NK2 frustrations

[Keith G Hicks]

Sorry, I just have to vent about this. This concept really blows. It changes
all the time and that's not good. For example, I have a business partner
whose address could be "(e-mail address removed)" and his name could be "Bill
Smith". Sometimes (and of course I've learned that this depends on where
his messages are coming from and if I hit reply or start a new message) I
have to type "wex... " to get his name to appear, sometimes "Bill..." and
other times I have to precede his name or address with a single quote. It's
like a big not-so-fun guessing game. This feature is so useless it's
laughable. I should be able to set what I want his alias to be and that's
it. The cool little program "Owtlook" has been somewhat useful but the
problem like I said above is that the NK2 file just changes constantly and
so using Owtlook to modify it is pretty much fruitless. Who the heck came up
with this idea? What a joke. Get rid of it and set it up like OE. That was
much better.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

My OE only autcompletes names in the address book... not names *not* in the
address book. (It annoys me to no end when I forward something to another of
my addresses and have to type the address completely every time.)

The NK2 contains addresses you've previously sent mail to and it gets those
names and addresses from the from field in when you reply or from addresses
you type in or autoresolve. If an address comes up different ways, it's
because the person uses a different format for their from address than you
have in contacts or different from previous emails.

if the name is in the contacts, type enough to use autoresolve instead of
autocomplete or disable autocomplete (suggest names).


--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Keith G Hicks]

Yep. Thanks for the info Diane. I know what the NK2 file does. No
offence, I just don't like it. Cool if you do. But it actually annoys me
when names *not* in the address book come up. If I want some random person
or company that I've sent to or received from in there, I'll add them
(Owtlook has at least helped me to clean out stuff I don't want in there).

As I pointed out in my original post I know why the NK2 entries change from
time to time. I shouldn't have to put someone in my address book the same
format as they send (and what if they change their format later?). In fact
there are people I coorespond with who send from the same address but
different tools sometimes. One person uses Outlook from home but has to use
the web when he's away. His mail might come with his address formated one
way today and another way tomorrow.

Turning off "suggest names" is a reasonable suggestion and it would be fine
if it converted the "To..", "Cc.." and "Bcc..." boxes to dropdowns that
accessed the address book. It doesn't really solve the problem.

Whoever developed the whole NK2 file just didn't think about those types of
situations or the fact that it should be editable, customizable or give us
the ability to turn it off and just use a simple dropdown like in OE if we
want to. IMHO it's a case of someone trying to make a tool too smart and
anticipate too much when (IMHO) it actually has the opposite efffect. I feel
that it has a long way to go before it's right.

Like I said, just venting. Maybe this post has been or will be read by
someone who agrees with me has some design control over this feature.
LOL Doesn't hurt to try.


My OE only autcompletes names in the address book... not names *not* in the
address book. (It annoys me to no end when I forward something to another of
my addresses and have to type the address completely every time.)

The NK2 contains addresses you've previously sent mail to and it gets those
names and addresses from the from field in when you reply or from addresses
you type in or autoresolve. If an address comes up different ways, it's
because the person uses a different format for their from address than you
have in contacts or different from previous emails.

if the name is in the contacts, type enough to use autoresolve instead of
autocomplete or disable autocomplete (suggest names).


--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Brian Tillman]

Turning off "suggest names" is a reasonable suggestion and it would
be fine if it converted the "To..", "Cc.." and "Bcc..." boxes to
dropdowns that accessed the address book.

CTRL-K (autoresolution) will do that.

 

[Keith G Hicks]

I have a friend in my contact list whose name is Joshua B... his email
begins with "sab..". I tried what you suggested. I typed "jos" and did
CTRL+K. It said "No suggestions". Then I tried "B.." for his last name.
Still no suggestions. Then I tried "sab". Still no suggestions. Is that how
it's supposed to work?

Turning off "suggest names" is a reasonable suggestion and it would
be fine if it converted the "To..", "Cc.." and "Bcc..." boxes to
dropdowns that accessed the address book.

CTRL-K (autoresolution) will do that.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

No. Autoresolution will work if you have your Outlook Address Book
configured correctly. Your Outlook Address Book is not configured correctly.

 

[Keith G Hicks]

Thanks Russ,

How do you mean by "configured correctly"? I have tons of contacts. There
are no entries in the address book. According to the help file that doesn't
seem possible:

"The Outlook Address Book is created automatically and contains the contacts
in your Contacts folder that have a contact entry in the E-mail or Fax
boxes. These contacts display in the Address Book dialog box when you click
Contacts in the Show names from the list."

When I pull up the "Select Names" screen, it's automatically on "contacts"
in the upper right dropdown box and my entire contact list is in there. If I
change that to "Outlook Address Book" it's empty.

