Contacts - Tips and Tricks
This week's tip shares tips about Contacts that users might not be aware of!
Contacts
Here are several tips about Contacts that new and experienced Outlook users will find helpful. Some deal with new contact cards and some with using contact cards that are older.
Add a New Contact From a Mail Message
There are several ways to add a new contact from a mail message.
- In the Reading Pane, right-click on the sender's name, and then select Add to Outlook Contacts..
- If the sender is a staff or faculty member from the UW Colleges or UW Extension, their address card will be populated with the information that is in the global address book. Here is an example:
- If the person is not in the Global Address Book, the card will populate similar to the example below:
- Notice the email address was added to the card, but the name added was the email alias. This can be corrected once the card is created.
- Another way to create a contact from a mail message is to Drag and Drop the mail message on the Contacts icon or button.
Contacts navigation button
Contacts icon
- When you Drag and Drop the message and hold it over the button or icon, the Contacts Navigation Pane will open. Drop the message once you see the Contacts Navigation Pane open.
- In both cases, once the Contact card opens, the user can add as much or little information as needed to the card.
- Finish by clicking on the Save and Close button.
Navigating and Finding Contacts Quickly
- On the toolbar, type the name of the contact you want to find in the Type a contact to find box.
- If the name has been previously searched for, use the arrow to see a dropdown list of names.
- If there are multiple names in your contacts that match the name typed in the Find box, a dialog box will appear allowing the user to select the correct contact.
- Select the name you want and click on OK.
- For the second method go to the Contacts Folder
- Click on a contact card
- Either click on the first letter of the last name on the keyboard or use the alphabet buttons on the right side of the screen
- This will take the user to the cards for contacts starting with that letter
- Use the arrow keys to navigate to the correct contact
- The Home key takes the user back to the first card in the folder
- The End key takes the user to the last card in the folder
Right Clicking on a Contact - Lots of choices
When right-clicking on a contact users can select from several actions. These actions include, but are not limited to sending a new message to a contact, creating an appointment with the contact, creating a meeting request, etc. Users can also forward the contact card as an attachment in an email to another user.
Adding Special Content to Contacts
In this view, by clicking on the dropdown arrow, additional numbers can be added to each of the phone number options. So, more than four numbers can be stored. See menu to the right.
A picture can also be added to the Contact Card. 
By clicking on the Details Tab, the user can add more information about the individual. It birthdays and anniversaries are entered they will appear on the calendar with the contacts age or years married.
Using the Activities Tab in a Contact Card
When a user opens a contact card and clicks on the Activities Tab, Outlook will begin searching for email messages, calendar items, tasks, notes and journal items related to the contact. The search icon with become animated, and items will fill in below the Show text box. Note users can choose to show only calendar items or mail items. This tool can assist users in finding a particular email or other Outlook item quickly.
Next week's computing tip will cover Calendar Tips and Tricks.
Remember these tips are archived at http://www.uwex.uwc.edu/outlook/tips/ , so after you read this e-mail, delete it! Make sure though that you have the web site bookmarked in your browser.