I just had a client call and ask me if there's a quick way to add a contact to Outlook from an incoming email message . He had been copying and pasting and window-flipping to add contact information from an email he received. I gave him a couple of suggestions.
First Choice: right click directly on the senders name to get a menu of options that includes "Add Contact to Outlook." That will add their name and email only, you still have to fill in the rest. But while there, take a look a the other features you will find in right-clicking a senders (or a CC'd persons') name in an Outlook email message. You have choices like "Look Up Outlook Contact" - which means
that if you already have them as a contact, it will open it for you (quick access to their phone number). You could send them a fresh new email by selecting "Send Mail" or you could even send them a meeting request right then and there. Learn more about The Right Click at one of my back posts.)
Second choice: Get a 3rd party tool that quickly helps you capture contact (and other info). I use AddressGrabber and like it just fine, there's also Anagram.
It seems to me that if you're saying to yourself "there must be a quicker way" - there usually is. You just have to ask the right person.
