Create a Shared Contacts List

What is this article about?

Many organizations require a shared contact list that is accessible by authorized individuals, for example a list of customer email addresses and phone numbers. In this article we will create a Shared Contact list in an Office 365 SharePoint site that will be accessible through a web browser, as well as Microsoft Teams to individuals that are members of the group.

What materials do I need?

• Internet access
• A web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Apple’s Safari, or Google Chrome
• Microsoft Teams
• Contact List, in CSV format

How do I use this technology?

• Creating a Shared Contact List
• Adding a single contact
• Adding multiple contacts at once
• Adding Shared Contacts as a tab in Microsoft Teams
• Change visible fields and field order

Creating a Shared Contact List

Note: You can create a Shared Contact list entirely within SharePoint Online, completely skipping the use of Microsoft Teams; however, we have found that starting with Teams to create/define the initial group is easier for most individuals. If you're not sure how to use Microsoft Teams, we suggest you review our Getting Started with Microsoft Teams article first before proceeding.

1. Determine which group of individuals should have access to the shared contact list. In other words, can you use an existing Microsoft Team, or is it better to create a new one.
2. Open Microsoft Teams.
3. Select the desire team, or create a new one.
4. Click on the Files tab.
5. Choose a random file, and click the Ellipse (...) button to the right, click Open in SharePoint.
   
   
    
6. A web browser will attempt to connect to the SharePoint URL. If necessary Login with your UA email address (e.g. cwolfe@alaska.edu) and password.
   
   
    
7. Once you've successfully accessed the SharePoint Online site, in the left navigation menu, click Home.
   
   
    
8. Click the down arrow ( v ) next to the New button, and click App.
   
   
    
9. Under Your Apps in the search box type "Contacts" and press return.
   
   
    
10. Click the Contacts app, and in the Adding Contacts dialog box in the Name field enter "Shared_Contacts", then click Create.
    
    
     
11. You will be returned to the SharePoint site's Site contents directory where you will see the newly created Shared_Contacts item.
    
    
     
12. Click on the Shared_Contacts link to open the contacts list.
    
    

Read on for further instructions on updating, and accessing your groups Shared Contacts list.

Adding a single contact

1. Open the Shared Contacts resource. Either via a Web Page, or through Microsoft Teams, the process is the same for either.
   
   
    
2. Click the New button.
   
   
    
3. In the New Item form enter the desired information.
   
   
   
   When finished, click Save.
    
4. The new contact entry will now be displayed in the list.
   
   

Adding multiple contacts at once

1. Open the Shared Contacts resource. Either via a Web Page, or through Microsoft Teams, the process is the same for either.
2. Click the Quick Edit button.
   
   
    
3. The Quick Edit list view will be displayed. It should appear something like the following.
   
   
    
4. Open your source contact list in a spreadsheet application such ass Microsoft Excel, or Apple Numbers.
    
5. Arrange the source contacts columns in the same order shown in your Shared Contacts Quick Edit layout. If you do not have some of the columns in your source contacts file, please insert the appropriate column header and simply leave the data set empty.
   Typically the column order will be something like the following:
   • Last Name
   • First Name
   • Company
   • Business Phone
   • Home Phone
   • Email Address
6. Select the desired data set range, making sure to not select the header row. Copy the contacts.
   
   
    
7. In your Shared Contacts, in Quick Edit layout, go to the first empty row, and click/select the first field. Paste the copied contacts.
   
   
    
8. Wait a few moments, the exact time will depend upon how many contacts you are inserting, the changes to be saved. You will see a spinning process indicator to the left of the row that is currently being saved. See the highlighted portion in the image below.
   
   
    
9. Once all the new contacts have been saved a green icon will be next name in the Last Name field. Now click the Exit quick edit button.
    
10. The new contact entries will now be displayed in the list.
    
    

Adding Shared Contacts as a tab in Microsoft Teams

1. In a web browser navigate to your Shared Contacts page. In the browser address bar select all the text before the "AllItems.aspx" text, and copy it.
   
   
    
2. Open the Microsoft Teams application.
3. In the left column select the appropriate Team, then click the General channel.
    
4. In the right panel along the top navigation menu, click the "+" button.
   
   
    
5. In the Add a tab dialog window, click Website.
   
   
    
6. In the Website dialog window, do the following:
   • In the Tab name field enter: Shared Contacts
   • In the URL field paste the copied URL from your web browser.
   
   
   
   Click the Save button.
    
7. A new navigation tab will appeared with the name Shared Contacts.
   
   

Change visible fields and fields order

1. Open the Shared Contacts resource in a web browser.
    
2. Click the down arrow ( v ) next to the All contacts button.
   
   
    
3. Select Edit current view.
   
   
    
4. Find the desired column name, and in the Position from Left dropdown menu select the desired position.
   
   
    
5. If desired, you can display additional contact fields by clicking in the Display checkbox next to any additional columns.
   
   
    
6. When completed, click the Ok button.

You, and the team, can create as many different views as desired. We suggest that when creating multiple views you come up with a concise and descriptive naming convention by which to save the new views.

Note: If you edit the default All contacts view, the changes to field names and field position will be what everyone who has access to the Shared Contacts will see.

Is there any additional information I should know about?

For support, requests may be submitted anytime by Requesting Support for the Office 365 @ UA service. Support Requests are worked by Priority based on the Impact and Urgency of need as well as the order they are received by the IT Employees with the knowledge and permissions to assist with the request.

For immediate assistance please review the Contact IT page for ways to contact the appropriate support group.