Add, find, edit, or delete a contact in Outlook

Applies To

Outlook for Microsoft 365 Outlook 2024 Outlook 2021 Outlook 2019 Outlook 2016 Outlook.com New Outlook for Windows

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You can create new contacts from scratch on the People page or add someone as a contact from their profile card. A contact can be as basic as a name and email address, or include more information like a street address, multiple phone numbers, and a profile picture.

Select a tab option below for the version of Outlook you're using. What version of Outlook do I have?

Note

If the steps under this New Outlook tab don't work, you might not be using new Outlook for Windows yet. Select Classic Outlook and follow those steps instead.

In new Outlook, you can:

Add a contact | Find a contact | Edit a contact | Delete a contact

Add a contact in new Outlook

You can add a contact from scratch or from someone's profile card.

Add a contact from scratch

From the new Outlook navigation pane, select People.
On the Home tab, select New contact.
Enter any of the following information: First Name, Last Name, Company, Phone number, or Email, then select Save.

Tip

You can enter more contact information anytime. Select the contact from the list, then select Edit contact, and start adding more information.

Add a contact from a profile card for someone in your organization

If you're using Outlook in an organization and you select someone's name or picture in Outlook or other Office apps and services, you might get their profile card with more information. From their profile card, you can select Add to contacts, then you can add more information like address, personal phone, or notes. The information you add is only visible to you.

To add a contact from an email message:

In Mail, open an email message in the reading pane, and then select the name of the sender or recipient you want to add to your contacts.
On the profile card that opens, select More options > Add to contacts, or select the Contact tab and select Add to contacts.
Select Edit contact to enter the details you want to add for this contact.
Select Save.

Note

Updating default information might not be reflected on a profile card because organizational data takes priority.

Learn more about profile cards in Profile cards in Microsoft 365.

Find a contact in new Outlook

On the side panel, select People.
Select the search box at the top of the window.
Type any detail for the contact you're searching for, such as a phone number, name, company, website, or anything in their profile card.

Note

Search results return partial matches for your contacts that contain the same combination of characters.
Choose the person you want from the search results.

Edit a contact in new Outlook

You can add or update a contact's information or photo.

Add or update contact information

From the navigation pane, select People.
Select the contact you want to edit, and then select Edit contact.
Add or update the information for your contact.
When you're finished, select Save.

Add or update a contact's photo

From the navigation pane, select People.
Select the contact that you want to add or update the photo for and select Edit contact.
Select the Contact picture button.
Select Upload a new photo, choose the file you want to use, and then select Open to upload.
If you want to reposition the photo, select the circle and drag the pointer. To zoom in or out, use the slider below the photo.
Select Apply, and then select Done.

Delete a contact in new Outlook

From the navigation pane, select People.
Select the contact you want to delete. Then, select Delete from the ribbon or right-click the contact and select Delete.
Select Delete again to confirm.

Tip

You can select up to 100 contacts at a time and select Delete from the ribbon. If you select more than 100 contacts, the Delete option is disabled.