Comments on: WTF@IDeletedYouAlready.com

Question: WTF@IDeletedYouAlready.com

tdischino — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:25:15 -0800

Outlook AutoComplete filter: Deleted AutoComplete entries keep coming back. How do I get rid of them for good?

I rely pretty heavily on Outlook's (2007) AutoComplete feature. Due to recent change of company ownership, we all have new email addresses (new format and domain). So, when I start an email to Jack Smith, I am getting AutoComplete suggestions for jacksmith@oldcompany.com and jack.smith@newcompany.com. Per Microsoft's instructions, when the drop-down list showing the suggestions pops up, I should highlight jacksmith@oldcompany.com and press delete. This works for the current login session. The next day/login, jacksmith@oldcompany.com shows up in the AutoComplete list again. I understand that the NK2 file gets populated based upon emails I send, but I am not sending new emails to these old addresses, so I don't see how they are being added back in. Any ideas?

By: PhillC

PhillC — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:33:06 -0800

I've always used Shift + Delete to get rid of autocomplete entries. Now I could just be doing it wrong, but it may be worth a try. Other than that, the only thing I can suggest is deleting the .NK2 file. It's really odd that they are coming back...

By: Grither

Grither — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:38:43 -0800

Shift-delete makes sense, as in Windows that is the "permanent delete" function and not the "recycle bin" delete function that is just the delete key on it's own...

By: Dan Brilliant

Dan Brilliant — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:26:45 -0800

You can delete the nickname file. Look at this knowledgebase article.

By: tdischino

tdischino — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:40:27 -0800

Deleting the NK2 file isn't an option, as it contains hundreds of valid external email entries (clients and partners).

Since posting my question, a cohort of mine has suggested a 3rd party NK2 file editor, which would probably nix this pretty quickly. I assumed NK2 was some sort of binary proprietary format to begin with, I didn't even think this was just a text file.

Thanks for the replies. I'll try the shift + delete option in the future.