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Use the People page in Outlook.com to view, create, and edit contacts and contact lists. Create new contacts from scratch, or add someone as a contact from an email message. You can also create a contact list for sending email to a group of people.

To go to the People page, sign in to Outlook.com and select People at the lower left corner of the page.

Create contacts

New contacts are saved in your default Contacts folder, and you will also see them under All contacts. If you want to save the contact in a different folder, select the folder before creating the contact.

  1. On the toolbar, select New contact.

    A screenshot of the New contact button

  2. Enter details for the contact. Select Add more to add more information, such as the contact's address and birthday.

  3. Select Create.

  1. In Outlook.com, go to Mail.

  2. 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.

  3. On the profile card that opens, select More options > Add to contacts.

    Select the three dots and then select Add to contacts

    Note: The contact is automatically saved in your default Contacts folder on the People page.

To add someone to your favorites, select the contact, and then select Add to favorites on the toolbar.

Tip: Favorite contacts with an email address will also show up in the left pane in Mail so you can see all their email in one place.

Here are some ways to find a contact on the People page:

  • Use Search. Start typing in the search box to find a contact or contact list.

  • Select Favorites in the upper left to see people you've added as favorites.

Tips: 

  • Select a letter in a list separator to quickly move between contacts in the list.

  • Select a letter to display other available letters

On the People page, select a contact in the middle pane to see or edit information about them.

  • To edit a contact, select Edit contact on the right side of the page or Edit on the toolbar.

    A screenshot of the Edit contact button

For contacts with an email address, you can also see more information on these tabs:

  • Files: Recent files that the contact has shared with you.

  • Emails: Recent email messages and email attachments between you and the contact.

  • LinkedIn: If the contact has a public LinkedIn profile with the same email that you've saved for that contact, you'll see LinkedIn information here.

    Note: The LinkedIn tab may not be available.

  1. On the People page, select a contact.

  2. Select Edit contact, and then select the camera icon.

    Select the camera icon to add a photo
  3. Select Upload a photo, choose the file you want to use, and then select Open to upload.

  4. If you want to reposition the photo, click inside the circle and drag the pointer. To zoom in or out, use the slider below the photo.

    Adjust the photo and select Apply
  5. Select Apply and then Save.

  • To change how contact names are displayed, select Settings and then Display contacts by > First name or Last name.

  • To select sorting, use the sort menu at the top of the list . For example, select Sort by > Last name.

Create contact lists

A contact list is a collection of email addresses, and is useful for sending email to a group of people. Contact lists are sometimes referred to as distribution lists.

For example, create a contact list named My book club and add all the members of your book club to it. When you want to send an email message to everyone in the club, just add My book club in the To line of the email.

Note: By default, contact lists are created in the default Contacts folder, and you can also see them under All contact lists. If you want to save the contact list in a different folder, select the folder before you select New contact list.

  1. On the People page, on the toolbar, select the arrow next to New contact and then select New contact list.

    A screenshot of the New contact menu with New contact list selected

  2. Enter a name for the list, and then add names or email addresses.

  3. Select Create.

Tip: If you want to group contacts for other reasons than sending email, you can create a folder instead. Then add contacts to the folder.

You can add people (email addresses) to a contact list in two ways: By editing a contact list and adding people to it from within the list, or by selecting one or more contacts and adding them to a list from the Add to list option on the toolbar.

Note: Because a contact list is just a collection of email addresses, you can only add contacts that have an email address.

Add people to a contact list by editing the contact list:

  1. On the People page, select All contact lists in the navigation pane, or search for the contact list name.

  2. Select the contact list, and then select Edit.

  3. Enter names or email addresses.

  4. Select Save.

Add one or more contacts to a contact list by using the Add to list option:

  1. On the People page, select the contacts you want to add to a list.

  2. On the toolbar at the top, select Add to list.

    • Select the plus sign next to the contact list you want to add the contacts to.

      or

    • Select New contact list to add the selected contacts to a new list, and then enter a name for the new contact list.

  3. Click outside the pane to close it when you're done.

You can remove people (email addresses) from a contact list in two ways: By editing the contact list, or by selecting a contact and removing them from a list using the Add to list option on the toolbar.

Remove people from a contact list by editing the list:

  1. On the People page, select All contact lists in the navigation pane, or search for the contact list name.

  2. Select the contact list, and then select Edit.

    Select the x for the name or email address you want to remove.

  3. Select Save.

Remove selected people from one or more contact lists by using the Add to list option:

  1. On the People page, select the contact you want to remove from a contact list.

  2. On the toolbar, select Add to list. You'll see what contact lists this contact is already added to.

  3. Select the X next to the contact list you want to remove the selected contact from.

  4. Click outside the pane to close it when you're done.

  • On the People page, select All contact lists in the left pane, or search for the contact list name.

Still need help?

To get support in Outlook.com, click here or select Help on the menu bar and enter your query. If the self-help doesn't solve your problem, scroll down to Still need help? and select Yes.

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See Also

Import contacts to Outlook.com

What version of Outlook do I have?

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