How to hide columns in the Address Book in Outlook 2007

This article describes how to hide columns in the Address Book in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. For example, you might want to hide the Alias column that is displayed when you click Address Book on the Tools menu.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To hide one or more columns in the Address Book in Outlook 2007, apply the Outlook 2007 hotfix package that is dated April 30, 2009, and set the appropriate value for the ABHiddenColumns registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Apply the Outlook 2007 hotfix package that is date April 30, 2009.
   
   For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   968858  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968858/ ) Description of the Outlook 2007 hotfix package (Outlook.msp): April 30, 2009
2. Set a value for the ABHiddenColumns registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Start Registry Editor.
      • In Windows Vista, click Start
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        type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
        
        
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        If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.
      • In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
   2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Preferences
   3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Binary Value.
   4. Type ABHiddenColumns, and then press ENTER.
   5. Right-click ABHiddenColumns, and then click Modify.
   6. In the Value data box, type a value according to the rules and guidelines in the "ABHiddenColumns values table" section, and then click OK.
   7. Exit Registry Editor.

ABHiddenColumns values table

Select one or more values from the following table. Combine these values with the following number: Note The # placeholder is an integer equal to the number of columns between 1 and 6 you want to hide.

For example, use the following data for the ABHiddenColumns value if you are hiding the Business Phone, Location, and Alias columns: Note The Name column in the Address Book cannot be hidden.

The hotfix and registry data only enables you to hide the Alias column in the Address Book. After you hide the Alias column in the Address Book, the alias of a user is still available in the Properties dialog box. To display the Properties dialog box, double-click the user in the Address Book.

Additionally, if you want to hide the Alias column in the Properties dialog box, you have to modify the details template in the Exchange System Manager. For more information about the details template, visit the following Microsoft Web site: The values in the "ABHiddenColumns values table" section are determined by using the Property ID value and the Data Type value for the following properties:

TitleBusiness phoneLocationE-mail AddressCompanyAlias These properties are described in the [MS-OXPROPS]: Exchange Server Protocols Master Property List Specification document.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the [MS-OXPROPS] package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/d/d/5dd33fdf-91f5-496d-9884-0a0b0ee698bb/%5bms-oxprops%5d.pdf)

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.