How to Delete an Email Address from Auto-Complete in Mac OS X Mail

Mac OS X Mail has this great feature that completes a recipient's email address as you start typing it in the To: field of an email. I love it.

Recently, one of my friends changed email addresses, however. Mac OS X Mail reliably, but stubbornly auto-completed the old, defunct address when I wrote her an email.

Fortunately, there's a way to delete old (or unwanted) addresses from the auto-complete list in Mac OS X Mail. The new address will be remembered automatically, and soon the auto-complete feature is as useful as ever again.

Delete an Email Address from Auto-Complete in Mac OS X Mail

To remove an email address from the auto-complete list in Mac OS X Mail:

• Start typing the recipient's address or name in a new message.
• Select the desired address from the auto-complete list.
• Click the small down arrow in the recipient.
• Select Remove from Previous Recipients List from the menu.

You can also search for the unwanted address directly in the previous recipients list:

• Select Window | Previous Recipients from the menu in Mac OS X Mail.
• Highlight the address you want to remove.
  • You can highlight multiple addresses by holding down the Command key.
• Click Remove from List.

You can also use the Previous Recipients window to rid the list of old, unused addresses.