address book template

Use Outlook’s People/Contacts feature rather than a Word template if the address book must store birthdays and notes and support shareable vCard (.vcf) files.

Create the address book in Outlook

1. Open Outlook and select People.
2. Select New contact.
3. Enter the person’s name, address, phone numbers, and email address.
4. Select Add more to enter additional information such as a birthday. Outlook contacts can also hold private notes and other details.
5. Select Save or Create, depending on the Outlook version. ^1^

Repeat this for each person. This produces a searchable electronic address book rather than a static Word document.

Create or share vCards

In classic Outlook for Windows:

1. Select People.
2. Select one or more contacts; hold Ctrl to select several.
3. Choose Forward Contact > As a Business Card.
4. Outlook attaches each selected contact as a vCard that recipients can import into their contact applications. ^2^

To customize the visible electronic business card, open a contact and double-click its business-card image. You can then choose its layout, background, image, and displayed fields. ^3^

These documented vCard procedures apply to classic desktop Outlook versions listed on the support pages. If using new Outlook or Outlook on the web, contact management is available, but the same vCard commands might not appear.

If a printable Word address book is also needed

Word can generate a directory from an Outlook contact list or an Excel data source:

1. Open a blank Word document.
2. Select Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Directory.
3. Select Mailings > Select Recipients, then choose the contact data source.
4. Add labels such as Name, Address, Birthday, and Notes.
5. Place the cursor after each label and select Mailings > Insert Merge Field. Do not type the « » merge-field characters manually.
6. Select Mailings > Preview Results.
7. Select Mailings > Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents.
8. Save or print the resulting directory. ^4^

For a booklet layout, select Layout > Margins > Custom Margins, set Multiple pages to Book fold, and reserve binding space with Gutter. When printing, use Print on Both Sides > Flip pages on short edge. ^5^

A Word directory is useful for printing, but it does not replace Outlook’s functional contacts or provide native vCard management.

Starting from a spreadsheet

If the contacts do not yet exist in Outlook, create an Excel sheet with columns such as:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Home Address
• Email Address
• Phone
• Birthday
• Notes

Save it through File > Save As > CSV (Comma delimited), then import that CSV into Outlook. Microsoft also provides a sample contact CSV template. ^6^

References

1. Create, view, and edit contacts and contact lists in Outlook | Microsoft Support
2. Share contacts as vCards | Microsoft Support
3. Create and share contacts as Electronic Business Cards | Microsoft Support
4. [Mac](https://support.microsoft.com/word/create-a-directory-of-names-addresses-and-other-information)
5. Create a booklet or book in Word | Microsoft Support
6. Create or edit .csv files to import into Outlook | Microsoft Support