I am accidentally making changes to Contacts as I scoll throught the list
trying to find a specific contact. I do not know these changes are being
made because there is no "confirm" window or anything. If any contact line
is highlighted, anything you type in will be added to that field. I am so
fast at typing that I frequently do not watch the screen. You can also do
right-click and select delete and the contact goes away without any "are you
sure" pop-up first. (I go to Deleted Items and get it back if it was a
mistake.)

When I actually close Outlook, I get the "are you sure you want to delete
the items in the Deleted Items folder? yes/no". Is there any way I can see
what's about to get deleted before I say "yes" to that? How would I see
stuff that was merely changed and not deleted (like when I accidentally type
in a field in Contacts and don't realize it)? Would changes show up on a
"about to be deleted" list of any kind?

Is there ANY way to write-protect the contacts file at all? I am not on
Exchange and I know there is the IRM thing if you are on Exchange. I'm a
home office. My husband fat-fingers a lot of stuff and I need a pop-up
window to help him help himself from making changes to our Contacts folder.

When I actually close Outlook, I get the "are you sure you want to delete
the items in the Deleted Items folder? yes/no". Is there any way I can see
what's about to get deleted before I say "yes" to that?

Say No and then go look at the items in the folder.

How would I see
stuff that was merely changed and not deleted (like when I accidentally type
in a field in Contacts and don't realize it)?

Outlook does not track changes to individual items.

Would changes show up on a
"about to be deleted" list of any kind?

No.

Is there ANY way to write-protect the contacts file at all?

No. Maybe what you need to do is turn off the in-cell editing feature of the view: View | Arrange By | Current View | Customize Current View | Other Settings.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP

OH MY GOSH! That fixed it! Sue, you're brilliant. I've watched/admired
your comments/expertise for a couple years now and really appreciate you
taking time to understand my issue and - - of course, you had the answer!
Thanks again.

"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

When I actually close Outlook, I get the "are you sure you want to delete
the items in the Deleted Items folder? yes/no". Is there any way I can see
what's about to get deleted before I say "yes" to that?

Say No and then go look at the items in the folder.

How would I see
stuff that was merely changed and not deleted (like when I accidentally type
in a field in Contacts and don't realize it)?

Outlook does not track changes to individual items.

Would changes show up on a
"about to be deleted" list of any kind?

No.

Is there ANY way to write-protect the contacts file at all?

No. Maybe what you need to do is turn off the in-cell editing feature of the view: View | Arrange By | Current View | Customize Current View | Other Settings.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP