Forum Discussion
Problems with Contact data
My desktop PC with Windows 10 Pro is still using Outlook 2013 and it was operating well until a recent sick period lasting about one week. After its apparent recovery, I find that some of my Contacts are missing, and some are in several folders, with some of those in list form, some in card form, and some in a list as if they were emails. All this is mysterious to me. Is there a best way to gather up all of these and combine them into one contact file? Or would it be better to try restoring to an earlier time, if I can do so, and just live with created issues? Probably I contributed to the problems when I added Office 365 when I thought the PC had recovered. As an added complexity, now I have some files labeled (This computer only.). Any help would be appreciated. This is my first post here, so I hope I am not using a wrong protocol.
It seems like you are facing some issues with your Outlook 2013 contacts after a period of sickness and possibly some changes made during that time. Let us address each aspect step by step:
- Missing Contacts:
- Check the "Deleted Items" folder: Sometimes, contacts can get accidentally deleted and end up in the "Deleted Items" folder. If you find them there, you can restore them to your Contacts folder.
- Search: Use the search function in Outlook to search for the missing contacts by name or other keywords. It is possible that they are still present but not in the folders you expect.
- 2.Contacts in Multiple Folders:
- Consolidate Contacts: You can consolidate contacts from multiple folders into one. To do this, you can select the contacts you want to move, right-click, and choose "Move to Folder" or "Copy to Folder." Choose the desired Contacts folder to consolidate them.
- Duplicate Removal: If you have duplicates, you can use the "Remove Duplicates" feature to clean up your contacts.
- 3. Contacts in Different Formats:
- List vs. Card: The format of contacts (list vs. card) is a personal preference. You can choose how you want to view your contacts by changing the view in Outlook's Contacts section. You can switch between "List" and "Card" views using the View tab in the ribbon.
- List as Emails: Contacts appearing as emails might be a result of accidental drag-and-drop. You can drag them from your email folders to your Contacts folder to restore them as contacts.
- 4. "This computer only." Files:
- Contacts marked as "This computer only." are stored locally on your computer and are not synchronized with any server or cloud service. These contacts will not be available on other devices or after reinstalling Outlook.
- 5. Office 365 Integration:
- If you have integrated Office 365, it is possible that contacts were synced or migrated, which could have caused some changes in your contact organization.
Restoring to an Earlier Time:
- If you believe that the issues started after installing Office 365 or during a specific period, restoring to an earlier time might be an option. However, this could impact other changes you've made since that earlier time, so consider this carefully.
Before making any major changes, it is a good idea to back up your contacts and important data to ensure that you can restore them if needed. Additionally, if you are using Office 365, ensure that the synchronization settings are configured correctly. The text and the steps are the result of various AI's put together.
My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!
Hope this will help you.
It seems like you are facing some issues with your Outlook 2013 contacts after a period of sickness and possibly some changes made during that time. Let us address each aspect step by step:
- Missing Contacts:
- Check the "Deleted Items" folder: Sometimes, contacts can get accidentally deleted and end up in the "Deleted Items" folder. If you find them there, you can restore them to your Contacts folder.
- Search: Use the search function in Outlook to search for the missing contacts by name or other keywords. It is possible that they are still present but not in the folders you expect.
- 2.Contacts in Multiple Folders:
- Consolidate Contacts: You can consolidate contacts from multiple folders into one. To do this, you can select the contacts you want to move, right-click, and choose "Move to Folder" or "Copy to Folder." Choose the desired Contacts folder to consolidate them.
- Duplicate Removal: If you have duplicates, you can use the "Remove Duplicates" feature to clean up your contacts.
- 3. Contacts in Different Formats:
- List vs. Card: The format of contacts (list vs. card) is a personal preference. You can choose how you want to view your contacts by changing the view in Outlook's Contacts section. You can switch between "List" and "Card" views using the View tab in the ribbon.
- List as Emails: Contacts appearing as emails might be a result of accidental drag-and-drop. You can drag them from your email folders to your Contacts folder to restore them as contacts.
- 4. "This computer only." Files:
- Contacts marked as "This computer only." are stored locally on your computer and are not synchronized with any server or cloud service. These contacts will not be available on other devices or after reinstalling Outlook.
- 5. Office 365 Integration:
- If you have integrated Office 365, it is possible that contacts were synced or migrated, which could have caused some changes in your contact organization.
Restoring to an Earlier Time:
- If you believe that the issues started after installing Office 365 or during a specific period, restoring to an earlier time might be an option. However, this could impact other changes you've made since that earlier time, so consider this carefully.
Before making any major changes, it is a good idea to back up your contacts and important data to ensure that you can restore them if needed. Additionally, if you are using Office 365, ensure that the synchronization settings are configured correctly. The text and the steps are the result of various AI's put together.
My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!
Hope this will help you.
- Many thanks. I will pursue each suggestion.
- Your helpful comments provided additional insight as I continued working on these issues. Although I did not find a "smoking gun" that allowed me to solve everything, or even to identify the causes of the problems, I did manage to reshape things into satisfactory working condition. Again, thanks for your help.
- I am glad that you were helped with this.
I wish you continued success!
