M365 Outlook 2016 for Windows (How To) Create and edit a contact group

Use a contact group (formerly called a "distribution list") to send an email to multiple people - a project team, a committee, or even just a group of friends - without having to add each name each time. You can include Contact Groups in messages, task requests, meeting requests, and in other Contact Groups.
 



Create a contact group

On the Navigation bar, click People.

People tab

Under New, select New Contact Group.

On the Contact Group tab, in the Name box, type a name for the group.

Click Add Members, and then add people from your address book or contacts list.

Add members to group

Note To add someone who is not in your address book or contacts, use the "New E-mail Contact" selection. 

Click Save and Close.

 

 


Edit a contact group

On the Navigation bar, click People.

People tab

Find the group you want to edit and double-click the group to open it.

To Add Members

Add members to group

Click Add Members, and then add people from your address book or contacts list.

Note To add someone who is not in your address book or contacts, use the "New E-mail Contact" selection.

    • To Remove Members

      Select the member to remove from the list and click Remove Member, and then add people from your address book or contacts list.

Click Save and Close.

 

 


Delete a contact group

Important: Since personal groups are only stored locally on the computer you are on, once the group is deleted, it cannot be restored.

On the Navigation bar, click People.

People tab

Find the group you want to delete and double-click the group to open it.

Click Delete Group.

Click Yes to confirm the delete action.

 

 


Modify a contact in a group

Note: There are times when you want to modify the name or email address of a contact that you have included in a group.

Contact exists within your personal Outlook contacts

Use the edit a contact instructions to modify the desired contact.

Find the group which contains the contact you just modified and double-click the group to open it.

Within the "Members" area, click Update Now.

Update contact

The modified contact will be updated within the group.

Click Save and Close to save your changes.

Contact does not exist within your personal Outlook contacts

Find the group which contains the contact want to modify and double-click the group to open it.

Select the member and click Remove Member.

Within the "Members" area, click Add Members

Add or remove members

Click Add Members, and select 'New E-mail Contact'.

Enter the necessary information for this contact (which includes the new values you needed to make) and click OK. Note: It is recommended that you add this person to your personal contacts for ease of modification in the future.

Click Save and Close to save your changes to the contact group.

 

 



Keywords:
microsoft office365 event appointment schedule scheduling calendars email contacts tasks people groups distribution lists o365 
Doc ID:
67564
Owned by:
Help Desk K. in UW-Milwaukee Help Desk
Created:
2016-10-05
Updated:
2023-07-13
Sites:
UW-Milwaukee Help Desk