From Public Folders to SharePoint: A Modern Approach to Shared Contact Management

For years, public folders have been the go-to solution for sharing contacts across teams and organizations - whether for maintaining client lists, managing shared employee directories, or keeping vendor information organized. But as the way we collaborate has evolved, so has the need for a more modern, integrated approach to shared contact management. SharePoint now provides a powerful, fully connected alternative that brings your shared contacts into the heart of your Microsoft 365 ecosystem. In this post, we'll walk you through why SharePoint is the natural next step for your shared contacts and give you a step-by-step guide to get started.

Why SharePoint for Shared Contacts?

Instead of managing shared contacts in public folders - which operated separately from the rest of your collaboration tools - SharePoint brings your shared contact lists, documents, project plans, and team resources together in one centralized, always-accessible hub. It’s the natural next step for organizations that have relied on public folders, and it comes with powerful capabilities that go well beyond what was possible before:

• Single source of truth - No more wondering which version of a shared contact list is current. SharePoint provides a single, authoritative repository that everyone on your team can access and trust.
• Rich collaboration - Multiple team members can view, edit, and manage shared contacts simultaneously with real-time updates, version history, and granular permissions.
• Powerful integration across Microsoft 365 - Shared contacts in SharePoint connect naturally with Teams, Power Automate, and other Microsoft 365 tools, enabling workflows that were never possible before. Imagine automatically notifying your team when a key client contact is updated, or syncing shared contacts into a Power App for your field sales team.
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance - SharePoint’s robust permissions model, audit logging, and compliance features ensure your shared contact data meets even the most stringent organizational requirements.
• Access from anywhere - Whether you’re on desktop, mobile, or the web, your shared contacts in SharePoint are always just a click away.

For teams currently using public folders for shared contacts, the transition to SharePoint is straightforward and immediately rewarding. You’ll gain richer collaboration, tighter integration with the tools you already use every day, and a modern experience that scales with your organization. Your shared contacts move from an isolated repository into the heart of your Microsoft 365 collaboration ecosystem - connected, secure, and always up to date.

Getting Started: How to Manage Shared Contacts in SharePoint

Ready to move your shared contacts to SharePoint? Follow this step-by-step guide to set up, organize, and share your contact lists with your team.

Step 1: Create a SharePoint Contacts List

1. Navigate to the SharePoint site where you want to store your shared contacts (e.g., your team site or department site).
2. Click New in the top-left corner and select List.
3. Choose the Contacts template from the available templates. This gives you a pre-built structure with columns for name, email, phone, company, and more.
4. Give your list a descriptive name (e.g., "Sales Team Contacts" or "Vendor Directory").
5. Click Create - your new contacts list is ready to use.

Step 2: Add and Organize Your Contacts

You have several ways to populate your contacts list:

• Add contacts manually: Click "+ New" in the list toolbar to add individual contacts one at a time. Fill in the contact details and click Save.
• Import from Excel or CSV: Have an existing contact list? Click "Import" from the list toolbar, select your Excel or CSV file, map the columns, and import all your contacts in one go. This is the fastest way to migrate contacts from public folders.
• Customize columns: Add custom columns to track information specific to your team's needs, like "Account Manager," "Contract Renewal Date," or "Region." Click "+ Add column" in the list header to get started.

Step 3: Share with Your Team

Once your contacts list is set up, sharing it is simple:

• Set permissions: Click the gear icon, then List settings, then Permissions to control who can view, edit, or manage the list. You can grant access to individuals, Microsoft 365 groups, or security groups.
• Share a direct link: Click "Share" at the top of the list to send a link to specific people or copy a shareable link for your team.
• Grant appropriate access levels: Choose between "Can view" (read-only), "Can edit" (add/modify contacts), or "Full control" (manage permissions and settings) depending on each person's role.

Step 4 (optional): Pin to Microsoft Teams for Easy Access

Make your shared contacts instantly accessible from where your team already works:

1. Open Microsoft Teams and navigate to the channel where your team collaborates.
2. Click the "+" (Add a tab) button at the top of the channel.
3. Select "SharePoint" from the app list and choose your contacts list.
4. Your shared contacts now appear as a tab in Teams. Everyone on the channel can view and manage contacts without leaving Teams.

Step 5: Automate with Power Automate

Take your shared contacts to the next level with automation:

• Change notifications: Create a flow that notifies your team via email or Teams whenever a contact is added, updated, or deleted.
• CRM sync: Build a flow to sync contacts between your SharePoint list and your CRM system (Dynamics 365, Salesforce, etc.) so your data stays consistent across platforms.
• Scheduled reports: Set up a recurring flow that emails a summary of new or changed contacts to stakeholders on a weekly or monthly basis.

Pro Tips

• Create custom views: Use SharePoint's view options to create filtered views like "Active Clients," "Contacts by Region," or "Recently Updated" so team members can quickly find what they need.
• Enable versioning: Turn on version history in list settings to track every change made to your contacts. You can see who changed what and when, and restore previous versions if needed.
• Set up alerts: Subscribe to alerts on the list to get notified by email whenever changes are made, great for staying on top of updates without constantly checking.

A Modern, Unified Contact Management Experience

Beyond these major innovations, the new People in Outlook brings a complete refresh to how you manage your contacts every day:

• Modern multi-column table view - See all your contacts at a glance with a clean, customizable table layout. Sort, filter, and scan your contacts faster than ever.
• Quick actions at your fingertips - Email, call, or chat with any contact directly from the contact list. No need to open a contact card first.
• Multi-select and bulk operations - Need to categorize, email, or manage multiple contacts at once? Select them all and take action in a single step.
• Categories for flexible organization - Organize your contacts with color-coded categories that work across Outlook. Tag contacts as “Key Clients,” “Project Team,” “Vendors,” or anything that fits your workflow.
• Import and export - Easily bring contacts in from CSV files or export your contact data whenever you need it.
• Consistent experience everywhere - Whether you’re using Outlook on the desktop, Outlook on the web, or Teams, the People experience is the same - modern, fast, and reliable.

Built for Performance and Reliability

The new People in Outlook was built from the ground up with performance at its core. After extensive testing and feedback from thousands of users within Microsoft, we’ve delivered an experience that is not only feature-rich but also fast, stable, and reliable - even with large contact lists. Every interaction is designed to feel instant and responsive.

Get Started Today

The new People experience is available on the New Outlook for Desktop, and is rolling out now across for Outlook on the web for all Microsoft 365 users. To explore it:

1. Open Outlook and click the People icon on the left navigation rail.
2. Start searching for anyone - by name, title, location, or any keyword.
3. Explore your contacts in the new table view and try out quick actions.

We’re incredibly excited about what the new People in Outlook means for how you connect and collaborate. This is just the beginning - we have even more innovations in the pipeline that we can’t wait to share with you.

We’d love to hear from you! Share your feedback directly within Outlook by selecting Help > Feedback, or join the conversation in the Microsoft Tech Community.

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The People in Outlook team is committed to building the best contact management experience in the world - and we’re just getting started.