How to Delete an Outlook Nickname

Remove nicknames from the Outlook auto-complete cache.

When you start to type a contact name into the address field on an email message in Microsoft Outlook, the application automatically checks the nickname and auto-completes it. Outlook stores contact nicknames in a message cache, and this sometimes gets corrupted. A corrupted cache can lead to incorrect nicknames appearing during the auto-complete process. You can remove any nickname from Outlook by deleting it from the "Suggested Names" list.

Instructions

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook.

2. Click the "Email" button in the left-hand navigation pane to open the Outlook "Mail" application.

3. Click "New Email" in the "New" group on the "Home" tab.

4. Type the first few letters of the nickname that you want to remove into the email address field.

5. Move your mouse pointer over the nickname in the "Suggested Names" list that appears as you start typing. This highlights the nickname.

6. Click the "X" icon beside the highlighted nickname to remove it from Outlook.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't click on the nickname in Step 5. Wait for the "X" icon to appear and click this icon.

References

• Microsoft Support; How to Reset the Nickname and the Automatic Completion Caches in Outlook; March 2011

Resources

• Microsoft Office: Outlook 2010 Help & How-To