Typing in "To" area doesn't show a list in Outlook 2003

[mpnut]

I have a user that, when he used to type a few letters in the "To" area, a list of email recipients would show up and he could choose from the list. Now, all of a sudden, this doesn't happen. He must type out the entire email address again. This happens, I know, when you first use your outlook and you are creating the list. And address' he has sent to today will show up in the list, but not the ones from, say, 2 weeks ago. I guess my questions are 1) where is this list of email address' kept and 2) why would his not have the same address' as 2 week ago?

 

[brontosaurus]

The list is kept in file called <user-profile-name>.NK2 , so if your user's profile was JohnDoe, the file would be named JohnDoe.NK2 and would live in the Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder under the user's profile directory. Unfortunately, this file has a tendency to be corrupted, which is why your guy probably lost it.

 

[trojanman]

Did you find a fix? I have a user with the same exact problem.

 

[smah]

Also keep in mind that some 'track eraser' & 'history cleaner' type programs will also delete Outlook's nicnkame cache. This is another possible explanation of why the previously cached names might not be there.

 

[mpnut]

The only .NK2 file I find is named "Outlook.NK2". On my PC there is one named "MS Exchange Settings.NK2". Is this the file you speak of?

I haven't found a solution yet. There is no track eraser of history cleaner running on our network that I'm aware of. I'm going to assume that there isn't one because that would have affected everyone, including me. And there isn't one running locally, either. I would usually dismiss this and tell them "You just need to build up your list again" but it's for a VP. That kind of answer won't fly. I'm sure you all know how that goes.

 

[nickpark]

Is it a local profile? Has his desktop profile been rebuilt 2 weeks ago? Is he using a different computer to 2 weeks ago?

1. Train him to use Outlook Contacts.
2. Tell him his Nicknames list is lost forever and he'll need to rebuild it
3. RUN!

 

[mpnut]

I think I'll go with option 3. He is using the same PC and his profile has not been rebuilt. I checked those first thing. What I figure is that by the time I either find out what happened or give up completely, his list will be rebuilt.

 

[kkullot]

The file on my pc is outlook.nk2, but I can't open it. If I open it with notepad I can see the list of names but it has a lot of those special characters between them.

 

[nickpark]

fyi, on xp the nk2 file is stored in
C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\<OUTLOOK PROFILE NAME>.nk2

 

[smah]

The Outlook nickname cache is not directly editable. If you want to replace it, just delete the file - Outlook will create another the next time it starts.