select outlook contacts folder

Question

I have two new choices for Outlook 365 contact folders in Word mail merge now, but both are empty. My contact folder in Outlook has 72 addresses and, until today, was shown in the Word mail merge source dropdown. The online help seems to be for older versions of Word, so how do I point the Word mail merge to the actual contact folder?

Answer 1

It is not necessarily the wrong file for your active Contacts folder. The Contacts folder can be stored in either an OST or a PST file. If you are using an Exchange account, your Contacts folder is likely stored in the OST file.

If you are using a POP3 or IMAP account, your Contacts folder is likely stored in the PST file. You can try to verify which data file your Contacts folder is stored in by checking the location of the Contacts folder in Outlook.

To do this, right-click on the Contacts folder in Outlook, select Properties, and then select the Advanced tab. The location of the data file should be displayed there.

Answer 2

Yesterday I downloaded and ran the Microsoft Recovery and Support Assistant, which provided no change. Today Quick Repair did remove one of the empty contact folders but the other remains, and no actual contact folder. However, Word, as it opened, presented a window to verify what Outlook Profile I wanted to use. Only one appears, so more digging past false leads for profile repair, and I found a link: Edit an Outlook profile - Microsoft Support. The path to the tool (as usual - I have dealt with Microsoft help lag since 1982.) It is Control Panel --> User Account --> Mail (Microsoft Outlook). A window for --> Profiles. A "Mail" window opens with only one profile named Outlook. I clicked the Properties button, and a "Mail Setup - Outlook" window opened with Email Accounts and Data Files sections. Clicking the "Data Files" button, an "Account Settings" window opens and shows two data files, my PST and the OST. The OST file is selected.

Isn't that the wrong file for my active Contacts folder?

Answer 3

If this does not work, you may want to try repairing your Office installation. To do this, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features, find your Office installation, right-click on it and select Change. Then select Quick Repair or Online Repair and follow the prompts.

Answer 4

No, I do not want to maintain a subset file of Outlook Contacts due to future additions or deletions. I have always accessed the Contacts folder in Word during a mail merge to filter addresses. However, as of today in Word, when I select "Mailings" from the main menu, "Select Recipients" from the ribbon, and then "Choose From Outlook Contacts," I now see two unknown empty contacts folders but not my usual, still existing folder with 72 addresses. So, my request is, how do I restore/repair my Word mail merge connection to my Contacts folder in Outlook?

Answer 5

Hi Steven

I'm AnnaThomas and I'd happily help you with your question. In this Forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

You can use your Outlook contact list as a source of personalized information in a batch of Word documents through Word’s mail merge feature. In Outlook, go to Contacts and select the names you want to include. Then go to Home > Mail Merge. Choose the options you want and then select OK. If you’ve selected a set of contacts that you’ll want to use again without choosing them each time, select Permanent file and give the list a name

Learn more: https://support.microsoft.com/office/4cfcf038-1bc4-4a73-b5e3-a3303302db13

I hope this helps ;-), let me know if this is contrary to what you need, I would still be helpful to answer more of your questions.

Best Regards,

AnnaThomas

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