This article answers common questions about contacts in Lync.
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In this article
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How do I add a contact from outside of my company to my Contacts list?
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How do I block contacts from reaching me via Skype for Business (Lync)?
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How do I organize my contacts by location, department, or other criteria?
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How do I know about or change how much information about me a contact can see?
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What does the red star or asterisk next to a contact's status mean?
How do I add an internal contact to my Contacts list?
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In the Lync main window, click the Add a Contact button.
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From the drop-down menu, click Add a Contact That’s in my Organization.
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In the search box, type the person’s name, email alias, or phone number. As you type, a list of people who match the search terms is displayed.
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Scroll through the search returns list until you come to the person you want to add to your Contacts list.
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Right-click the person’s search listing, and then click Add to Contacts List.
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Select a group from the list to add your new contact to.
How do I add a contact from outside of my company to my Contacts list?
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In the Lync main window, click the Add a Contact button.
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From the drop-down menu, click Add a Contact That’s Not in my Organization.
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On the second drop-down menu, click the instant messaging (IM) service (Lync, MSN, Yahoo!®, AIM) your new contact will be using, if you know it. Otherwise click Other.
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In the search field of the Add [service type] Contact, type the email address of the contact.
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Select a group and a privacy relationship for your new contact, and then click OK.
Note: External contacts need to be set up for your company. If you have trouble adding one, contact your workplace technical support for details.
Note: If you’re a Microsoft 365 user, for this release, you can only add interact with Lync contacts. You can add contacts who use an IM service other than Lync, but you won’t be able to communicate with them for now.
How do I find contacts within my organization?
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In the search box in the Lync main window, type the name, email address, or phone number of the person you are looking for.
How do I block contacts from reaching me via Lync?
Although your name and email address are displayed to blocked contacts, they can’t reach you through Lync. To block a contact in Lync:
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Right-click the contact you want to block, click Change Privacy Relationship, and then click Blocked Contacts.
How do I delete contacts from my Contacts list?
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Right-click the contact you want to delete, and then click Remove from Contacts List.
How do I organize my contacts by location, department, or other criteria?
Create a new group based on the category you need. For instance, you might create a group called “New clients” and add contacts to that group. For details, see the answer to the next question.
How do I create a group?
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In the Lync main window, in your Contacts list, right-click any group name (for example, Other Contacts), then click Create New Group. Or click the Add a Contact button, and then click Create a New Group.
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In the space that now opens up at the bottom of the window, type over the phrase New Group to give your group a descriptive name.
How many contacts can I have?
The default maximum number of contacts that can be added is 1000. Your actual number is set by your workplace technical support, so contact them for information if the number has not been made available to you.
How do I know about or change how much information about me a contact can see?
Each of your contacts has a privacy relationship with you that determines that person’s access to your presence information, including home and mobile phone numbers and meeting locations, and whether that person can contact you when your status is set to Do Not Disturb. For details about privacy relationships, including how to view and change the relationship you have with a contact, see Control access to your presence information in Lync.
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To find out what your relationship is with a contact, in your Contacts list, click the Relationships tab. On the Relationships tab, contacts are grouped by relationship level.
In my Contacts list, why does the Relationships tab include people I never added to my list, and how do I get them off of it?
Every contact you interact with via Office, regardless of whether they’re a Lync contact, gets assigned a default relationship with you. These unlisted contacts—“unlisted” because you haven’t added them to your Contacts list—don’t get displayed on the Groups or Status tab of your Contacts list. But the Relationships tab shows all your Lync contacts plus any unlisted contacts. To remove unlisted contacts from your Contacts list, right-click on the contact, click Change Privacy Relationship, and then select Auto-assign Relationship.
What does the red star or asterisk next to a contact's status mean?
The red asterisk next to a contact's status indicates that they’ve turned on the Out of Office reply in Outlook.
