Transfer Outlook 2010 Autocomplete Cache to a New Profile

One issue that can happen when creating a new Outlook profile in order to configure Office 365 access is that the Autocomplete cache disappears – the reason for this is that the autocomplete cache is tied to the old profile, and doesn’t get carried over automatically… the good news is that there is a way to import it from the old profile, so all is not lost!

Before:

Start by navigating to c:UsersusernameAppDataLocalMicrosoftOutlookRoamCache – look for a file named Stream_Autocomplete_0.dat with a hash of numbers. If you have multiple profiles, you can sort by date, and choose the most recent one – the empty autocomplete file will typically be 1 – 2KB, so it’s usually pretty easy to see which one it is.

Next, find the Autocomplete file that you want to import – it’ll usually be quite a bit bigger, and it will have a different hash of numbers in the file name (and usually a different modified date as well):

In order for this to work, Outlook needs to be closed – once this is done, make a backup of the Autocomplete file that you plan to import – just in case. I typically make a copy of this file, and then work with the copy, so I can always go back to my original if I need to.

Next, rename the empty autocomplete dat file – just change the name of it to .bak, or .old, and that should be sufficient. At the same time, grab the name of the Autocomplete file that you want to replace (in this case, the name you’re copying is Stream_Autocomplete_0_A7D60F3ACC828B4EB204A03004F8BD58, and then rename the copy of the file you just made

Once you’re done, you should now have two autocomplete files of the same size – the autocomplete file from the original profile, and the one you’ve just renamed / imported:

Now, go ahead and open Outlook and verify that autocomplete is working properly again.

After:

There have been a few times that I’ve done this, and found my autocomplete file cleared again when I re-open Outlook – if this is the case, just do the process again. This is why we made a copy of the good autocomplete file, as we can still go back and redo the process – otherwise, your working copy of the autocomplete cache would be all gone, and that would be the end of it!

Sit back and relax, and get used to being hailed as a hero… This trick is a particular brand of magic that makes you seem like both a magician, and a miracle worker!