It can take some time for Outlook to build up a nickname file from emails
you send and receive.
You can speed it up a little.
As an example, if you have Contacts called John enter John int eh To field
of an email and then press Alt + k and choose a name to associate with John.
If you have two John's then do it again and you'll get two options for John
pop up. The list will more completely populate over time as you use Outlook.

If this *has* been working and you now have problems you might have a
corrupted nickname file.
To allow Outlook to create a new nickname file refer he
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=287623

--
Bill R MVP
"william" wrote in message
...
I followed your instructions exactly, and I do not get the auto name
suggestion I want. Any other suggestions?

William

"BillR [MVP]" wrote in message
...
The options should be in Tools | Options | Preferences tab | Email
Options button | Advanced Email Options button ... make sure both
"suggest names when .." and "Automatic Name checking" are checked to get
all namechecking features.

--
Bill R MVP
"william" wrote in message
...
When I open Microsoft Outlook and click New to begin a new e-email, I
would like to type just a few letters of the persons name to whom the
e-mail will go and have Outlook auto complete that name. This works on
my office computer, but I cannot figure out how to make it work on my
home computer.

I am running Microsoft Outlook 2003 with service pack two applied along
with all other updates and patches.