In this article you will discover how to eliminate or join duplicate contacts in Outlook and how to maintain a tidy and current contact list.

Microsoft Outlook offers a range of practical tools that we frequently use and appreciate, along with many features that remain unnoticed. Unfortunately, the option to declutter the address book and consolidate duplicate contacts into one isn't among them.

Fortunately, we aren't restricted to using only the tools explicitly offered by Outlook. With some creativity, you can devise a method to tackle almost any challenge that arises. This guide will demonstrate how to identify duplicates in Outlook contacts and merge them without relying on third-party software.

Duplicate contacts can be bothersome and perplexing to handle, yet they're a frequent issue in Outlook. Here are some of the most common causes:

• Dragging emails to the Contacts folder. One of the quickest methods to create a new contact in Outlook is by dragging an email directly to the Contacts folder. However, if you also manually create contacts or import contacts from other sources, you might end up with duplicates. This can happen if you misspell a contact's name or enter it differently.
• Emailing from multiple accounts. If someone emails you from different addresses, such as a professional and personal email, Outlook may create separate contacts for each address. This can occur regardless of how you create a new contact, whether by dragging an email to the Contacts folder or clicking the New Contact button on the ribbon.
• Syncing with other devices and platforms. If you synchronize your Outlook contacts with a laptop, mobile device, or social platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, duplicate contacts might appear if the same person is listed under various names in different address books. For instance, Robert Smith, Bob Smith, and Robert B. Smith might all be distinct entries in different sources referring to the same individual.
• Corporate address books. In a corporate setting, multiple address books may be maintained on Exchange servers, which can also lead to duplicate contacts.

Regardless of the cause, duplicate contacts can be a real nuisance in Outlook, making it challenging to keep track of crucial information and causing confusion and mistakes. Understanding the reasons behind contact duplication can assist you in preventing it from happening in the future. Below, you'll find several solutions to address any existing problems.

How to remove duplicate contacts in Outlook

To delete duplicate contacts one at a time, follow these steps:

1. On the Outlook navigation bar, click People.
2. On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Current View group, select Phone, which is the quickest way to scan contacts for similar or identical entries.
3. In the contacts list, hold down the Ctrl key and select the contacts you wish to remove.
4. Once all the duplicates are selected, press the Delete key or Ctrl D shortcut to remove them.

How to merge duplicate contacts in Outlook

In most cases, Outlook is intelligent enough to prevent duplication when attempting to create a contact that already exists. However, if you have numerous duplicates in your address book, you'll need to apply a special technique to tidy up the mess. The detailed steps follow below.

For this example, we'll use Outlook 365, given its popularity in recent times. Nevertheless, the options are essentially the same in all modern versions of Outlook 2021 to 2013, so you shouldn't encounter any difficulties following along.

Note. To prevent accidental loss of data, we highly recommend creating a backup copy first, for example by exporting your Outlook contacts to Excel.

1. Create a new Contacts folder. In Outlook Contacts, right-click on your main Contacts folder and select New Folder… from the context menu. Name this folder anything you like, say Merge dupes.

2. Move all Outlook contacts to the newly created folder. Switch back to your current contacts folder and press Ctrl A to select all the items. Then, drag and drop the contacts to the new folder you've just created. Alternatively, you can press the Ctrl Shift V keys together to open the Move to Folder dialog box, where you select the Merge dupes folder.

3. Export contacts to a .csv file. This can be done using Outlook's Import and Export wizard. In Outlook 365 - 2010, go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.

   In Outlook 2007 and 2003, you will find this wizard under File > Import and Export…

   

   The wizard will guide you through the export process, where you choose the following options:

   • Step 1. Export to a file.
   • Step 2. Comma Separated Values.
   • Step 3. Select the Merge dupes folder to which you've moved the contacts.
   • Step 4. Choose the destination folder to save the .csv file.
   • Step 5. Click Finish to complete the export process.

   For more information, see How to export Outlook contacts to CSV.

   Tip. When you have multiple contact cards for the same person, their details can be scattered across these duplicates, such as a business phone number on one card and a private phone number on another. In such cases, the Merge Duplicates tool can be very helpful. This Excel add-in can easily merge all information from duplicate rows into a single row.

   To better understand how this works, take a look at the original .csv file, which shows how the data is typically spread across multiple rows:

   

   By using the Merge Duplicates add-in, you can have all the details combined into a single, unified row:

   

   If you're interested in trying this tool on your own data, you can download a fully-functional trial version here.

4. Import contacts from CSV file to main Contacts folder.Start the Import/Export wizard again as described in the previous step and select the following options:

   • Step 1. Import from another program or file.
   • Step 2. Comma Separated Values.
   • Step 3. Browse for the exported .csv file and select Do not import duplicate items. This is the key option that does the trick!
   • Step 4. Select your main Contacts folder, which is currently empty, as the destination folder to import the contacts to.
   • Step 6. Click Finish to complete the import process.

   For more details, see How to import contacts to Outlook from CSV file.

5. Merge deduped contacts with the original ones.Finally, you need to merge the deduplicated contacts that you've imported to your main Contacts folder with the original contacts that are currently in the Merge dupes folder, so that no contact details will get lost.

   • Open the Merge dupes folder and press CTRL A to select all the contacts.
   • Drag the selected contacts to your main Contacts folder or press Ctrl Shift V and use the Move to Folder dialog box.
   • Every time a duplicate is detected, a pop-up message will appear with two choices:
     • Add new contact – the option to choose if the contact is a unique one.
     • Update information of selected contact – choose this option if the contact is a duplicate.

   After making your choice, click Update (or Add if you've chosen the first option). If you wish to apply the same choice to all duplicated contacts, click Update All.

   If you prefer to review a particular contact later, click Skip. In this case, the original contact will remain in the Merge dupes folder.

   

   After processing all the contacts, you can safely delete the Merge dupes folder.

Tips and notes:

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