When I first started using Outlook again a couple years ago (after several
years of only using OE), I imported my email address list from OE. I never
changed any default settings. I'd figure Outlook would work as intended
without having to do that. I need to just use Outlook effectively. I have
enough to do with my programming work. I guess I wouldn't expect to have to
jump through a lot of hoops just to make this thing work right. What should
I do to "configure outllook correctly"?

I suppose I should mention that in the dropdown there are 2 entries for
contacts. One is empty while the other has my entire list in it. I have
looked all through the menus and options and have not been able to figure
out how to delete the extraneous entry.

Thanks,

Keith

No. Autoresolution will work if you have your Outlook Address Book
configured correctly. Your Outlook Address Book is not configured correctly.

 

[Brian Tillman]

How do you mean by "configured correctly"? I have tons of contacts.
There are no entries in the address book. According to the help file
that doesn't seem possible:

You need to either add the Outlook Address Book service to your profile or,
if it's already there, eable the Contacts folder as an address book. Click
Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing directories or address
books>Next. If OAB shows as a service, close the dialogue and right-click
your Contacts folder, choosing Properties. Click the Outlook Address Book
tab and check "Show thie folder as an e-mail Address Book".

If OAB doesn't show as a service, click Add>Additional Address Books, select
Outlook Address Book>Next, then Finish. Now go back and enable the folder.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Outlook never works as intended when you import Contacts. The fact that you
have two entries for Contacts Folders in the Outlook Address Book is
testimony to that.
Reset your Outlook Address Book Service by removing it from your profile.
Restart Outlook. Add it back and make sure your Contacts Folder is enabled
as an email address book in its properties. Autoresolution should work
thereafter. Never import Contacts. They are not a foreign file format.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks Russ,

How do you mean by "configured correctly"? I have tons of contacts. There
are no entries in the address book. According to the help file that
doesn't
seem possible:

"The Outlook Address Book is created automatically and contains the
contacts
in your Contacts folder that have a contact entry in the E-mail or Fax
boxes. These contacts display in the Address Book dialog box when you
click
Contacts in the Show names from the list."

When I pull up the "Select Names" screen, it's automatically on "contacts"
in the upper right dropdown box and my entire contact list is in there. If
I
change that to "Outlook Address Book" it's empty.

When I first started using Outlook again a couple years ago (after several
years of only using OE), I imported my email address list from OE. I never
changed any default settings. I'd figure Outlook would work as intended
without having to do that. I need to just use Outlook effectively. I have
enough to do with my programming work. I guess I wouldn't expect to have
to
jump through a lot of hoops just to make this thing work right. What
should
I do to "configure outllook correctly"?

I suppose I should mention that in the dropdown there are 2 entries for
contacts. One is empty while the other has my entire list in it. I have
looked all through the menus and options and have not been able to figure
out how to delete the extraneous entry.

Thanks,

Keith

No. Autoresolution will work if you have your Outlook Address Book
configured correctly. Your Outlook Address Book is not configured
correctly.

 

[Keith G Hicks]

Thanks Bria, but all of what you said to do below is already the case.

How do you mean by "configured correctly"? I have tons of contacts.
There are no entries in the address book. According to the help file
that doesn't seem possible:

You need to either add the Outlook Address Book service to your profile or,
if it's already there, eable the Contacts folder as an address book. Click
Tools>E-mail Accounts>View or change existing directories or address
books>Next. If OAB shows as a service, close the dialogue and right-click
your Contacts folder, choosing Properties. Click the Outlook Address Book
tab and check "Show thie folder as an e-mail Address Book".

If OAB doesn't show as a service, click Add>Additional Address Books, select
Outlook Address Book>Next, then Finish. Now go back and enable the folder.

 

[Keith G Hicks]

Before your post below I managed to remove the extra Contacts folder. So
that's gone now.

The only way I know to get at the profile is thorugh the Control Panel ->
Mail -> Show Profiles. In the top box in that window that has the caption
"The following profiles are set up on this computer:" it says "Outlook".
Then toward the bottom, the radio button "Always use this profile" is
checked and the dropdown below it has "Outlook" in it. There are no other
optiosn in the dropdown. In the middle of that screen there are 4 buttons
"Add", "Remove", "Properties" and "Copy...". Are you telling me to use the
REMOVE button here to remove the "Outlook" entry from the box above or is
there somethign else I need to do? Then if you could explain how to add it
back in I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Keith


Outlook never works as intended when you import Contacts. The fact that you
have two entries for Contacts Folders in the Outlook Address Book is
testimony to that.
Reset your Outlook Address Book Service by removing it from your profile.
Restart Outlook. Add it back and make sure your Contacts Folder is enabled
as an email address book in its properties. Autoresolution should work
thereafter. Never import Contacts. They are not a foreign file format.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks Russ,

How do you mean by "configured correctly"? I have tons of contacts. There
are no entries in the address book. According to the help file that
doesn't
seem possible:

"The Outlook Address Book is created automatically and contains the
contacts
in your Contacts folder that have a contact entry in the E-mail or Fax
boxes. These contacts display in the Address Book dialog box when you
click
Contacts in the Show names from the list."

