Applies ToOffice for business Office 365 Small Business Outlook.com Outlook on the web for Exchange Server 2016 Outlook on the web for Exchange Server 2019

Sign in to Outlook on the web using your work or school account. 

In Outlook on the web, you use the People page to create, view, and edit contacts, contact lists, and groups. 

If the instructions don't match what you see, you might be using an older version of Outlook on the web. Try the Instructions for classic Outlook on the web.

To go to the People page, sign in to Outlook on the web and select the People icon People at the bottom of the page.

Image showing Outlook home page with the People icon highlighted on the left hand navigation bar.

  • Use the Search box to search for a person or a contact list.

  • The toolbar provides menus and commands for creating and modifying your contacts, contact lists, and groups depending on the context.

  • People you have added as favorites appear in Favorites

  • All saved contacts and contact lists from all folders appear in your Contacts.

  • List of all your contacts appear in Your contact lists.   

  • Tags: Organize your contacts by adding categories to them. Click on a category on the left nav to view all contacts associated with that category.

  • The default folder called Contacts contains contacts and contact lists.  

  • Groups: Members show you the groups you belong to, and Owners show you the groups you own.

  • The middle pane displays favorites, contacts, contact lists, or groups depending on what you selected in the navigation pane. Use the filter menu to sort and to choose how contact names are displayed. 

  • The right pane displays detailed information for the contacts, contact lists, or groups selected in the middle pane.

  • You will not be able to access Public Folders from Outlook Web App. Please visit Outlook desktop to view and manage Public Folder(s).

Contacts can be organized using tags. You can create your own contact tags to keep certain contacts and find them more easily. You can contacts grouped under a tag by clicking on the tag in the left nav. 

Your existing folders are migrated to categories, and you'll see them as categories in the left navigation pane. Contacts that were in a particular folder(s) are stamped with categories that share the same name as the folder. These can be accessed by clicking on the category in the left navigation pane.

*Known limitation: Folders on Outlook desktop will show as categories in Outlook on the web. New categories created or contacts stamped newly with categories on Outlook on the web will not reflect on Outlook desktop as corresponding folders. 

To add a new category(s), on the contacts tab in the right pane, select Add categories.  

To clear all categories from contact, select Clear all Categories.

All your contacts created using the organization's directory will always stay up to date with any updates or changes in the organization directory automatically. 

You can choose whether you want to save organization's update or personal edit using the new contact editor to ensure that users choice takes precedence.  

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Create, view, and edit contacts

A new contact is automatically saved in your Contacts folder, and you can also see it below Your contacts.  If you want to save the new contact in a different folder, select the folder before creating the contact. 

  1. Sign in to Outlook on the web.

  2. Select the People icon People at the bottom of the navigation pane.

  3. On the People page, on the toolbar, select New contact.

    A screenshot of the New contact button

  4. Enter details for the contact. To add more information to a contact, such as the address and birthday, select Add more

  5. Select Create.

When you click someone's name or picture in Outlook or other Office apps and services, you'll see their profile card with information about them. From their profile card, you can save them to your own contacts, for example if you want to add Notes or other information.

Here's how you can add a contact from an email message:

  1. 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.

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

    Select the three dots and then select Add to contacts

  3. Add more information if you want. To add more information to a contact, such as the address and birthday, select Add more

  4. Select Create.

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

If your company has a directory set up, you'll be able to see information about your colleagues without saving them as contacts. You can search for them or select their name or picture from an email message. Their profile card will show information collected from other systems (directory). If you want to add other information, such as notes, you can save your colleagues to your own contacts. The new contact is auto-linked to the existing directory contact. Only you will see the information you add.

These new contacts will be auto-updating contacts.  

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

Favorite contacts with an email address will also appear in the navigation pane in Mail to see all their emails in one place.

On the People page, select a contact in the middle pane to view or edit information about them. You are viewing a version of the profile card. Sections and tabs may differ.  

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

  • Conversations: Recent email messages, email attachments and Teams chats 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.

  • Organization: If the contact belongs your organization, you can also see the organization chart. 

To edit a contact, select Edit contact next to Contact Information, or select Edit on the toolbar.

A screenshot of the Edit contact button

  1. On the People page, select a contact.

  2. Select the camera icon.

    Select the camera icon to add a photo
  3. Select Upload a new photo, choose the file you want to use, and then choose 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>Done.

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

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

  1. Select one or more contacts, and then select Delete.

  2. Select Delete to confirm.

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 enter "My Book Club" in the To line of the email.

By default, contact lists are created in the default Contacts folder, and you can also see them under Your contact lists. If you want to save the contact list in a different folder, select the folder before you select New contact list. Contact lists cannot be moved from one folder to another once created. 

  1. On the People page, on the toolbar, select the ˅ symbol next to New contact, and 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.

  1. On the People page, select Your 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.

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

  2. Select the contact list, and then Edit.

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

  4. Select Save.  

Features and information in this guide apply to Outlook on the web as available through Microsoft 365.

See Also

Import contacts to Outlook

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