Unable to search for Contacts in Tasks?

[andyzack]

I've noticed that since I upgraded to 2007, Outlook no longer finds Contacts when I put them into the Tasks search window. For example, let's say I have a Contact named Peter Pan. I have a Task with the Subject "Send Crocodile Proposal." But I also have Contacts for Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, and Wendy and I have a Task for each one that says "Send Crocodile Proposal." Well, since each has a different start date and potentially a different end date and different notes, I do want four separate tasks. But if I want to search for JUST Peter Pan's Task and put Peter Pan into the Search window, it returns zilch. In 2003, it would return all the Tasks associated with Peter Pan. What gives and is there a way to restore this search functionality?




Thank you.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

Do you have the contact linking field enabled? (Tools, options, contact options - enable linking)


Verify that the tasks have the contacts associated with them.

 

[andyzack]

Yes, contact linking is enabled. The Contact field actually will not show up if you do not have it enabled.




I wondered for a while if it was because I had the Contacts (plural) field showing in the view, versus the Contact field (you can edit the Contact field in table view, but not the Contacts field), but I did a test and that doesn't seem to make a difference. My thinking is that Outlook is now treating that Contact name as a link, versus searchable text, because on Tasks that were created in Outlook 2003, the search still works!




Thoughts?




A.

 

[Diane Poremsky]

i'll see what i can find out - it does sound like instant search is not searching the contact field.

 

[makinmyway]

I know this is old but have there been any developments in this thread? I would still like to search for contacts to which I have associated a contact in the contact field. I too think it is not seeing it as searchable text in that field but as a hyperlink. Other than creating another field and re-entering the name as text is there a work-around solution? Maybe a new feature in later versions of Outlook I am not aware of yet?

 

[Diane Poremsky]

if anything, its worse now - the contact linking field is deprecated. a custom field that reads the contact field might work.