Phone number question for Outlook Contacts

[Vol4Ever]

Some ghost setting has gotten changed somewhere & it's driving me nuts. I used to be able to put in a phone number as aaaeeennnn. When I tabbed off the field, Outlook would automatically format the number as (aaa)eee-nnnn. If I put in eeennnn, it would do the same thing and automatically populate (aaa) with my local area code. This functionality has completely stopped?? Also, when putting in a number, a little button appears next to the phone number field that would bring up a sub form with separate fields for area code, exchange, and phone number. Now that's a dead button. It shows up, but nothing happens when I click it. Anyone have any idea what may have happened?

Thanks in advance.

~Vol

 

[Vol4Ever]

Bump. Still having the same issue. Anyone know what setting may have been gummed up? Thanks!

 

[Vol4Ever]

UPDATE: Browsing another web site, I found that the auto-format option in Outlook is somehow tied to the telephony services/dialing rules on the PC. I think this is the root of the problem, but I'm still not sure how to fix it.

Control Panel | Phone & Modem Options

When I click on the above, an error message pops up that says "Phone and Modem control panel can not be opened. You may have a problem starting telephony service."

Does that help point someone towards a solution suggestion?

~Vol

 

[Vol4Ever]

OK. I finally solved my own issue, but I'll post the resolution here in case anyone else ever has the same problem.

Somehow the telephony service on my PC got disabled. I have no idea how, but Outlook was the only place it was causing an issue. I don't use a dialout modem or the PC's fax capability. When I set the telephony service back to automatic & rebooted, walla. Problem solved.

Finally.

~Vol