Annoying Outlook Contacts quirks

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Using Outlook 2000 SP-3 w/ latest updates in IMO mode.

I observe the following behavior of Outlook Contacts:

Say I have a contact stored with the name "Ivan Butora" and e-mail
"(e-mail address removed)". I send an e-mail to this contact.

Outlook then "ties" the properties of the "To" field of this e-mail
message to the actual contact, meaning than any later modifications of
the contact will be reflected also in the "To" field of the e-mail
message! This is problematic, at least in the two following scenarios:

1. Let's say "Ivan Butora" gets a new e-mail address, which is now
"(e-mail address removed)". I update the contact's e-mail with this information.
Afterwards, when I open the message I had sent, and double-click "Ivan
Butora" in the "To" field, the e-mail address that will show is the new
one, despite the fact that the e-mail message had actually been sent to
the former e-mail address!

2. What's worse is if I end up deleting the contact "Ivan Butora" for
some reason. In such case, when double-clicking the "To" field in the
message I had sent, I receive the following error message:

"The name or distribution list has been deleted and is no longer a
valid Address Book entry."

I receive this error message even if I subsequently recreate the
contact for "Ivan Butora".


This behavior of Outlook is very annoying and misleading. It
essentially gives the user false information about e-mails that were
sent.

Interestingly enough, Outlook does not actually delete the TRUE
information - rather, it overlays them. The proof of this is that if
you import the affected e-mail message to Outlook Express, it WILL have
the correct e-mail address, despite the modifications that were later
made to the contact in Outlook.

Questions:

1. Is there any way to modify this behavior of Outlook, i.e. to have it
simply give me the information from the e-mail as it was actually sent?

2. Do the same quirks exist in later versions of Outlook? Can someone
confirm? It's a pretty simple test.

Thanks!

IB

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You actually aren't even using Outlook's address book in IMO. You are using
the Windows Address Book of Outlook Express.
IMO went away years ago. So did this "problem."

 

[=?iso-8859-1?B?SXZhbiBC+nRvcmE=?=]

It's true that one is using the Windows Address Book with Outlook 2000
in IMO mode.

I am perfectly aware that the two different modes for Outlook ceased to
exist beginning with version 2002. You do not need to trivialize the
issue that I am experiencing, though, by writing "problem" (i.e. in
quotation marks) - it is obviously a real PROBLEM, which is why I wrote
about it in the first place.

If you say that the problem went away in newer versions of Outlook, I
wonder what happens there under the scenario that I described?

I do not understand the tone in your reply, because my post was
factual. I am asking for constructive help.

IB

You actually aren't even using Outlook's address book in IMO. You are using
the Windows Address Book of Outlook Express.
IMO went away years ago. So did this "problem."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Using Outlook 2000 SP-3 w/ latest updates in IMO mode.

I observe the following behavior of Outlook Contacts:

Say I have a contact stored with the name "Ivan Butora" and e-mail
"(e-mail address removed)". I send an e-mail to this contact.

Outlook then "ties" the properties of the "To" field of this e-mail
message to the actual contact, meaning than any later modifications of
the contact will be reflected also in the "To" field of the e-mail
message! This is problematic, at least in the two following scenarios:

1. Let's say "Ivan Butora" gets a new e-mail address, which is now
"(e-mail address removed)". I update the contact's e-mail with this information.
Afterwards, when I open the message I had sent, and double-click "Ivan
Butora" in the "To" field, the e-mail address that will show is the new
one, despite the fact that the e-mail message had actually been sent to
the former e-mail address!

2. What's worse is if I end up deleting the contact "Ivan Butora" for
some reason. In such case, when double-clicking the "To" field in the
message I had sent, I receive the following error message:

"The name or distribution list has been deleted and is no longer a
valid Address Book entry."

I receive this error message even if I subsequently recreate the
contact for "Ivan Butora".


This behavior of Outlook is very annoying and misleading. It
essentially gives the user false information about e-mails that were
sent.

Interestingly enough, Outlook does not actually delete the TRUE
information - rather, it overlays them. The proof of this is that if
you import the affected e-mail message to Outlook Express, it WILL have
the correct e-mail address, despite the modifications that were later
made to the contact in Outlook.

Questions:

1. Is there any way to modify this behavior of Outlook, i.e. to have it
simply give me the information from the e-mail as it was actually sent?

2. Do the same quirks exist in later versions of Outlook? Can someone
confirm? It's a pretty simple test.

Thanks!

IB

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP]

Aloha Ivan,

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for here. The situation you're
experiencing has already been fixed in later versions of the product; Microsoft,
understandably, isn't going to spend money and resources to change something
like that in a version of the product that is about to be 4 generations old.

I think you would get different behavior if you stopped using the Windows
Addresss Book (WAB) and instead used the Contacts folder in Outlook to store
your addresses, but I don't have any Outlook 2000 (and certainly no IMO)
machines around I can test that on.

-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr - MVP
http://www.rolandschorr.com
Microsoft OneNote FAQ: http://www.factplace.com/onenotefaq.htm

It's true that one is using the Windows Address Book with Outlook 2000
in IMO mode.

