Save or copy Outlook Address Auto Complete cache.

Save or copy Outlook address auto complete cache

The situation is that most people think that the autocomplete list is an “Address Book” when in fact it is a simple auto complete similar to Internet Explorer’s autocomplete feature. Basically when you reinstall Office, move computers these names do not get transferred with your outlook pst file. Lucky for us there is a way to copy the names in the autocomplete from one outlook to another
Copy the names in AutoComplete cache to another computer.

*Important You must exit Outlook before starting the following procedure. The names will be included in AutoComplete when you restart Outlook.

1) On the computer with the saved AutoComplete names, go to C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data>Microsoft>Outlook
Note Depending on your file settings, this folder might be hidden. To view the files in this folder, do one of the following:
Microsoft Windows XP:Click Start, and then click My Computer.On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.Click the View tab, and then, under Advanced settings, under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.
2) Right-click profile name.nk2, and then click Copy.You then copy the file to removable media, such as a floppy disk or a CD, and then copy the file to the correct location on the other computer. Or you can attach the file to an e-mail message and send the message to yourself. On the new computer, open the attachment in Outlook, and then save it to the correct location. This is also the same method if you want to simply backup your autocomplete cache database.
3) On the computer where you want to populate the AutoComplete feature, copy the file to C:\Documents and SettingsApplication Data>Microsoft>Outlook
4) If the Outlook user profile name is different on the computer where you are moving the .nk2 file, you must rename the file with the same Outlook user profile name after you copy it to the correct folder. For example, if you move Joe Digital.nk2 from the original computer with an Outlook user profile name of Joe Digital, and you copy the Joe Digital.nk2 file to the new computer, you must rename it with the Outlook profile name being used on the new computer.
5) When prompted about replacing the existing file, click Yes.
6) Open Outlook to view changes.

Clearing the Outlook Auto-Complete Address Cache

Outlook has an auto-complete cache to help fill in recipient information when adding recipients. If you want to delete this auto-fill cache, you can delete individual items or the entire cache. You remove individual items by typing an address on the To line of an email, and when the auto-fill suggestion is displayed, press the Delete key. To delete the entire cache, stop Outlook, navigate to the %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook folder (type this in Explorer address bar), and delete the Outlook.NK2 file. Restart Outlook.