How can I merge two contact lists in Outlook?

[Guest]

Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is obvious that they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the default and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I merge these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."

 

[Guest]

I am using Outlook 2003. When I go to my Contacts page, the left side
vertical bar has CONTACTS. Under contacts, I have "my contacts", "other
contacts", "current view", etc on down the side. In the section under "my
contacts", I have two address books, both named "contacts". I have no idea
how the second list got there but it has been there for some time and I
apparently have been using them both without realizing it. I do use reference
contacts from the "other contacts" area so when I click back to my "contacts"
from there, I must not have been using the same one every time. I can't
figure out which is the default and how I can get all the information into
one address book. Hope this is a little more clear. Thank you.

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is obvious that
they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the default and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I merge
these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Much clearer. The first thing to do is to switch to Folder List view. There
you will see your entire folder hierarchy. How many Contact Folders do you
see there?
At some point you must have created more than one. Do you need more than
one?
We'll straighten out your address book after we figure out which folders you
actually have and which you actually want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I am using Outlook 2003. When I go to my Contacts page, the left side
vertical bar has CONTACTS. Under contacts, I have "my contacts", "other
contacts", "current view", etc on down the side. In the section under "my
contacts", I have two address books, both named "contacts". I have no idea
how the second list got there but it has been there for some time and I
apparently have been using them both without realizing it. I do use
reference
contacts from the "other contacts" area so when I click back to my
"contacts"
from there, I must not have been using the same one every time. I can't
figure out which is the default and how I can get all the information into
one address book. Hope this is a little more clear. Thank you.

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is obvious
that
they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the default
and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I merge
these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?

 

[Guest]

Dear Russ, to pick up where ACSmith left off ... I also have Outlook 2003.
When I am in Mail mode (click on Mail in the bottom left hand corner of the
Outlook window) and I click on the Address Book, I see one Contacts list
(there are no entries in the Address Book).
When I am in Contacts mode (click on Contacts in the bottom left hand corner
of the Outlook window) I see two sets of Contacts listed under My Contacts -
one of them appears to contain the same entries as the Contacts list in the
Address Book in Mail mode but the other one has a different-looking set of
entries. There are some contacts that appear in both lists although they
don't necessarily look identical. I'd like to end up with one Contacts list
with all the contacts that I want from both of the current lists, ie. I'd
like to merge the lists into one. I guess I need to either merge the lists
and sort out the duplicates one by one, or else copy individual entries from
one list to the other.
Going back to the advice that you gave to ACSmith, I wasn't sure how to
switch to Folder List view because I couldn't find a Folder List option under
the View button. However I clicked on the Folder List option under the Go
button and I could see the folder hierarchy that I am familiar with. There I
can see one Cantacts folder, which appears to contain the same Contacts as my
Address Book.
Where do I go from here please?
Regards, Mike Whitehead

Much clearer. The first thing to do is to switch to Folder List view. There
you will see your entire folder hierarchy. How many Contact Folders do you
see there?
At some point you must have created more than one. Do you need more than
one?
We'll straighten out your address book after we figure out which folders you
actually have and which you actually want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I am using Outlook 2003. When I go to my Contacts page, the left side
vertical bar has CONTACTS. Under contacts, I have "my contacts", "other
contacts", "current view", etc on down the side. In the section under "my
contacts", I have two address books, both named "contacts". I have no idea
how the second list got there but it has been there for some time and I
apparently have been using them both without realizing it. I do use
reference
contacts from the "other contacts" area so when I click back to my
"contacts"
from there, I must not have been using the same one every time. I can't
figure out which is the default and how I can get all the information into
one address book. Hope this is a little more clear. Thank you.

