Email Eviction

Q: This email is being sent because I’m having a slight problem (just an annoyance really) with Outlook 2002. When I start to type an email address into one of the blocks (To or CC or BCC), the program brings up a list of possible email addresses when I’m three or four characters into the address. This is nice, but what’s annoying me is that a few names appear as options that I’d just as soon delete from Outlook’s memory. They’re not addresses in my address book. They’ve just been used before so they pop up as options. How can I delete a particular email address from Outlook’s memory?
As background, if you want to know the reason why I ask, what I want is for my email address to be the top one in the list when I start to type TER, the first three letters of my last name (this is so I can send a BCC to myself). I like to type those three letters, then hit tab and the whole address appears. It’s quick and easy.
BUT if another TER address gets added above my name, this defeats the ability to instantly tab and have my address appear. Instead, a couple of times, expecting my name to be in the blind cc box, I’ve started to send the email and realize another person’s name shows up instead, which comes before “terp”. I’ve tried to use my mouse to drag the unwanted address out of the pop-up options and that doesn’t do anything!
Ron
A:
The auto-complete function on Microsoft Outlook is what displays the email address for you. What you may want to do is simply turn off the auto-complete function. This may suit your needs better. You can disable this function in about three steps. Select Options from the Tools menu. Click the Preferences tab, then Email Options, and finally Advanced Email Options. It is here that you can turn off the auto-complete function by unchecking the box next to the option that allows you to suggest names while completing To, Cc, and Bcc fields. This will mean that you now need to type the entire email address instead of using the Tab button.
If that didn’t fit your needs, then you can remove the address from the auto-complete list. To remove the name from the list you first need to go through the motions of creating a new email. When you have the compose window open, begin typing the address that you want to remove. Use the down arrow keyboard button to select the address when the name appears in the email to window or in a drop down list of addresses that begin with same initial three letters. Once that you have selected the address, click the Delete button and you’re done. Another option is to just type the address out to “terp”. The auto-complete should pick it up by then.