When I pull up the "Select Names" screen, it's automatically on "contacts"
in the upper right dropdown box and my entire contact list is in there. If
I
change that to "Outlook Address Book" it's empty.

When I first started using Outlook again a couple years ago (after several
years of only using OE), I imported my email address list from OE. I never
changed any default settings. I'd figure Outlook would work as intended
without having to do that. I need to just use Outlook effectively. I have
enough to do with my programming work. I guess I wouldn't expect to have
to
jump through a lot of hoops just to make this thing work right. What
should
I do to "configure outllook correctly"?

I suppose I should mention that in the dropdown there are 2 entries for
contacts. One is empty while the other has my entire list in it. I have
looked all through the menus and options and have not been able to figure
out how to delete the extraneous entry.

Thanks,

Keith

No. Autoresolution will work if you have your Outlook Address Book
configured correctly. Your Outlook Address Book is not configured
correctly.

 

[Keith G Hicks]

Never mind. I figured it out. Thanks. -keith

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Not at all. I said nothing about removing profiles. I said to remove the
Outlook Address Book Service from your profile.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;287563&Product=ol2002
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Before your post below I managed to remove the extra Contacts folder. So
that's gone now.

The only way I know to get at the profile is thorugh the Control Panel ->
Mail -> Show Profiles. In the top box in that window that has the caption
"The following profiles are set up on this computer:" it says "Outlook".
Then toward the bottom, the radio button "Always use this profile" is
checked and the dropdown below it has "Outlook" in it. There are no other
optiosn in the dropdown. In the middle of that screen there are 4 buttons
"Add", "Remove", "Properties" and "Copy...". Are you telling me to use the
REMOVE button here to remove the "Outlook" entry from the box above or is
there somethign else I need to do? Then if you could explain how to add it
back in I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

Keith


Outlook never works as intended when you import Contacts. The fact that
you
have two entries for Contacts Folders in the Outlook Address Book is
testimony to that.
Reset your Outlook Address Book Service by removing it from your profile.
Restart Outlook. Add it back and make sure your Contacts Folder is enabled
as an email address book in its properties. Autoresolution should work
thereafter. Never import Contacts. They are not a foreign file format.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks Russ,

How do you mean by "configured correctly"? I have tons of contacts. There
are no entries in the address book. According to the help file that
doesn't
seem possible:

"The Outlook Address Book is created automatically and contains the
contacts
in your Contacts folder that have a contact entry in the E-mail or Fax
boxes. These contacts display in the Address Book dialog box when you
click
Contacts in the Show names from the list."

When I pull up the "Select Names" screen, it's automatically on
"contacts"
in the upper right dropdown box and my entire contact list is in there.
If
I
change that to "Outlook Address Book" it's empty.

When I first started using Outlook again a couple years ago (after
several
years of only using OE), I imported my email address list from OE. I
never
changed any default settings. I'd figure Outlook would work as intended
without having to do that. I need to just use Outlook effectively. I have
enough to do with my programming work. I guess I wouldn't expect to have
to
jump through a lot of hoops just to make this thing work right. What
should
I do to "configure outllook correctly"?

I suppose I should mention that in the dropdown there are 2 entries for
contacts. One is empty while the other has my entire list in it. I have
looked all through the menus and options and have not been able to figure
out how to delete the extraneous entry.

Thanks,

Keith

No. Autoresolution will work if you have your Outlook Address Book
configured correctly. Your Outlook Address Book is not configured
correctly.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have a friend in my contact list whose name is Joshua B... his email
begins with "sab..". I tried what you suggested. I typed "jos" and did
CTRL+K. It said "No suggestions". Then I tried "B.." for his last name.
Still no suggestions. Then I tried "sab". Still no suggestions. Is that
how
it's supposed to work?


Turning off "suggest names" is a reasonable suggestion and it would
be fine if it converted the "To..", "Cc.." and "Bcc..." boxes to
dropdowns that accessed the address book.

CTRL-K (autoresolution) will do that.

 

[Randy]

Kieth,

Sorry to read about your NK2 problems. This may be like putting a bandaid
on a compound fracture, but you should first upgrade your Owtlook to
Ingressor, it's a free upgrade for registered users.

