Read through this primer I wrote. Hopefully it will clarify things:
Autoresolution has been a feature in all versions of Outlook. Its purpose
is to resolve any name typed in the To: field of a new message to a valid
e-mail address. It searches all Outlook Contacts Folders that have been
enabled as email address books for potential matches and presents any
matches as potential recipients for the message. In the past, many users
have used autoresolution as a substitute for the autocompletion feature
seen in Outlook Express and other e-mail programs.
Outlook 2002 and 2003 added a true autocompletion feature to Outlook but
have also retained this earlier autoresolution feature. The combination of
these two features is awkward and can be confusing to novice users. Users
need to understand the differences between autoresolution and
autocompletion.
Autoresolution resolves the name you are typing in the To: field by
searching through your Contacts Folders to provide you with the correct
e-mail address. It is enabled by checking the box for "Automatic Name
checking" in "Advanced e-mail options." To use this feature, follow these
steps:
1.. Open a new message.
2.. In the To: field, type the first three letters of an e-mail address
that is stored in one of your contacts.
3.. Tab or click out of the field or on the "Tools" menu, click "Check
Name." You can also use the "Check Name" toolbar button (the one that has
a red check mark and a picture of a person) or press CTRL+K.
4.. If you have more than one listing matching the name you have typed,
the name you type will have a red wavy line below it. You can now
right-click the name and select the correct name from among the
possibilities presented. That choice will then be stored so that the next
time you compose a message using that name, the name will resolve
automatically. You will notice, however, that the name will now have a
dashed green underline instead of a solid underline just to let you know
that other possible matches exist in case you want to select another of
the possible matches.
When you resolve a name in Outlook 97-2000, that information is stored in
a file with a "nick" extension so that name resolutions will be remembered
from one session to the next.
Autocompletion is a feature that is new in Outlook 2002 and 2003. As you
begin to type a name in the To: field , Outlook offers to complete the
entry based on addresses, aliases, or names from e-mail messages that you
have previously sent. Note that this feature starts functioning
immediately after you have typed the first three letters in the To: field
and does not require that you Tab out of the field or hit CTRK+K. Also
note that it does not use your Contacts Folder as its data source but
rather a cache of information Outlook creates as you actually send
messages. At first, the feature may appear not to be working since it
takes a while for Outlook to build its cache. The autocompletion feature
is enabled by default when you install Outlook 2002 or 2003, but you can
disable it by clicking "Options" on the "Tools" menu, clicking "E-mail
Options" on the "Preferences" tab, and then clicking "Advanced E-mail
Options," then uncheck "Suggest names while completing."
In Outlook 2002 and 2003, both autoresolution and autocompletion features
function side by side. Curiously, both features store their data in the
same file. The file now has an "NK2" extension. Because both features are
usually in play, it is easy to get confused as to whether you are using
autocompletion or autoresolution. Just remember that autocompletion is in
play as soon as you have typed 3 or more letters (or just 1 letter in
Outlook 2003) in the To: field and remains in play until you click out of
the field or expressly invoke autoresolution by one of the methods listed
above. As long as one of the names suggested by the autocompletion feature
remains highlighted in the To: field dropdown, tabbing or clicking out of
the field will select that name as the sending address. If autocompletion
finds no matches in its cache (and therefore suggests no names) or if your
typing restricts the list so that no entries remain, then autocompletion
is no longer in play and autoresolution will take over once you tab or
click out of the field. In Outlook 2003, you can also invoke
autoresolution at any time by hitting "Escape" while typing in the To:
field. Once autocompletion is no longer in play, then Outlook will try to
resolve the name you enter against your various Contacts Folders, but not
against the autocompletion cache.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
DavidJ726 said:
Thanks Russ,
I searched both the local help files as well as at MS for autoresolution
and auto resolution but turned up no hits. I also don't see anything in
the options & preferences. How do I access that function. Simply
deselecting the auto complete option and restarting Outlook doesn't do
it.
Thanks,
David...
Russ Valentine said:
There's nothing to fix. If you want to select entries from your Contacts
Folders, use autoresolution. Autocompletion uses entries from messages
you have sent. It's your choice as to which feature you prefer.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
That's what I was afraid of. It doesn't make sense though, that a
seemingly normal function isn't part of such a "robust" mail program.
How does one go about "fixing" this?
David...
You posted your own answer.
Autocompletion does not use Contacts data.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Auto complete does not seem to be working for me. I'm currently
building the address book as I migrate over from OE and I have
several contacts with e-mail address listed. However, there is only
1 contact that works in regards to auto complete. I
From the help file for Outlook 2003 it states;
"When you type the first letter of a name in one of these boxes,
AutoComplete begins to suggest possible matches based on names you
have typed before. The more letters you type, the greater the
possibility of AutoComplete finding a match."
So, is the reason Outlook does auto complete address's is because I
haven't previously typed in the entire name or address? I would
think it would automatically make these suggestions as I type, based
on the contact list.
Under Tools, Options, Preferences, E-mail Options, Advanced Options,
I do have the "Suggest names while completing" toggled on.
Thanks,
David...
