Outlook 2010 Autocomplete Not Working

Outlook 2010 Autocomplete not working - Microsoft Community
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nafej asked on July 14, 2010
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Outlook 2010 Autocomplete not working

I had been running the beta version of Outlook 2010 for a couple of months. After a while, my autocomplete of contacts stopped working. I recently upgraded to the RTM version hoping this would fix the issue, but it didn't. Some of my address still work via autocomplete, so it doesn't appear that the entire cache has failed. I haven't noticed any pattern to what addresses come up and I don't know of any installations that I've performed that could have caused this. Any recommended solutions? Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse | Subscribe to Updates
Answer
Mukherjee Ashutosh replied on July 20, 2010
Microsoft Support Engineer
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The autocomplete data was stored as an .nk2 file in previous versions of Outlook. However When you upgrade to Outlook 2010 you can try to import the .nk2 file to update the autocomplete information. You can refer the KB article mentioned below for more assistance. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980542 Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
Most Helpful Reply

AlgisP replied on February 10, 2011 In reply to Texas Christian post on October 20, 2010
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I ran scanpst.exe (usually located in c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14 folder). It found and repared several errors and "Autocomplet" is functioning again. Steve
This was the solution in my case, after everything else failed to fix the autocomplete issue (Outlook was forgetting entries beyond current session). Under Windows7 x64, that tool is in C:\Program Files (x86) \Microsoft Office\Office14 folder. The PST file to fix was in default location C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
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http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2010-outlook/outlook-2010-autoco... 30-Jan-14
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English Russ Valentine replied on July 14, 2010
Autocompletion is not a robust or reliable feature. It frequently stops working usually because Outlook loses its connection to its autocompletion cache. This can happen for a number of reasons, most often because Outlook is not exiting completely and thus not writing to the cache. Make sure you run no add-ins or sync software that might hold Outlook open after you exit. After you find and resolve the problem that is preventing Outlook from exiting properly, you may need to create a new Outlook profile to get autocompletion to work again. Russ Valentine
Microsoft Community Contributor
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Answer
Mukherjee Ashutosh replied on July 20, 2010
Microsoft Support Engineer
The autocomplete data was stored as an .nk2 file in previous versions of Outlook. However When you upgrade to Outlook 2010 you can try to import the .nk2 file to update the autocomplete information. You can refer the KB article mentioned below for more assistance. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980542 Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
kennesan replied on September 2, 2010 In reply to Mukherjee Ashutosh post on July 20, 2010 I cannot do this; the old computer files are no longer accessible. Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
eGeneral replied on September 16, 2010 In reply to Mukherjee Ashutosh post on July 20, 2010
Hi, Also Office Version:Office 2010 - Operating System:Windows 7 I've got the same problem, but when I click on Import/Export I get an error popup telling me that the feature is not installed. I've check that but it is installed. So I uninstalled and reinstalled Office always ensuring the feature "Outlook Importer/Exporter" and all other files are fully installed. Still the same error popup. What happens after the successful import? Will future email addresses be available in Autocomplete as well or just the imported ones? What can I do?? Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
Russ Valentine replied on September 17, 2010 In reply to eGeneral post on September 16, 2010 This has nothing to do with the rest of this trhead.
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Be grateful that your installation was unsuccessful. You should never use export and import for transferring Outlook data. We post the correct methods here every day, but will do so again now: http://www.slipstick.com/config/move_outlook.asp http://www.howto-outlook.com/Howto/backupandrestore.htm http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010771141033.aspx Note that some of the information on the Microsoft page is outdated and contains errors, particularly when applied to Outlook 2003, 2007 or 2010. Specifically: 1. Ignore any advice to copy your PST file to Outlook's default location to connect it to your profile. Doing so will often corrupt your Outlook profile. Copy it anywhere BUT the default location and then open it within your Outlook profile. 2. Ignore any advice that tells you to use export or import to transfer an entire Outlook data file. That has never been sound advice, but the process has become too deeply flawed to be trusted. Also, Outlook 2010 has a nice new option that lets you connect to a pre-existing data file when creating a new profile instead of having to jump through all the hoops of creating a new file, connecting to the preexisting file, then disconnecting the new file. Russ Valentine
Microsoft Community Contributor
Texas Christian replied on October 20, 2010
I was having the same issue after moving from Windows XP Pro and Outlook 2003. Unfortunately, the Outlook folders do not exist prior to running Outlook for the first time, so there was not any place to copy the original Outlook files or the .NK2 file. Consequently, Outlook did not automatically import the .NK2 file into it's "Suggested Contacts" folder or into its Stream-Autocomplete...dat file. The end user had worked for some time to rebuild the autocomplete data only to have it quit working October 17th. It appears that an iTunes Outlook add-in was updated at that time and for some reason, prevented Outlook from closing completely, which corrupted the primary .PST file, emptying the "Suggested Contacts" folder. After copying his original .NK2 file to the proper directory (c:\Documents and Settings\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook), I ran outlook /importnk2 from the Start menu. It repopulated the "Suggested Contacts" folder, but Autocomplete still did not work continuously beyond Outlook sessions. I ran scanpst.exe (usually located in c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14 older). It found and repared several errors and "Autocomplet" is functioning again. Steve Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
ShankerKarola replied on February 1, 2011 In reply to Texas Christian post on October 20, 2010
By default, this feature is turned on in Outlook. To turn on or off Auto-Complete List name suggestions, do the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Click the File tab. Click Options. Click Mail. Under Send messages, select or clear the Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc and Bcc lines check box
Arkandor IT Solutions replied on February 9, 2011 In reply to ShankerKarola post on February 1, 2011
If you want to turn off this feature within Registry, create a DWORD key called "ShowAutoSug" with value 0 in key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Preferences
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AlgisP replied on February 10, 2011 In reply to Texas Christian post on October 20, 2010
11
I ran scanpst.exe (usually located in c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14 folder). It found and repared several errors and "Autocomplet" is functioning again. Steve
This was the solution in my case, after everything else failed to fix the autocomplete issue (Outlook was forgetting entries beyond current session). Under Windows7 x64, that tool is in C:\Program Files (x86) \Microsoft Office\Office14 folder. The PST file to fix was in default location C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
tekhelper replied on March 28, 2011 In reply to AlgisP post on February 10, 2011
For all the people struggling with the same issue with Outlook 2010's Autocomplete not lasting after you quit the application, using SCANPST.exe to correct errors in the PST file definitely fixes the problem. I am not using an Exchange Server. Do back up your original PST file and attempt the SCANPST repair on a copy only. Cheers & Good Luck !!! Reply | Reply with quote | Report abuse
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Applies To: Office | Office 2010 | Microsoft Office Outlook

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