One version of our software will be able to automatically sync your NK2 to
the AD. That will happen behind your Windows' login. The new version will
also provide an easy Move NK2 data to a contact folder. Doing this than
turning off the autocomplete file is also an option. Or, once the file is
"clean" make certain that you edit the "reply to" address if it isn't
formatted according to your requirements. In any event, Owtlook's big
brother as Russ called it (or was it little brother Russ), is much easier to
use and edit. You can globally remove all quotes, etc.

You may find that it takes the sting out of using the autocomplete. Also,
if you are in a larger Exchange environment, the Commander program will
automatically fix your problems provided that these entries are in your AD.

Randy

 

[Keith G Hicks]

Hi Randy. I sent you an email on 6-22-05 asking for the new registration
code for Ingressor. I sent a follow up yesterday. No response from you
folks yet. I downloaded the tool right away when you sent out the notice but
have not been able to use it since I don't have a code yet. Any idea when I
can expect it?

Keith

Kieth,

Sorry to read about your NK2 problems. This may be like putting a bandaid
on a compound fracture, but you should first upgrade your Owtlook to
Ingressor, it's a free upgrade for registered users.

One version of our software will be able to automatically sync your NK2 to
the AD. That will happen behind your Windows' login. The new version will
also provide an easy Move NK2 data to a contact folder. Doing this than
turning off the autocomplete file is also an option. Or, once the file is
"clean" make certain that you edit the "reply to" address if it isn't
formatted according to your requirements. In any event, Owtlook's big
brother as Russ called it (or was it little brother Russ), is much easier to
use and edit. You can globally remove all quotes, etc.

You may find that it takes the sting out of using the autocomplete. Also,
if you are in a larger Exchange environment, the Commander program will
automatically fix your problems provided that these entries are in your AD.

Randy

 

[Brian Tillman]

Never mind. I figured it out. Thanks. -keith

Post the answer. I'm dying to know what the problem was.

 

[Keith G Hicks]

I just meant I figured out what he was telling me to do. He clarified it in
his later follow up anyway.

I think it was just as he suggested. I originally imported my list from OE.
That caused some problems. (In addition I remember when I imported my mail
from OE into Outlook. Boy was that ever a big lot of grief. I found out
later that you should export from OE instead because when you import from
Outlook all the dates get screwed up (or the other way around, I don't
remember now). I found that out too late and was never able to fix it since
I had already deleted some of the mail from OE and had used Outlook
extensively. I could hardly believe this bug was in there. What a mess. A
great many of my messages went from OE to Outlook and the dates changed to
the date I did the import. Unbelievable!).

However, I still don't see the contacts in the address book. CTRL+K works
but when I look at the address book it still says there are no entries. This
is not that critical. Some things have been solved and I appreciate the help
here.

I still don't like the way the NK2 file stuff is engineered. It needs a lot
of work. I also have to throw in that (IMO) Outlook itself is very
convoluted. There are too many ways to get at things and it's not very
clear usually what to do to get at something. My brother and I who are both
veteran programmers frequently laugh about Outlook whenever we are trying to
figure out how to set some feature. It's like ever in there is an
afterthought. Most people want to use a tool like that just to be more
productive. You should not have to be an *expert* (or even close) on it to
use it. It's not like FoxPro or Delphi or C++. I know it's not that complex
but it should be painfully simple to use. It's not. Just my opinion. Take it
or leave it.

Thanks again to ya'll for the support. Much appreciated.

Keith

Never mind. I figured it out. Thanks. -keith

Post the answer. I'm dying to know what the problem was.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

or just click the buttons to see the address book.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

However, I still don't see the contacts in the address book. CTRL+K works

but when I look at the address book it still says there are no entries.

If this means clicking the To button brings up an empty folder when the
Contacts folder is not empty....

Make sure the Contact folder is enabled as an email address book. Right
click the Contacts folder, choose Properties then Outlook Address Book. Is
the box to enable as email address book is checked? (you can have more than
one checked - see the address book's tools, options dialog.)

If this is grayed out...

Go to Tools | Email Accounts, choose View or change existing directories or
address book. Is the Outlook Address Book present? If it isn't listed, add
it and close and restart Outlook. If it is listed, then remove it and close
then restart Outlook and repeat these steps to add it.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Keith G Hicks]

It is checked and it is not grayed out.

However, I still don't see the contacts in the address book. CTRL+K works
but when I look at the address book it still says there are no entries.

If this means clicking the To button brings up an empty folder when the
Contacts folder is not empty....

Make sure the Contact folder is enabled as an email address book. Right
click the Contacts folder, choose Properties then Outlook Address Book. Is
the box to enable as email address book is checked? (you can have more than
one checked - see the address book's tools, options dialog.)

If this is grayed out...

Go to Tools | Email Accounts, choose View or change existing directories or
address book. Is the Outlook Address Book present? If it isn't listed, add
it and close and restart Outlook. If it is listed, then remove it and close
then restart Outlook and repeat these steps to add it.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/