User Can't share grouped contact via new outlook.

Question

Hello Support Team,

One of our user has couple of contacts group created in their new outlook. They are trying to share the group via adding permissions or via sharing the contact group through new outlook.

The other user doesn't receive the shared information. In old outlook the user were able to share the contacts.

Please suggest what could be the issue and how to fix this.

Answer 1

Hi @Anwar Shaikh,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for reaching out regarding the contact group sharing issue. I understand that this functionality previously worked in Classic Outlook but is no longer working in New Outlook, and I’d like to clarify the difference between the two versions.

In Classic Outlook for Windows, contact groups are stored within the mailbox and fully support folder-level permissions and sharing. Users can share their Contacts folder, assign permissions, or forward a contact group as an attachment. The recipient can then open and save that group into their own Contacts without issue. This functionality is part of the traditional Outlook desktop architecture.

In contrast, New Outlook is built on a different platform, similar to Outlook on the web. Currently, sharing contact groups or assigning permissions to Contacts folders is not fully supported in New Outlook. Although users can create personal contact lists, the ability to share those lists directly through built-in sharing options is limited. As a result, the recipient may not receive any shared contact group information.

To work around this limitation, you may consider one of the following options:

• Switch back to Classic Outlook to share the contact group.
• Use a Microsoft 365 Group or Exchange distribution list if the goal is to maintain a shared mailing list across multiple users.

For more information, please refer to this document: Share a contact group or distribution list with others - Microsoft Support

I understand how important this functionality is for your workflow. I recommend submitting feedback directly to Microsoft via the Feedback Portal to help prioritize this feature in future updates. 

Sharing your experience through this channel is the most impactful way to advocate for a change that would benefit you and other users.     

    

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Answer 2

New Outlook for Windows currently does not support sharing contact lists/contact groups. Sharing contacts and contact folders, including contact groups, is only supported in classic Outlook.

In classic Outlook, a contact group can be shared by sending it in a message or by sharing the contacts folder:

• To send a contact group: open a new message, go to People, and drag the contact group from Contacts into the message body, then send it. The recipient can save it into their Contacts folder.
• To share a contacts folder: in People, select the contact folder, select Home > Share Contacts, address the sharing invitation, and send it. The recipient uses “Open this Contacts folder” from the invitation.

Because new Outlook does not support sharing contact lists, the behavior seen (no shared information received) is expected. To work around this, switch the user back to classic Outlook for Windows and perform the sharing from there.

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References:

• Share a contact group or distribution list with others
• Share a contacts folder with others
• Sharing calendar and contacts in Microsoft 365