Setting the Online Global Address List as Default

By default, Outlook 2016 - 2019 sets the Offline Global Address List as your main address book. This can cause issues when sharing calendars with other people in your department, or when granting delegate access to your email account. The instructions below will assist you in changing the default Address Book in Outlook 2016 - 2019 to the Online Global Address List and prevent the aforementioned issues. 

These instructions will only work for Outlook 2016 - 2019 on PC. 

Setting the Online Global Address List as Default in Outlook 2016 - 2019

  1. From the Home tab, select the Address Book button.

    Screenshot of the Outlook Home tab with a red box around the Address Book button and a red arrow pointing towards the Address Book button.
     
  2. The Address Book window will now appear. Select the Tools tab and then select Options...

    Screenshot of the Tools tab with a red box around the Options... button and a red arrow pointing towards the Options... button.
     
  3. From the Addressing window, check the selection marked Start with Global Address List and click OK.

    Screenshot of the Addressing window with a red box around the OK button and a red arrow pointing towards the OK button.
     
  4. From the Home tab, select New Email.

    Screenshot of the Outlook Home tab with a red box around the New Email button and a red arrow pointing towards the New Email button.
     
  5. Click on the To field and verify that Outlook is now defaulting to the Global Address List. 

    Screenshot of the Global Address List window with a red box around the Address Book option.
     

 

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