Troubleshoot contacts

I can't see my contacts.

• Some contacts might be temporarily hidden if the view you use filters out certain details. To view all contacts in the Contacts folder, click the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View. Click Filter, and then click Clear All.
• If you are viewing contacts in a table view type, the contacts might be grouped, and the groups might be collapsed so that you can't see the contacts within them. To expand groups to show details, click the Expand button . To collapse groups to hide details, click the Collapse button .
• Contacts might not be filed or sorted as you expect. In most views, contacts are sorted by the contents of the File as field. The File as field can contain a contact name, a company name, or a custom name for the contact. To change the way a contact is filed, open the contact, and enter what you want in the File as box. Or you can sort contacts by another field. Close the contact. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View. Click Sort, and then select the field you want to sort by.

Information is missing from my contacts.

• The view you use might not include the fields you want to see. For example, some views are set to show only the mailing address, so you might see only one address even if you entered another.
• If you create custom fields, they are only available in the folder you create them in.
• If you add a field to a card view type, and the field you add is empty for a particular contact, you will not see the field in the card for that contact. To see the empty field, do the following.
  1. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
  2. Click Other Settings.
  3. Select the Show empty fields check box.

My contacts don't sort in the order I expect.

• In most views, contacts are sorted by the contents of the File as field. The File as field can contain a contact name, a company name, or a custom name for the contact. To change the way a contact is filed, open the contact, and enter what you want in the File as box. Or you can sort contacts by another field. Close the contact. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View. Click Sort, and then select the field you want to sort by.
• You might have sorted contacts by an entire address instead of by part of the address. For example, if you sort contacts by the Business Address field, Microsoft Outlook uses the first line of text in the Business Address field to sort the contacts. To see contacts sorted by the city or country/region of the business address, sort them by the Business Address City or Business Address Country field. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View. Click Sort, and then click Address fields in the Select available fields from box. In the Sort items by box, click the field you want to sort by.
• You might have sorted contacts by a mixture of business and home addresses. If you sorted by the State or Country field, Outlook uses the mailing address to sort contacts. You might have made the mailing address a business address for some contacts and a home address for others. To change the mailing address, open the contact. Click the down arrow next to the Address box, and then click Business, Home, or Other. Then select the This is the mailing address check box.

The letter buttons next to my cards are gone.

If you sort contacts by a non-text field, such as Birthday, the letter buttons will not show in a card view type. To see the letter buttons, sort contacts by a text field such as File as.

The contact I want to automatically record items for does not appear in the Journal Options dialog box.

The contact may be located in a contact folder other than Contacts, or it may be in a subfolder under the main Contacts folder. You can only automatically record items in Journal for contacts that are located in the main Contacts folder. Move or copy the contact to the main Contacts folder to have the contact appear.

The contact is not underlined in the Contacts box.

If any contact names are not underlined, click the Tools menu, and then click Check Names. If a name is still not underlined, the name is not in your Contacts folder.

The text in a contact card is cut off.

1. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click a view based on the card view type.
2. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
3. Click Other Settings.

   In the Multi-line field height box, type the minimum number of text lines to display if the field contains more text than will fit or if the card is narrow.

When I sort, filter, or mail merge my contacts the address or name fields are not displaying correctly.

To make sure the parts of an address or name are identified correctly for sorting, filtering, or mail merge, open the contact and then click Address or Full Name. Review each entry, and make changes as appropriate.

I added a custom field to my contacts but I don't see it.

If the field you added is empty, you will not see the field in a card view type.

1. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
2. Click Other Settings.
3. Select the Show empty fields check box.