Creating a new mail profile on your PC is a common operation, especially when troubleshooting Outlook or moving a user to a new computer. While the process itself is generally straightforward, one common issue is the loss of autocomplete email addresses.
Many users mistakenly believe that the autocomplete list is their actual address book. In reality, it's just a temporary cache of recently used addresses. When setting up a new Outlook profile, this data is not transferred automatically, often causing confusion or panic.
How autocomplete data was stored in earlier versions
In versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2010, this information was stored in a separate, easily identifiable file. With newer versions, the format and location of this data have changed—it is now associated directly with the user's profile.
Where autocomplete data is stored
The autocomplete file is located at:
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache
Look for a file that starts with: Stream_Autocomplete, such as:
Stream_Autocomplete_0_595122A81EC6DD45902DEDECB5D93C80.dat
By saving this file, you can restore autocomplete addresses to a new profile or associate them with another mailbox.
How to associate the file with a new Outlook profile
Follow these steps to restore the autocomplete list:
- 1. Open Outlook using the new profile
- 2. Send a test email (it must be sent successfully)
- 3. Navigate to
%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\RoamCache - 4. Copy the old
Stream_Autocompletefile into this folder - 5. Locate the new autocomplete file generated by Outlook (usually the smallest one, containing one address)
- 6. Copy the name of the new file and then delete it
- 7. Rename the old file using the name you just copied
- 8. Close and restart Outlook
- 9. Start composing a new email and check the address suggestions
This method allows you to restore autocomplete addresses that would otherwise be lost when creating a new Outlook profile.
