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If you use Outlook to manage your contacts you may have found that your list may have some duplicates. What many users have asked me, especially most recently, is how to remove the duplicate contacts?

First, you should know there is not a quick wizard to accomplish this task like there is in Excel 2007.  I have Outlook 2007 and this is not a feature that is presently available.  There are third-party add-ons that do offer this feature. Go to Google and type in “remove duplicates from Outlook” for quick list of available add-ons.  

However, it is possible to remove duplicates yourself by manipulating your contact screen. First, go to your Contact folder.  Change your view to the Phone List view by clicking  - View on the menu bar – then – Current View – Phone List.  Now you can click the column heading – Full Name – to organize things by name.  This will show you all duplicates provided you typed the name the exact same way.  But how do you know which to remove?  By adding the field modified to your field list you will see which of the 2 contacts has the most current changes.  To add this field, right-click on the column headings in your contacts – Customize Current View – click the button marked – Fields.  Then from the list on the left, choose the modified field and add it to the right side – you may want to move it up so it is closer to the Full name field.  Now you will be able to see which contact was last updated.

This is Jennifer Shaheen, The Technology Therapist, with your technology tip of the month.

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