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is obvious
that
they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the default
and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I merge
these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

I don't see how it is possible for you to have two Contacts Folders in the
Contact Navigation Pane and only one in the Folder List Navigation Pane. By
definition, the Folder List Pane shows all folders in your profile. The
Contact Pane shows only your default Contacts Folder plus whatever other
Contact folders you choose for it to display.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Dear Russ, to pick up where ACSmith left off ... I also have Outlook 2003.
When I am in Mail mode (click on Mail in the bottom left hand corner of
the
Outlook window) and I click on the Address Book, I see one Contacts list
(there are no entries in the Address Book).
When I am in Contacts mode (click on Contacts in the bottom left hand
corner
of the Outlook window) I see two sets of Contacts listed under My
Contacts -
one of them appears to contain the same entries as the Contacts list in
the
Address Book in Mail mode but the other one has a different-looking set of
entries. There are some contacts that appear in both lists although they
don't necessarily look identical. I'd like to end up with one Contacts
list
with all the contacts that I want from both of the current lists, ie. I'd
like to merge the lists into one. I guess I need to either merge the lists
and sort out the duplicates one by one, or else copy individual entries
from
one list to the other.
Going back to the advice that you gave to ACSmith, I wasn't sure how to
switch to Folder List view because I couldn't find a Folder List option
under
the View button. However I clicked on the Folder List option under the Go
button and I could see the folder hierarchy that I am familiar with. There
I
can see one Cantacts folder, which appears to contain the same Contacts as
my
Address Book.
Where do I go from here please?
Regards, Mike Whitehead

Much clearer. The first thing to do is to switch to Folder List view.
There
you will see your entire folder hierarchy. How many Contact Folders do
you
see there?
At some point you must have created more than one. Do you need more than
one?
We'll straighten out your address book after we figure out which folders
you
actually have and which you actually want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I am using Outlook 2003. When I go to my Contacts page, the left side
vertical bar has CONTACTS. Under contacts, I have "my contacts", "other
contacts", "current view", etc on down the side. In the section under
"my
contacts", I have two address books, both named "contacts". I have no
idea
how the second list got there but it has been there for some time and I
apparently have been using them both without realizing it. I do use
reference
contacts from the "other contacts" area so when I click back to my
"contacts"
from there, I must not have been using the same one every time. I can't
figure out which is the default and how I can get all the information
into
one address book. Hope this is a little more clear. Thank you.


:

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is obvious
that
they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the
default
and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I
merge
these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?

 

[Guest]

Dear Russ
I've found the 'missing' Contacts folder - it was in the Inbox folder! and
I've no idea how it got there. It's not there when I am in Mail mode.
Where do I go from here please?
Regards, Mike

I don't see how it is possible for you to have two Contacts Folders in the
Contact Navigation Pane and only one in the Folder List Navigation Pane. By
definition, the Folder List Pane shows all folders in your profile. The
Contact Pane shows only your default Contacts Folder plus whatever other
Contact folders you choose for it to display.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Dear Russ, to pick up where ACSmith left off ... I also have Outlook 2003.
When I am in Mail mode (click on Mail in the bottom left hand corner of
the
Outlook window) and I click on the Address Book, I see one Contacts list
(there are no entries in the Address Book).
When I am in Contacts mode (click on Contacts in the bottom left hand
corner
of the Outlook window) I see two sets of Contacts listed under My
Contacts -
one of them appears to contain the same entries as the Contacts list in
the
Address Book in Mail mode but the other one has a different-looking set of
entries. There are some contacts that appear in both lists although they
don't necessarily look identical. I'd like to end up with one Contacts
list
with all the contacts that I want from both of the current lists, ie. I'd
like to merge the lists into one. I guess I need to either merge the lists
and sort out the duplicates one by one, or else copy individual entries
from
one list to the other.
Going back to the advice that you gave to ACSmith, I wasn't sure how to
switch to Folder List view because I couldn't find a Folder List option
under
the View button. However I clicked on the Folder List option under the Go
button and I could see the folder hierarchy that I am familiar with. There
I
can see one Contacts folder, which appears to contain the same Contacts as
my
Address Book.
Where do I go from here please?
Regards, Mike Whitehead

Much clearer. The first thing to do is to switch to Folder List view.
There
you will see your entire folder hierarchy. How many Contact Folders do
you
see there?
At some point you must have created more than one. Do you need more than
one?
We'll straighten out your address book after we figure out which folders
you
actually have and which you actually want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I am using Outlook 2003. When I go to my Contacts page, the left side
vertical bar has CONTACTS. Under contacts, I have "my contacts", "other
contacts", "current view", etc on down the side. In the section under
"my
contacts", I have two address books, both named "contacts". I have no
idea
how the second list got there but it has been there for some time and I
apparently have been using them both without realizing it. I do use
reference
contacts from the "other contacts" area so when I click back to my
"contacts"
from there, I must not have been using the same one every time. I can't
figure out which is the default and how I can get all the information
into
one address book. Hope this is a little more clear. Thank you.


