Hide Selected Email Address from Address Book

[LoztInSpace]

Operating system::    Windows 11
Outlook version:     New Outlook
Email type or host:    Microsoft 365

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Hi Diane
(MS Office 365 subscription on Win 11)

My Outlook includes Contacts acquired over a long period of time with many I no longer routinely correspond. I would like to reduce my email selections by hiding their email addresses in the Address Book while retaining it in their Contact information. Is this possible?

Many thanks!

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Yes, it is possible one of two ways:

1. Create a new contacts folder and move the contacts to it. If using classic Outlook it won't show up in the address book unless you right-clicking on the folder and choose Properties then uncheck Show as address book.

2. Move the email addresses to the notes field. The address book only displays electronic addresses (email and fax numbers).

My preference is a separate folder but new Outlook doesnt use folders, it uses categories.

 

[LoztInSpace]

Yes, it is possible one of two ways:

1. Create a new contacts folder and move the contacts to it. If using classic Outlook it won't show up in the address book unless you right-clicking on the folder and choose Properties then uncheck Show as address book.

2. Move the email addresses to the notes field. The address book only displays electronic addresses (email and fax numbers).

My preference is a separate folder but new Outlook doesnt use folders, it uses categories.

Thanks Diane I considered your second suggestion but hadn't thought of the first. In the first, I assume you mean to move the Contacts I won't regularly correspond with into a new folder that's not referenced by the address book. Good idea.

I came up with another solution that's a crude hack but it allows me to keep all the Contacts in one folder, hides selected emails from the Address Book while continuing to show the email address in the email address field for all Contacts.

• For the Contacts, I created a list View and included the email column
• With that view displayed, for those emails I wish to hide, I drill into each to open the Contact screen
• I cut the email address and paste to Notepad
• In Notepad, I replace @ with #
• I then cut-paste the edited email address back to the Contact
  
  It would be so much easier to edit the email address while in the list View but for some reason, here as well as in the Contacts screen MS doesn't allow the email address text to be edited. All you can do is delete-add.
  Of course if I ever want to email the legacy Contact I need to edit the address before using it but that would rarely occur.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Thanks Diane I considered your second suggestion but hadn't thought of the first. In the first, I assume you mean to move the Contacts I won't regularly correspond with into a new folder that's not referenced by the address book. Good idea.

I came up with another solution that's a crude hack but it allows me to keep all the Contacts in one folder, hides selected emails from the Address Book while continuing to show the email address in the email address field for all Contacts.

• For the Contacts, I created a list View and included the email column
• With that view displayed, for those emails I wish to hide, I drill into each to open the Contact screen
• I cut the email address and paste to Notepad
• In Notepad, I replace @ with #
• I then cut-paste the edited email address back to the Contact
  
  It would be so much easier to edit the email address while in the list View but for some reason, here as well as in the Contacts screen MS doesn't allow the email address text to be edited. All you can do is delete-add.
  Of course if I ever want to email the legacy Contact I need to edit the address before using it but that would rarely occur.

That works too - classic Outlook supports in-cell editing but not new outlook.

Classic has a File tab - if that is your version, you would click View > View Settings > Other to enable in-cell editing. (I don't know who thought naming everything "Outlook" was a bright idea... definitely not someone who supports outlook. )

 

[LoztInSpace]

I have that setting enabled and when I'm reviewing a View in basic list mode, I can do in-cell editing for all the other columns.
It's restricted the same was as the email address field is restricted when in the Contact screen except there you can delete the entire address and paste in an address but once the field is populate you can't edit the address string..

 

[Diane Poremsky]

So it is - it's been a while since I needed to use in-cell editing and forgot which fields are not editable.