Most likely you're just not familiar with the difference between
autocompletion and autoresolution. It can get confusing since both features
are enabled by default in Outlook 2002/3.
Here's a primer:
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:
Open a new message.
In the To: field, type the first three letters of an e-mail address that is
stored in one of your contacts.
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.
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]
Doug said:
I am still a little perplexed. First: I have not found
an option for autoresolution. Second: in the example I
gave earlier I made up a new name today in my contact
list called Al Jones. When I typed in Al Jones, it added
the address when I hit tab. I had never sent anything to
it, because it is a bogus name and address. So, it
sounds like autoresolution is on. Sorry to keep
pestering you, but something just doesn't jive.
Doug
-----Original Message-----
All sounds normal to me. Autocompletion does not use the information in your
Contacts Folder. It uses a cache derived from messages you have already
sent. Only autoresolution uses the information in your Contacts Folder.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Doug said:
I am using Outlook 2002 in the option for autocompletion
or autoresolution is not an exact option in the advanced
options under e-mail options. It is checked to suggest
names when entering in the To: CC, Bcc: field's. When I
start an e-mail I'm sending to my wife I will type:
val
It will then complete her first named (Valerie) and last
name and when I tab to the subject field her address
appears beside her name. Also, some names I type will
immediately become underlined when I tab to the next
field. When I type a name that it does not complete, but
I know is in my contact list, it does absolutely nothing
when I tab to the next field. Is this enough information?
Doug
-----Original Message-----
You have not clarified whether you are using
autocompletion or
autoresolution. If you do not know, then post the
precise steps you are
using to enter the address and we'll figure it out. You
have not specified
your Outlook version.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
When I begin a new message, some names that put in the
To: field that are in my contact list will
automatically
fill with the e-mail address, but some will not. I
have
it set to do that in the options. There are names in
my
contacts with the e-mail addresses that I have used
before in e-mails and they auto fill when I start the
first name. For testing purposes I created a new
contact
with a fake e-mail address and then started a new
message
with that person's name and it filled in the address.
What gives? Yes, I do have it set to look in contacts
and
not the address book.
Doug Maples
.
.