I am perfectly aware that the two different modes for Outlook ceased
to exist beginning with version 2002. You do not need to trivialize
the issue that I am experiencing, though, by writing "problem" (i.e.
in quotation marks) - it is obviously a real PROBLEM, which is why I
wrote about it in the first place.

If you say that the problem went away in newer versions of Outlook, I
wonder what happens there under the scenario that I described?

I do not understand the tone in your reply, because my post was
factual. I am asking for constructive help.

IB

You actually aren't even using Outlook's address book in IMO. You are
usi
ng

the Windows Address Book of Outlook Express.
IMO went away years ago. So did this "problem."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Using Outlook 2000 SP-3 w/ latest updates in IMO mode.

I observe the following behavior of Outlook Contacts:

Say I have a contact stored with the name "Ivan Butora" and e-mail
"(e-mail address removed)". I send an e-mail to this contact.

Outlook then "ties" the properties of the "To" field of this e-mail
message to the actual contact, meaning than any later modifications
of the contact will be reflected also in the "To" field of the
e-mail message! This is problematic, at least in the two following
scenarios:

1. Let's say "Ivan Butora" gets a new e-mail address, which is now
"(e-mail address removed)". I update the contact's e-mail with this information.
Afterwards, when I open the message I had sent, and double-click
"Ivan Butora" in the "To" field, the e-mail address that will show
is the new one, despite the fact that the e-mail message had
actually been sent to the former e-mail address!

2. What's worse is if I end up deleting the contact "Ivan Butora"
for some reason. In such case, when double-clicking the "To" field
in the message I had sent, I receive the following error message:

"The name or distribution list has been deleted and is no longer a
valid Address Book entry."

I receive this error message even if I subsequently recreate the
contact for "Ivan Butora".

This behavior of Outlook is very annoying and misleading. It
essentially gives the user false information about e-mails that were
sent.

Interestingly enough, Outlook does not actually delete the TRUE
information - rather, it overlays them. The proof of this is that if
you import the affected e-mail message to Outlook Express, it WILL
have the correct e-mail address, despite the modifications that were
later made to the contact in Outlook.

Questions:

1. Is there any way to modify this behavior of Outlook, i.e. to have
it simply give me the information from the e-mail as it was actually
sent?

2. Do the same quirks exist in later versions of Outlook? Can
someone confirm? It's a pretty simple test.

Thanks!

IB

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Fine. Here's constructive help. Outlook 2000 has been out of support for
many years. Do not expect any fixes. Switch to the full version of Outlook
2000 or switch to a supported version if you do not want this behavior.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
It's true that one is using the Windows Address Book with Outlook 2000
in IMO mode.

I am perfectly aware that the two different modes for Outlook ceased to
exist beginning with version 2002. You do not need to trivialize the
issue that I am experiencing, though, by writing "problem" (i.e. in
quotation marks) - it is obviously a real PROBLEM, which is why I wrote
about it in the first place.

If you say that the problem went away in newer versions of Outlook, I
wonder what happens there under the scenario that I described?

I do not understand the tone in your reply, because my post was
factual. I am asking for constructive help.

IB

You actually aren't even using Outlook's address book in IMO. You are
using
the Windows Address Book of Outlook Express.
IMO went away years ago. So did this "problem."
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Using Outlook 2000 SP-3 w/ latest updates in IMO mode.

I observe the following behavior of Outlook Contacts:

Say I have a contact stored with the name "Ivan Butora" and e-mail
"(e-mail address removed)". I send an e-mail to this contact.

Outlook then "ties" the properties of the "To" field of this e-mail
message to the actual contact, meaning than any later modifications of
the contact will be reflected also in the "To" field of the e-mail
message! This is problematic, at least in the two following scenarios:

1. Let's say "Ivan Butora" gets a new e-mail address, which is now
"(e-mail address removed)". I update the contact's e-mail with this information.
Afterwards, when I open the message I had sent, and double-click "Ivan
Butora" in the "To" field, the e-mail address that will show is the new
one, despite the fact that the e-mail message had actually been sent to
the former e-mail address!

2. What's worse is if I end up deleting the contact "Ivan Butora" for
some reason. In such case, when double-clicking the "To" field in the
message I had sent, I receive the following error message:

"The name or distribution list has been deleted and is no longer a
valid Address Book entry."

I receive this error message even if I subsequently recreate the
contact for "Ivan Butora".


This behavior of Outlook is very annoying and misleading. It
essentially gives the user false information about e-mails that were
sent.

Interestingly enough, Outlook does not actually delete the TRUE
information - rather, it overlays them. The proof of this is that if
you import the affected e-mail message to Outlook Express, it WILL have
the correct e-mail address, despite the modifications that were later
made to the contact in Outlook.

Questions:

1. Is there any way to modify this behavior of Outlook, i.e. to have it
simply give me the information from the e-mail as it was actually sent?

2. Do the same quirks exist in later versions of Outlook? Can someone
confirm? It's a pretty simple test.

Thanks!

IB