Address book can not be opened

[KCav]

I am trying to put a contact’s name and email address onto a new email
message.

I open Outlook 2003 (11.8118.8132) running under Windows XP (5.1.2600
Service Pack 2, Build 2600.). I click on File, New, E-mail Message and an
untitled message opened. I click on the To: field, instead of viewing a list
of contacts I am told the address book can not be opened.

I looked for the Contacts file in directory C:\Documents & Settings\Kenneth
Cavanaugh\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft \Outlook. I found
Contacts.pst, 265KB, type, Office Data.

I tried to Import the file into Outlook. Here is what I did:
I clicked on File, Import/Export, and the Import Export Wizard opened.
I selected Import from another program or file, clicked Next
selected Personal Folder file (.pst), clicked Next
selected Do not import duplicates, clicked Next
Selected Import from Personal Folders, include subfolders,
Selected Import items into the same folder in Personal Folders, clicked
Finish

I got no responce. No error messages, nothing happened.
What do I need to do to import my Contacts List into Outlook?

 

[Brian Tillman]

I am trying to put a contact’s name and email address onto a new email
message.

I open Outlook 2003 (11.8118.8132) running under Windows XP (5.1.2600
Service Pack 2, Build 2600.). I click on File, New, E-mail Message
and an untitled message opened. I click on the To: field, instead of
viewing a list of contacts I am told the address book can not be
opened.

Do you have contacts in your Contacts folder? That's where they belong. If
so, and your Contacts folder doesn't show in the Address Book interface, you
haven't properly configured the Address Book service. See this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287563/en-us

I looked for the Contacts file in directory C:\Documents &
Settings\Kenneth Cavanaugh\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft
\Outlook. I found Contacts.pst, 265KB, type, Office Data.

Outlook doesn't keep its contacts in a separate file. It keeps them in the
same file in which it keeps your calendar, mail, tasks, notes, and other
data.

I tried to Import the file into Outlook.

No need to import if you have a PST. Simply open the PST with
FIle>Open>Outlook Data File.

 

[KCav]

I clicked on the Outlook icon and looked at the Navigation Plane and found
only Personal Folders and Active Folders. I did not find Contacts. I
clicked on Personal Folders, and still did not find Contacts.

Then I went back to the Status bar and clicked on GO. A menu popped-up. I
pointed to Contacts and clicked, and my Contacts were displayed. Obviously my
Contacts are in Outlook, but why didn’t they appear in the Navigation Plane?

Oh, I see, there is a tab near the bottom of the pane. If I pull it up,
Contacts appears as an item in the Navigation Pane. If I click on the word
Contacts the list opens. But my problem is not solved. When I click on To,
on an untitled message, Contacts should open, but instead a pop-up box
displays the error message, “The address could not be displayedâ€

When I clicked OK another pop-up box called “Select Names†appeared and I
press the down arrow on "Show Names from list" and the word Contacts appears
three times! When I clicked on the first two noting happwns, but when I
clicked on the third Contact lis my contacts open.

Next I got out Windows Explorer and looked for pst files on my hard disk. I
looked in C:\Documents and Settings\Kenneth Cavanaugh for PST files, and
found them in folder Applications Data \Microsoft\Outlook and in
Local\Microsoft\Outlook.

So I have duplicate pst files on my primary hard drive, and triplicate
Contacts listed in Outlook.

Which folder do the pst files belong in, Application Data or Local
Settings?

What should I do to remove two of three Contacts lists from my Outlook
Address book?

 

[Brian Tillman]

I clicked on the Outlook icon and looked at the Navigation Plane and
found only Personal Folders and Active Folders. I did not find
Contacts. I clicked on Personal Folders, and still did not find
Contacts.

"Active" folders? I'll bet it says "Archive".

Which Navigation Pane view are you using?

Then I went back to the Status bar and clicked on GO. A menu
popped-up. I pointed to Contacts and clicked, and my Contacts were
displayed. Obviously my Contacts are in Outlook, but why didn’t they
appear in the Navigation Plane?

I suspect you're using the Mail view of the Navigation Pane, which displays
only mail folders. Click the COntacts of Folder List button at the bottom
of the pane.

Oh, I see, there is a tab near the bottom of the pane. If I pull it
up, Contacts appears as an item in the Navigation Pane. If I click on
the word Contacts the list opens. But my problem is not solved. When
I click on To, on an untitled message, Contacts should open, but
instead a pop-up box displays the error message, “The address could
not be displayedâ€

You have your Outlook Address Book service configured correctly.

When I clicked OK another pop-up box called “Select Names†appeared
and I press the down arrow on "Show Names from list" and the word
Contacts appears three times! When I clicked on the first two
noting happwns, but when I clicked on the third Contact lis my
contacts open.

Click Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing directories or address
books>Next. Select "Outlook Address Book" and click Change. Remove the top
two "Contacts" entries from the list. Close the dialogue. Stop and restart
Outlook. Now what happens?

Next I got out Windows Explorer and looked for pst files on my hard
disk. I looked in C:\Documents and Settings\Kenneth Cavanaugh for
PST files, and found them in folder Applications Data
\Microsoft\Outlook and in Local\Microsoft\Outlook.

Ask Outlook which PSTs you're actively using. Click FIle>Data File
Management and note the PST paths you see. Click
Tools>Options>Other>AutoArchive and note the PST paths you see. It's OK for
the archive path to be listed in the Data File Management list. WIth those
two locations, you should know all of the PSTs Outlook is currently
referencing.

Which folder do the pst files belong in, Application Data or Local
Settings?

The default location is the Local Settings one, but there's nothing magical
about what folder contains the PST. You can have a PST in any folder on
your hard drive, as long as you have read/write permission to it.

 

[KCav]

Click Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing directories or address

books>Next. Select "Outlook Address Book" and click Change. Remove the top
two "Contacts" entries from the list. Close the dialogue. Stop and restart
Outlook. Now what happens?

My Contacts list is now being displayed.

Thank you for giving me a clear concise answer.

KC