To create a contact entry, you can start from scratch, or you can base the new entry on a similar existing entry—for example, the entry for a contact from the same company.

You can open a contact form and create a new entry from scratch in any of the following ways:

When the contact form opens, type the contact’s name in the Full Name box and enter the information you want to include for the contact, switching tabs as needed. To save the entry, click Save & Close. To save this entry and continue to add contacts, click Save And New.

Filling in the information on the contact form is straightforward. You might find a few of the features especially useful. For example, the File As drop-down list allows you to specify how you want the contact to be listed in the Contacts folder. You can choose to list the contact in either Last Name, First Name format or First Name, Last Name format; to list the contact by company name rather than personal name; or to use a combination of contact name and company name.

You can also store more phone numbers in the contact entry than the four that are displayed on the form. When you click the down arrow next to a phone number entry, as shown in Figure 18-3, you see a list of possible phone numbers from which you can select a number to view or modify; the checked items on the list are those that currently contain information. When you select a number, Outlook 2007 shows it on the form.

Figure 18-3. You can store multiple phone numbers for a contact, but only four appear on the form at one time.

In addition to storing multiple phone numbers for a contact, you also can store multiple physical addresses. Click the down arrow next to the Address button on the form to select a business, home, or other address. (By default, the button is labeled Business.) The E-Mail box can also store multiple addresses; click the down arrow to choose one of three e-mail addresses for the individual. For example, you might list both business and personal addresses as well as a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)–based address (such as a Microsoft Hotmail^® address) for the contact. The Details page of the contact form, shown in Figure 18-4, lets you add other information, such as the contact’s department, office number, birthday, and anniversary. Internet Free/Busy is a feature of Outlook 2007 that allows you to see when others are free or busy so that you can efficiently schedule meetings. Outlook 2007 users have the option to publish their free/busy information to a user-specified URL file server, which you can enter in the Address box.

Figure 18-4. The Details page stores additional information—both business and personal—about the contact.

The Activities page of the contact form is useful for locating e-mail messages, logged phone calls, and other items or activities associated with a specific contact. For information about using the Activities page, see "Associating a Contact with Other Items and Documents" later in this chapter.