Making the Contact Group option available in Outlook 2011's Contacts

One of my users sent in a ticket today asking why the Contact Group option in the Contacts window was grayed out in Outlook 2011. After some googling and testing, I found that the On My Computer folders need to be visible in order for this button to be active. If you need to create contact groups in Outlook 2011, here’s how you do it:

In the Outlook 2011 Preferences, the Hide On My Computer folders option needs to be unchecked. Once that’s done, the option to add a Contact Group should become available in the Contacts window.

Disabling the Hide On My Computer folders option

1. Click on the Outlook menu in the menu bar.
2. Select Preferences…
3. Once the Outlook Preferences window opens, click the General icon.
4. In the General window, uncheck the box next to Hide On My Computer folders.
5. Close the Preferences window.

This information is also available in the Outlook 2011 help files. To find it, go to the Help menu in Outlook 2011 and search for Create a contact group. The directions should be in the If Contact Group is not available section.