OL97: How to Clear the AutoNameCheck List

In Microsoft Outlook 97, there is a feature called AutoNameCheck. This feature creates a list of nicknames for every e-mail recipient sent a message. When composing new messages Outlook attempts to resolve the recipient's name from this list of nicknames. Corruption of this list results in a Non-delivery Report (NDR) message or a message delivered to the wrong recipient.

AutoNameCheck will place a red wavy line under a partial name that could refer to two names; e.g., "Roosevelt" could refer to either Franklin or Theodore. Right-clicking it will bring up a menu of all the similar names. If that same partial name is entered again, it will be resolved to the selected name chosen the last time, and it will have a dashed green line beneath it. Right-clicking this name will again bring up the menu of other names to choose from.

You cannot directly remove the AutoNameCheck list. If it becomes corrupted, you must do one of the following:

• Create a new profile. This recreates the AutoNameCheck list and the feature will start working again.
  
  For more information creating a profile, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  162203  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/162203/EN-US/ ) OL97: User Profiles and Information Services
• Use the NickName.exe utility to clear the list while preserving the profile.

NOTE: The Nickname.exe utility replaces an earlier Wipename utility from the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit.

For additional information on how to obtain and use NickName.exe, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: