Email, Messaging, & Video Calls > Email How to Build a Windows Mail Address Book Automatically Take a hands-off approach to populating your Contacts By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 26, 2021 Email Yahoo! Mail Gmail Trending Videos Close this video player What to Know Select Switch to People. Click Settings and toggle on Automatically add contacts that you have communicated with recently.To add a contact manually: Select Switch to People, click the +, enter the information for the contact, and select Save.To make Windows Mail your default: Search for default apps in the search bar. Click Open, select the current program, then select Mail. This article explains how to add contacts to your Windows Mail address book automatically just by replying to someone's email message. Build Your Windows Mail Address Book Automatically To have people to whom you reply added to your Windows Mail Contact list automatically, access the People app, where Windows Mail stores all its contact information. Open Windows Mail and select the Switch to People icon to open the People app on the lower-left side of the window next to the Switch to Mail and Switch to Calendar icons. Select the Settings gear icon. Under Contact List Display, slide the toggle for Automatically add contacts that you have communicated with recently to On. Choose the sort orders by which you want to sort your contact list and display names. Select Filter Contact List to apply any filters, such as hiding contacts without phone numbers or showing contacts from Skype. Close People when you finish. Note that recipients are not added to your contacts when you start a new message and address it manually. The original senders are turned into address book contacts only when you reply. Add a Contact to Windows Mail Manually If you want to add a contact without sending or replying to an email, you can do so through the People app. Open Windows Mail and select the Switch to People icon to open the People app on the lower-left side of the window next to the Switch to Mail and Switch to Calendar icons. Select the + icon at the top of the window. In the New Live Contact section, enter the information for the contact and select Save. Make Windows Mail the Default in Windows 10 Windows 10 ships with Windows Mail, but it might not be your default email program. To change the default to Windows Mail: Search for default apps in the Windows search bar. Click Open under the Default apps system setting item in the search results. Click the current program under the Email section. Select Mail. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit