Learn How to Remove or Merge Duplicate Contacts in Outlook – Quick Manual Guide
Outlook is the most preferable email application which is provided by Microsoft. It is used by large or small organizations. It is the first user preference when it comes to email clients because of several reasons such as an understandable user interface, safe and secure, and some more advanced features.
Furthermore, users have to face several issues while working with Microsoft Outlook. Sometimes, they may face the occurrence of multiple duplicate contacts in Outlook. Therefore, in the upcoming section, we are going to discuss some simple strategies to remove or merge duplicate contacts in Outlook 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007.
Before proceeding further go through the following scenario that will help to make you understand the procedure to combine duplicate contacts on the Outlook application. The below-listed scenario is taken from the forum site:
“I am having multiple accounts in my Outlook application. Thus, I need to remove duplicate & merge Outlook contacts of both accounts in the address book. I tried it to do manually but when I opted to merge duplicate contacts, Outlook is getting hanged so, I select “Allow duplicate” for both accounts contacts. Therefore, I want to delete duplicates contacts and merge them. So, please suggest me a method to perform the task in an effective manner. Thanks.”
Recommended Approach to Remove or Merge Duplicate Contacts in Outlook
You can take the help of SysTools Outlook PST Merge software that allows you to efficiently merge and remove duplicate contacts in Outlook. With the help of this tool, users can easily merge duplicate Outlook contacts without any fear of data loss. This application furnishes an understandable interface even, a novice user can also perform the task easily and simply.
It is able to delete duplicate Outlook contacts during merging contacts of multiple PST data files and folders simultaneously. This software helps you to manage multiple PST files in Outlook including contacts by merging and deleting the duplicates. Furthermore, below we are going to discuss the working steps of the reliable software.
Step to Merge Duplicate Contacts in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007
Step 1: Download the software and launch it into your local machine.
Step 2: Add PST file or folder which contains contacts.
Step 3: Here, select the “Merge” tab.
Step 4: Check the “Skip Duplicate Items” box and select the contact fields to combine PST files and remove duplicates in Outlook.
Step 5: Finally, click on “NEXT” to finish the procedure successfully.
Also Read: Combine Outlook Archives Together
Manual Way to Remove & Merge Duplicate Contacts in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010
After considering the above-stated scenario, here we are going to describe the following manual workarounds. You have to follow all of them to get a positive result. All the steps to merge or remove duplicate contacts in Outlook below-discussed step by step.
Also Read: How to remove duplicate emails from Outlook manually?
Step 1: Remove Duplicate Contacts Single at a Time
1. Open Outlook application and select “People”
2. Now, in the “Current View” group, hit at the right corner of the views box, then opt “Phone”. Moreover, it is the simplest view to use to view your duplicates and scan your list of contacts.
3. In the contacts list, hold down “Ctrl” and select those contacts that you need to delete.
4. Finally, after selecting the duplicates that you want to delete, press “Delete or Ctrl+D” to delete them successfully.
Step 2: Delete Various Duplicate Contacts by Export & Import Utility
This is the fastest way as compared to remove one-by-one duplicate contact. Thus, it is easy that export them as a file, then import them into a fresh folder. Moreover, to get the advantage of this duplicate detection faculty in Outlook import procedure, follow the below-listed steps:
1. Open the Outlook application into your local machine.
2. Select an option to “People”
3. Now, click-right on your present Contacts folder or choose New Folder.
4. you have to give a name to the new folder, for example, “Removes”.
5. Hit on back into your primary Contacts folder.
6. Afterward, Press the “Ctrl+A” tab to choose all of your contacts.
7. Here, you can use “drag and drop” your contacts into the duplicates contacts folder otherwise use “Ctrl+Shift+V” to open the “Move to Folder” dialog box and opt your Duplicates folder.
8. After, performing the above step your current contacts folder should be empty.
9. Choose File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export. Note: In MS Outlook 2010, opt File >> Open >> Export and skip the step 10.
10. Opt an “Export to a File” and then choose a CSV.
11. Choose that duplicate folder that you have generated in the above steps such as “Removes”.
12. Finally, click “Next” to finish the procedure.
Step 3: Import Contacts to Back into MS Outlook
1. Firstly, choose File >> Open and Export >> Import & Export. Note: In Microsoft Outlook 2010, opt File>> Open >> Import or skip to step 3.
2. Now, opt “Import from another program or file” and then choose CSV
3. Here, you have to find the file you generated in the above process.
4. Afterwards, click an option to “option Do not import duplicate items”.
5. Select your primary folder as the objective folder. Currently, this folder is empty.
6. Hit on “Finish” to end up the procedure positively.
Step 4: Get back the Contacts by Duplicates Folder to Main Contacts Folder
- You have to opt for the “Duplicates” contact folder.
- Now, single-click any one of the contacts in the duplicates folder, then press “Ctrl+A” to choose all the contacts.
- Here, you have to move the selected contacts to your primary Contacts folder. Either you can “Drag and Drop” them or click “Ctrl+Shift+V” to use the “Move to Folder” dialog box.
All the time when MS Outlook disputes a duplicate contact, you will view a prompt with two choices.
- Opt “Add New Contact” if your contact is not a duplicate one.
- Choose “Update Information of Selected Contact” if your contact is a duplicate one.
- When you have selected any one as per your choice, click on “Update”. Any case If you need to repeat the exact choice for all the duplicate contacts, choose “Update All” as an option.
Finally, when the procedure is done, you are able to delete the duplicates folder successfully.
Author Suggestion
It is a very common issue i.e., a user wants to remove or merge duplicate contacts in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007. In the above section, we have discussed two approaches that will help to execute the task positively. It is better for you to go with an alternate solution such as PST data file merger software because the manual method is a time-consuming and lengthy procedure. Moreover, it is your choice that you can opt for any one of them as per your requirement.
FAQs- Remove and Merge Duplicate Contacts in Outlook
Try the automated Outlook data merger tool to easily merge multiple Outlook contacts into one without duplicates. This software works with all Outlook versions, including Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, etc.
Yes, you can easily merge duplicate contacts in Outlook by following the below steps-
Step 1– Create a New Contacts Folder
Step 2– Move all Contacts to the New Contacts Folder
Step 3– Export the contacts to .csv file
Step 4– Import Contacts from the CSV file to the Default Contacts Folder.
Yes, with the help of the mentioned utility, it is possible to delete duplicate Outlook contacts as per the required contacts fields. You can choose First Name, Last Name, Company, File As, Email ID, etc.
Yes, you can easily merge multiple contacts folders into one in Outlook using the mentioned software application. It allows you to merge multiple emails as well as contacts.