. This list is not permanent and addresses you want to keep should be added to your Contacts folder, either manually with a right click on the address or using one of the automated tools below.
You have a choice of both standalone tools and custom actions that work with Inbox Assistant or Rules Wizard. (Custom actions do not work in Outlook 2002.)
Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 have this as an option, but just in Internet Mail Only mode. For other versions of Outlook, you must use one of the add-ins below.
Outlook 2003 and up offers a feature in Junk email options (Tools, Options, Junk email options button) that adds people you reply to to your Safe senders list. This does not add them to your contacts but will allow all future messages from the address to bypass the junk mail filter.
Outlook 2002 and up | Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 IMO | Tools | Notes | More Information
OWA
Although Exchange server’s Outlook Web Access (OWA) is not Outlook (it’s a cleverly designed web application that resembles Outlook), we’re including it here because we do get asked how to automatically add addresses to the Contacts folder when using it.
The answer is “You can’t”. As of Exchange 2010, OWA does not have this capability. To add the feature, an administrator would need to install a server-side application and as of this time, we are not aware of any software available that is capable of doing this.
At this time, users will need to add the contact to OWA using methods supported by their version.
Suggested Contacts created by Outlook 2010 are available in OWA.
Outlook 2010
Microsoft Outlook 2010 has new feature called Suggested Contacts that creates contacts for people you reply to or send new messages to, if a contact does not already exist. To avoid cluttering up your main contacts folder, Outlook 2010 creates a new contacts folder called Suggested Contacts.
This feature can be disabled in File, Options, Contacts.
Outlook 2002, 2003, 2007
Outlook does not include any built-in function to add addresses automatically. You can use code like that posted at To automatically add recipients from outgoing messages to Contacts in Microsoft Outlook 2002.
Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 IMO
If you are using Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000 in Internet Mail Only mode, you can set Outlook to automatically add new addresses to Contacts when you reply to those people. See:
Tools in the Spotlight
Add Contacts automatically adds e-mail addresses to the contact folder when you reply a message and/or send a new message. You can assign categories to the newly created contacts and you can choose any folder as the contact destination, either in your personal mailbox or in public folders on Microsoft Exchange server. When adding a contact, Add Contacts checks the folder for possible duplicates. |
Tools
Rules Wizard custom action to add the sender of an item to the Contacts folder. C++ source code included. Free sample from Microsoft. | |
Add Email Address is an Outlook add-in that puts people you reply to in Contacts. It can also scan your Inbox and create contacts out of all those email addresses. It now supports Outlook 2010, both 32-bit and 64-bit. | |
Adds the sender of a message to your Personal Address Book. Requires Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000 in Corporate/Workgroup mode. Source code is included. | |
Bells & Whistles for Outlook helps users to quickly handle and track emails, by automatically creating personalized email reply greetings, subject tracking IDs, reply counters, text templates, easy mail merge sessions and many more. Version 3 includes many new features, such as the ability to use the Bells & Whistles options based on email rules and profiles, advanced automatic reply greetings, attachment archiving, an email resend function for already sent messages, full HTML support for email templates, email signatures option, more than 30 predefined email templates, a live update mechanism and many more. There are more than 15 new features available in Bells & Whistles v3. Bells & Whistles works with Outlook 2000 to Outlook 2007. | |
ReplyButler is a productivity tool that automatically pre-writes the greeting phrases (with the correct name. The text module storage saves time for anyone who answers customer e-mails. It can automatically answer e-mails for you. ReplyButler also helps you organize your e-mails by automatically moving your answered e-mails into the right folders. And if you forget an attachment, ReplyButler will remind you. Works with Microsoft Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 and Outlook 2010 (32-Bit). Version 4.00 supports the plentyMarket webshop system. |
Notes
Remember that you are responsible for making sure that the addresses you add automatically are kept up to date.
I personally think that adding addresses automatically is a bad idea, unless you’re very restrictive with the rules that trigger the addition. You can always add any address by right-clicking on it and choosing Add to Contacts.
More Information
Articles that may interest you:
Last reviewed on Dec 8, 2011
Hot Topics