:

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is obvious
that
they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the
default
and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I
merge
these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

First, you need to fire whoever is creating folders in your Outlook profile
and strewing them about where they don't belong. If I had to guess, I'd bet
you did an import of Outlook data somewhere along the line. One of the many
reasons we recommend against importing Outlook data is that it is too easy
to misdirect and/or lose information.

At this point it should just be a simple matter of copying the Contacts from
your non-default Contacts folder into your default Contacts folder. You can
then delete the non-default folder. Make sure you copy the _contents_ of the
folder, not the folder itself, or you'll end up with yet another Contacts
Folder. If you end up with duplicate Contacts, just run a duplicate checker
on the folder to eliminate them.
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/contacts.htm#dupes

As for the Outlook Address Book, if you look at the entry called "Outlook
Address Book" in the "Show Names from:" dropdown, it should be empty. It is
simply holds the Contacts folder(s) you want to display in that view. Just
set the address book view to show your Contacts folder when you open it
(Tools > Options... > Show this address list first).
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Dear Russ
I've found the 'missing' Contacts folder - it was in the Inbox folder! and
I've no idea how it got there. It's not there when I am in Mail mode.
Where do I go from here please?
Regards, Mike

I don't see how it is possible for you to have two Contacts Folders in
the
Contact Navigation Pane and only one in the Folder List Navigation Pane.
By
definition, the Folder List Pane shows all folders in your profile. The
Contact Pane shows only your default Contacts Folder plus whatever other
Contact folders you choose for it to display.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
message

Dear Russ, to pick up where ACSmith left off ... I also have Outlook
2003.
When I am in Mail mode (click on Mail in the bottom left hand corner of
the
Outlook window) and I click on the Address Book, I see one Contacts
list
(there are no entries in the Address Book).
When I am in Contacts mode (click on Contacts in the bottom left hand
corner
of the Outlook window) I see two sets of Contacts listed under My
Contacts -
one of them appears to contain the same entries as the Contacts list in
the
Address Book in Mail mode but the other one has a different-looking set
of
entries. There are some contacts that appear in both lists although
they
don't necessarily look identical. I'd like to end up with one Contacts
list
with all the contacts that I want from both of the current lists, ie.
I'd
like to merge the lists into one. I guess I need to either merge the
lists
and sort out the duplicates one by one, or else copy individual entries
from
one list to the other.
Going back to the advice that you gave to ACSmith, I wasn't sure how to
switch to Folder List view because I couldn't find a Folder List option
under
the View button. However I clicked on the Folder List option under the
Go
button and I could see the folder hierarchy that I am familiar with.
There
I
can see one Contacts folder, which appears to contain the same Contacts
as
my
Address Book.
Where do I go from here please?
Regards, Mike Whitehead

:

Much clearer. The first thing to do is to switch to Folder List view.
There
you will see your entire folder hierarchy. How many Contact Folders do
you
see there?
At some point you must have created more than one. Do you need more
than
one?
We'll straighten out your address book after we figure out which
folders
you
actually have and which you actually want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I am using Outlook 2003. When I go to my Contacts page, the left side
vertical bar has CONTACTS. Under contacts, I have "my contacts",
"other
contacts", "current view", etc on down the side. In the section
under
"my
contacts", I have two address books, both named "contacts". I have
no
idea
how the second list got there but it has been there for some time
and I
apparently have been using them both without realizing it. I do use
reference
contacts from the "other contacts" area so when I click back to my
"contacts"
from there, I must not have been using the same one every time. I
can't
figure out which is the default and how I can get all the
information
into
one address book. Hope this is a little more clear. Thank you.


:

Clarify what you mean. State your version and view.
Explain what you mean by "contact lists."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Somehow I have two contact lists under "my contacts". It is
obvious
that
they
are not in sync with each other. I'm not sure which one is the
default
and
which one I may have added to or corrected over time. How can I
merge
these?
And how can I do it without creating duplicates?