Brian,
We're the developers of the Owtlook program that Russ was referring to.
Below is the text on how to populate the autocomplete file.
Here are a few little known facts about MS Outlook's NK2 (autocomplete
file):
The maximum number of records that the NK2 file can store is 1000. Once
that limit is reached, it begins to overwrite existing records. Therefore
it is advisable to monitor this file and export information regularly so
that the file doesn't begin to overwrite itself and loose potentially
valuable information.
Once exported, it is our recommendation that you create a new Contact Folder
and import your NK2 data into your Contact Folder. That way, you will
have a backup of your NK2 file's contents. (Note: While it is not
documented, our Owtlook software creates a back up of your NK2 file each
time you open it. The backup file name is:
<Yourprofilename>.nk2.MMDDYYYY-HHMMSS in military time. If you need to open
the backed up file for any reason, rename your existing NK2 file with a
"bak" extension or whatever name you choose, then rename the file that our
software backed up to what should be your current NK2 file.
You can quickly and easily create a new NK2 (autocomplete file) using the
following work-around:
In MS Outlook, go to tools, options, mail setup, send/receive. Uncheck the
"Send immediately when connected box". Next, press the Send/Receive Button
(in Options) and uncheck "Schedule an automatic send/receive". Next
disconnect your computer from the internet by removing your network and/or
telephone connection. Open a new e-mail, press the bcc or to or cc button,
select the contact folder you would like to bring into your NK2
(autocomplete) file. Select all names by highlighting first and last
contact and then add them by pressing the OK button at the bottom. With
your computer disconnected, press the send button. This will automatically
populate your autocomplete file with all of the selected e-mail addresses.
Next, go to your Outbox and delete the e-mail(s) that you just created. Go
back into your Tools, Options, Mail Setup, Send/Receive and change your
options back to the original settings. Remember to put your mail settings
back and plug in your removed cables.
Corrupted NK2 files. Based on several postings in the MS Outlook
Newsgroups, a common misconception is that the NK2 file becomes corrupted
and will no longer Autocomplete. It has been our experience that the NK2
file is still intact and uncorrupted. However, this condition can be caused
by a disconnect (in your systems registry) between the Profile file and your
NK2 file. Here's a trick to try and get them to reconnect: Start by
renaming your NK2 file to <profilename>.nk2.bak for instance. Delete the
current Outlook Profile and create a new one, preferably with a different
name than the one you deleted. This will create a new, empty NK2 file with
the <NewProfileName>.NK2. Next, go to the directory where your NK2 file(s)
exists and rename your *.bak file to the new NK2 file <NewProfileName>.nk2.
This should help your system registry re-attach to the NK2 file to the
profile. The data from your old NK2 file should now be in your new profile
and should work fine. If you want to, repeat this procedure giving the
original Profile Name and you should be back to where you started. If you
want to try the above procedure giving the New Profile the Old Profile name,
all of your e-mail information should be retained thus you will not have to
re-enter mail setup information.
Other Owtlook uses reported to us from our customers:
** "Mine" customer service computers NK2 files to create a global customer
contact folder.
** Extract contact information from terminated employees
** Publicizing the use of the NK2 editor to reduce or discourage personal
use of corporate e-mail services. (By suggesting that you may mine employee
NK2 files, it has been suggested that employees will tend to delete
individual personal entries.)
We hope that this information file helps.
Randy
www.dcs-imaging.com