The address list cannot be displayed

As a Microsoft 365 user, you may get The address list cannot be displayed error when you try to view contacts in Public Folder in Outlook on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer. This post provides the most suitable solutions affected Outlook users can apply to easily resolve the issue. Public folders help organize content in a deep hierarchy that’s easy to browse.

This issue occurs when you try to select a public folder that contains contacts from the address book list in Microsoft Outlook 2021/19/16 or Outlook for Office 365. You’ll receive the following error message even if you have permission to read all objects of the folder;

The address list cannot be displayed. The Contacts folder associated with this address list could not be opened; it may have been moved or deleted, or you do not have permissions. For information on how to remove this folder from the Outlook Address Book, see Microsoft Outlook Help.

This issue occurs due to either of the following reasons;

The ExcludeHttpsAutoDiscoverDomain registry key is set to the value of 1.
Autodiscover endpoints is blocked or Outlook can’t find the Autodiscover information.

The address list cannot be displayed – Outlook error

Public folders are designed for shared access and provide an easy and effective way to collect, organize, and share information with other people in your workgroup or organization. If the address list cannot be displayed in Outlook on your Windows 11/10 device, you can try the recommended solutions below in no particular order and see if that helps to resolve the issue on your system.

Repair Outlook PST data files
Test Autodiscover connectivity
Modify the registry
Repair/Reset/Reinstall Outlook

Let’s take a look at the description of the process involved concerning each of the listed solutions.

1] Repair Outlook PST data files

A Personal Folders file (. PST) is an Outlook data file used to store local copies of messages, calendar events, and other items from your Exchange mailbox. The PST data file can contain all of your Outlook folders, including the Inbox, Calendar, and Contacts.

To rule out the possibility of a corrupt PST file as a likely culprit, this solution requires you to repair Outlook PST data files and see if the issue in highlight is resolved. Otherwise, try the next solution.

2] Test Autodiscover connectivity

As already pointed out, if the address list cannot be displayed in Outlook on your Windows 11/10 device, it’s due to Autodiscover endpoints is blocked or Outlook can’t find the Autodiscover information. In this case, to resolve the issue, you can test the Autodiscover connectivity to make sure the service is running correctly.

To determine the status of your Autodiscover service using Outlook client, do the following:

Launch Outlook.
Right-click on the Outlook icon in the Taskbar Corner Overflow while holding down the CTRL key.
Select Test Email AutoConfiguration on the context menu.
In the window that appears. enter a set of valid credentials.
Make sure only the Use Autodiscover option is checked.
Click the Test button.
Once the test completes, click the Log tab.
On the Log tab, look towards the end for a line that should contain Autodiscover to [Exchange Server URL] Succeeded. If you don’t see such a line, then your Exchange server configuration is wrong.

In addition, on-premises users can run Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer and Office 365 users can run Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant.

3] Modify the registry

The ExcludeHttpsAutoDiscoverDomain registry key if set to the value of 0 will exclude the root domain from Autodiscover lookup in Outlook. Since this is a registry operation, it is recommended that you back up the registry as necessary precautionary measures. Once done, you can proceed as follows:

Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
In the Run dialog box, type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.
Navigate or jump to the registry key path below:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\x.0\Outlook\AutoDiscover

Note: The x.0 placeholder denotes the version of Office Outlook (Outlook 2010 = 14.0, Outlook 2013 = 15.0, Outlook 2016/2019/2021 and Outlook for Microsoft 365 = 16.0) that you’re using on your system.

At the location, on the right pane, double-click on the ExcludeHttpsAutoDiscoverDomain registry key to edit its properties.
Input 0 in the Value data field.
Click OK or hit Enter to save the change.
Exit Registry Editor.
Restart your PC.

4] Repair/Reset/Reinstall Outlook

On the likely event neither solutions above worked for you, you can Repair/Reset/Reinstall Outlook client in that order and see if that helps.

To repair Microsoft Outlook on your Windows 11/10 PC, do the following:

Open Control Panel.
Click Programs and Features.
Right-click the Office program that you want to repair, and select Change.
Next, click Repair > Continue. Office will start repairing the apps.
Restart PC after the repair operation completes.

You can also repair Office Outlook via the Settings app on Windows 11/10. Here’s how:

Open Windows Settings
Select Apps and Features.
Scroll to find your Microsoft Office installation.
Click on the entry and click on Modify.
On the popup dialog, choose Quick Repair or Online Repair.
Click on the Repair button.

If the repair operation wasn’t helpful, you can reset Outlook and see if the issue in hand is resolved. Otherwise, you can uninstall Office and then reinstall Office suite on your system.

Hope this post helps you!

Why can’t I see my Address Book in Outlook?

The Outlook Address Book is located on the Home tab in the Find group. If you can’t see your Address Book in Outlook, do the following: right-click the Contacts folder and choose Properties > Outlook Address Book. Now, select the Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book option. You should now be able to select Contacts by using the Address Book.

What is the difference between Outlook Contacts and Address Book?

The difference between Outlook Contacts and Address Book is, the Contacts feature is usually a list of external contacts, while the Address Book contains information for people who work in your company. This is a common setup in the business world because the Address Books are stored on an Exchange Server and can be shared with everyone in the company.