Deleting names from a contact list

Question

I am trying to delete a few contacts from an already established contact list on Microsoft Office 365. I can get to where there are X's to delete but there is no save button. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Dear @Wiesen, Noli S

There are several places Outlook uses to store contacts. Your personal contacts are stored in folders either in an Outlook Data file or in your Exchange or Microsoft 365 mailbox. You can add, edit, or delete contacts stored in your personal contacts folders. For more information, please refer to Create, edit, or delete a contact list (or contact group) in Outlook and Delete a contact in Outlook for Windows

In New Outlook > Select People on the left of the window > Select the contact or contact list that you want to delete, then click Delete on the Ribbon, and select Delete.

On the other hand, organizational contacts are stored in a Global Address List. You can't add, edit, or delete contacts stored in the Global Address List. In that case, any remove (X) option you see may not be saved because only the list owner or an administrator can make changes. Therefore, please contact your administrator for assistance with Global Address List contacts. For reference: Address lists in Exchange Online and Remove a global address list in Exchange Online

Moreover, to help narrow this down, could you tell me:

• Are you using Outlook on the web, New Outlook, or Classic Outlook?
• Is this your own personal contact list, or a shared/company distribution list?
• After clicking the X to remove a contact, do you receive any error message, or do the names simply reappear later? A screenshot of the page where you see the "X" buttons but no Save option would also be helpful (remember to remove your personal information before sharing, such as the email address or full name).

I hope the information shared is helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. I'm looking forward to your update.

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

Note: Please follow the steps in the documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

For a Microsoft 365 contact list in Outlook on the web, the normal flow is:

1. Open People.
2. Select Your contact lists or All contact lists.
3. Select the contact list, then Edit.
4. Select the x next to the name or email address to remove it.
5. Select Save.

If the x appears but Save does not, the supported action is still to edit the list and then save the change. In Outlook on the web, removing people from a contact list is done from the list’s Edit view, and the change is completed with Save.

If the screen does not show Save, reopen the contact list from People and enter Edit again, then remove the addresses from there rather than from another pane.

If this is Outlook desktop instead of Outlook on the web, the steps are different:

1. Go to People.
2. Open the contact group.
3. Select the member name.
4. Select Remove Member on the ribbon.
5. Select Save & Close.

---

• Create, view, and edit contacts and contact lists in Outlook.com
• Using contacts (People) in Outlook on the web
• Remove names from a contact group