Last reviewed on September 10, 2011
You’ll find some debate over which method is better for managing different types of contacts — have more than one Contacts folder (Personal, Business, etc.) or use one Contacts folder with categories. There are pluses and minuses for both.
Personally, I use a combination. I have a couple of separate Contacts folders that use special forms, plus I make extensive use of categories in my main Contacts folder.
Multiple Contacts Folders
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| Pluses | Minuses
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- Group different types of contacts separately in the Outlook Address Book
- Use different forms for different types of contacts, each form specific to its folder
- Easily export a set of contacts for use on another machine
| - Automatic journaling takes place only for the main Contacts folder
- If a contact fits into two types (such as both Business and Personal), you may need to create duplicate entries.
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One Contacts Folder, Multiple Categories |
| Pluses | Minuses
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- Combine multiple categories into custom views for innumerable ways of looking at your Contacts
- Automatic journaling for all Contacts
| - Cannot use Categories to select items for a Word mail merge, except in Outlook 2000
- Cannot directly export a particular category; must copy to a separate folder first
- Cannot use Categories to filter when using the Outlook Address Book
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