How to Merge and Delete Duplicate Contacts in Microsoft Outlook?

Microsoft Outlook is the first choice of users because of there various features like emailing, calendaring, contact management, and so on. At times, users face the problem of duplicate contacts in Outlook and want to remove them for more space. Therefore, in this blog, we will explain some simple methods to merge and delete duplicate contacts in Microsoft Outlook. Continue reading for the appropriate solution.

Reasons Why Duplicate Contacts are Created in Outlook?

• If a user uses different email accounts with the same name, a new contact is created for the same person.
• When you synchronize the Outlook contacts s with your laptop, mobile devices, or some social platforms it causes the creation of duplicate contacts.
• When the e-mail messages are dragged to the Contacts folder, a new contact is automatically created in Outlook.

Also Read: How to Merge Multiple Archive PST Files

User Query- How to Merge and Delete Duplicate Contacts in Microsoft Outlook

“I have over 3000 contacts in my Outlook and would like to delete duplicate contacts. Basically, I want to merge multiple contact folders in Outlook without duplicates. I have tried a manual solution to do so but fails. My Outlook is hanged while performing this task. So I don’t try it again. Now I need an easy and quick way to merge and remove duplicate contacts in Outlook 2016.”

Instant Solution– To combine and remove duplicate Outlook contacts, try PST Merge software. It will allow merging Outlook contacts and delete duplicates without damaging any data.

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Manual Ways to Remove Duplicate Outlook Contacts

Here we are going to describe step by step manual process to remove duplicate contacts in Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 one by one.

#Method 1. Delete Duplicate Contacts One at a Time

• Open Outlook and click People

• In the Current View group, click the right corner of the views box and then click on Phone

Note: You can easily use this method to scan contacts to find the duplicates.

• In the contacts list, hold Ctrl key and select the duplicate contacts want to delete then press Delete

#Method 2. Delete Multiple Duplicate Contacts Using Export & Import

To delete duplicate contacts in Microsoft Outlook one by one is lengthy and time-consuming. Therefore, the fastest and easiest way is to export them to a file, then import them into a new folder.

• Launch Outlook and click People
• Right-click Contacts under My Contacts and select New Folder

• Give the name of your new folder like “Remove Duplicates”

• Click back to the main Contact folder
• Press Ctrl+A to select all contacts
• Drag and drop the contacts into the Remove Duplicates folder. When you drag and drop contacts to a new folder, the main Contacts folder becomes empty

• Now, click File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export

• Choose the option of Export to a file and hit the Next button

• Choose Comma Separated Values and again click Next

• Select the Remove Duplicates folder and press Next

• Click browse and select the desired location to save CSV file and hit the Finish button.

Import Contacts Back Into Microsoft Outlook

• Select File >> Open & Export >> Import/Export
• Choose Import from another program or file and then select Comma Separated Values
• Press the Browse button and select the exported file. Under the Options, choose “Do not import duplicates” and click Next
• Choose your main contacts folder as destination folder and hit the Finish button.

Get Back Contacts From The New Folder Created to Main Contacts Folder

If you ever get a duplicate again, you will see a pop-up with two options:

1. Select “Add new contact” if the contact is not a duplicate
2. Select “Update information of selected contact” if the contact is a duplicate
3. After selecting the required option, click on Update. And click on Update All option if you want to repeat the same selection for all duplicate contacts.

Note- When the procedure is finished, you can delete the Remove Duplicates folder.

This is the complete process to remove duplicate Outlook contacts manually. This method is very lengthy and confusing. If you are not satisfied with the manual approach you easily choose the expert solution to simplify the task.

Instant Solution to Merge and Delete Duplicate Contacts in Microsoft Outlook

In order to simply and accurately combine or remove duplicate contacts in Outlook, you can use the Outlook PST Merge tool. This software is capable to remove duplicate Outlook contacts while combining. It helps to merge multiple Outlook contacts folders without data loss issue. With the help of this application, you can combine unlimited contacts from Outlook without duplicates. It is compatible with all Outlook Versions such as 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, etc. and also works on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, etc.

Follow these steps to merge and delete duplicate Outlook contacts;

Step 1. Select the PST files which having contacts.

Step 2. Select the Merge option and click Next.

Step 3. Choose Merge in existing PST, Outlook Profile or new PST file .

Step 4. Select the contacts fields to remove duplicates like Full Name, Email Address, Mobile Number, Job Title, etc.

Step 5. Then click on the Next button.

Conclusion

In the above blog, we explained step by step how to delete duplicate contacts in Microsoft Outlook. Here, we discussed the manual and the expert solution to combine and remove duplicate contacts from Microsoft Outlook. You can choose any method according to your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions