Understanding Outlook Contact User-defined fields – (in folder) – versus – (in item)
An area that seems to confuse many people are user-defined fields in terms of where and when these get created. This article specifically addresses the topic from the standpoint of user-defined fields used when no custom form is in use (when the default MessageClass is <IPM.Contact>.
There are two separate and distinct (but related) groups of user-defined fields for Outlook contact items.
- <User-defined fields in folder>
- <User-defined fields in this item>
Both of these field groups can be viewed by clicking on <All Field> while a contact item is open and selecting the appropriate sub-group that appears.
Here are some important things to remember about User-defined fields (UDF)
- Whenever you add a UDF, whether or not it is directly to the <in folder> group or <in item> group, it gets added to the <User-defined fields in folder> group by default. A UDF must be included in the <in folder> group in order to be used in any <view>.
- A UDF does NOT get added to any contact item (user-defined fields in this item) unless a value is added to the field. More specifically, just because you added a UDF to the <in folder> group, does not mean that the UDF is automatically added to every contact in the folder – it is NOT.
- Similarly, if a UDF is deleted from the <in folder> group, it is NOT removed from any contact item to which it has been added (the UDF contains a value). It only removes it from the <in folder> group making it in accessible for any Outlook view. The only way to actually delete a UDF from a contact item is to delete it on a contact by contact basis. As long as the UDF remains in the <in folder> group, you can create a custom view to see which contacts have a value assigned to the field. If the UDF is removed from the <in folder> group, the only way to determine if an individual contact item has a UDF attached to the item is to review each individual contact item one at a time. (ContactGenie Toolkit does have a function that can bulk delete a UDF field for all contacts)
- A UDF that is in the <in item> group will be included if the contact item is copied to another folder. However, if the target folder does not have the same UDF defined in the <in folder> group, you will only be able to access this information by opening the individual contact item.
- You can delete a UDF from the <in folder> group and then re-add it with a different specification (i.e. field type). The care that should be taken is that if this is done, it does NOT alter the UDF definition for any UDF with the same name that is already assigned to contact item. In short, there will be a conflict and a potential problem (i.e. the current <in folder> is a numeric field type and the <in item> definition is for a text field type)
- You cannot create a UDF using a name that already appears in the Outlook <Field Chooser>. However, there is nothing to prevent you from creating a UDF using the internal Outlook field name for any standard field – a practice that should be avoided since it can can only lead to potential confusion down the line. For reference purposes, a complete list of Outlook Internal and Display As names (in 9 languages) can be reviewed by clicking here – Outlook Field Names
- Once a UDF has been created, it can not be renamed and the field type definition for it cannot be changed. The only thing that you can change on an on-going basis is the field display format as it applies to the field type specification.
(ContactGenie Toolkit does have a function that allows you to rename a UDF. This function doesn’t actually rename the field but rather creates a new UDF, copies the properties and value, and deletes the original UDF) - A UDF should never be added to a contact item that is assigned to a custom form. In those cases, the custom field should be added to the item by modifying and re-publishing the custom form.
Category: Understanding Outlook
