How the Recent Addresses feature works in Outlook for Mac

Summary

This article describes how the Recent Addresses feature works in Microsoft Outlook 2016 for Mac and Outlook for Mac 2011. This feature is similar to the Nickname Cache in Windows Outlook.

More Information

When you use Microsoft Outlook 2010 for Windows, the Nickname cache is stored as a hidden message in the default message store (for example, on the Microsoft Exchange server). Outlook for Mac uses a similar feature called Recent Addresses, however there are some differences. Outlook for Mac does not synchronize the Recent Addresses data from or to the Exchange server. Instead, Outlook for Mac builds a local database of recently used addresses from email messages that are stored in the user's identity. This database is named "Recent Addresses" and is located in the following directory, depending on the version of Outlook for Mac:

Outlook 2016 for Mac: 
\Users\<username>\Library\Group Containers\UBF8T346G9.Office\Outlook\Outlook 15 Profiles\<Profiles name>\Data\Recent Addresses

Outlook for Mac 2011:
\Users\<username>\Documents\Microsoft User Data\Office 2011 Identities\<Identity Name>\Data Records\Recent Addresses\


Email addresses are added to the Recent Addresses database when data is stored in the local Outlook for Mac database (for example, when you first set up your account and synchronize data to Outlook or when new email is received or sent in Outlook).

This database is unique to the user's identity and local to the Mac client. It does not roam with the user if the user switches to a different computer or creates a new identity. However, this data may seem to roam between two separate Mac clients because, when the email messages are synchronized on both computers, each computer builds its own separate local Recent Addresses database.

For example, consider the following scenario:

• You log on to your Mac desktop. Your desktop is running Outlook for Mac and is connected to a Microsoft Exchange account.

• You send and receive some email messages. The email addresses for these messages are added to the Recent Addresses database.

• Later that same day, you log on to your Mac laptop. Your laptop is running Outlook for Mac.

• You connect to your same email account on Exchange. The email messages that you sent and received earlier will be synchronized to Outlook for Mac and stored in the local database. The email addresses from these messages are added to the Recent Addresses database on your Mac laptop.

In this scenario, your Recent Addresses will be the same on the two Outlook for Mac clients.

How do I delete an entry from the Recent Addresses in Outlook 2016 for Mac or Outlook for Mac 2011? 


To manually delete an entry from Recent Addresses, follow these steps:

1. Open a new email window.

2. Begin typing a recipient's name or email address in the To field. The Recent Addresses list appears.

3. Click the X at the right side of the recent address whose entry you want to delete from Recent Addresses.