Contacts app - Outlook Web App account issue

The applications involved are:

Safari (Apple) - only to login to Outlook Web App to see what's going with the problem.

Outlook Web App (Microsoft) - through the web browser; see above.

Contacts (Apple) - this is where I manage everything.

Thank you! I will try each step, and will provide feedback:

Okay, here we go:

You might see duplicate contacts if you use more than one method to keep your iCloud contacts up to date across your devices. Apple provides two methods: iTunes and iCloud. It's possible to use both methods if you’re using iTunes 10, or iTunes 11.2 and OS X Mavericks v10.9.3 or later.

So, no. I only use iCloud (through Contacts, on either my Mac or my iPhone, which has no problem synching iCloud contacts, calendar events, etc. Whenever the phenomenon occurs, it affects both devices since they sync together via iCloud.

Then check to see if iCloud is also set to keep contacts up to date:

Yes, my iCloud and Exchange accounts are setup properly; Contacts is turned on.

If iTunes and iCloud are both set to keep contacts up to date, consider disabling contact syncing in iTunes. Then, only iCloud will update your contacts.

I don't sync via iTunes.

This seems to happen randomly ... I'll open Contacts, and suddenly this problem happens ... I'll make the necessary deletions, and then everything's fine for awhile. Then later on, I'll open Contacts again, and then some of the emails are duplicated again. When I posted this problem, every single email was duplicated; it just seems so random. But what I do know, is that this only occurs with my Outlook Web App address cards (I have other accounts set up - iCloud and Gmail).

I especially notice this occurrence when I see that the buddies list in Messages gets affected. The newer-duplicated address card will take the place of a buddy on the list, but I don't think Messages is causing the problem; it's only retrieving the information from Contacts.

I will check out the Microsoft link, too.

Okay, here is feedback from the Microsoft article:

Sometimes you have duplicates in your Contacts folder. Duplicates can get created when you import a bunch of new contacts into Outlook, and you have existing contacts with the same name or email address.

To delete duplicate contacts:

1. Click People.
2. On the Home tab, in the Current View group, click the bottom right corner of the views box, and then click Phone. This is the best view to scan your contacts list and see the duplicates.
3. In your list of contacts, hold down Ctrl and click each contact you want to delete.
4. When you've selected all the duplicates, press Delete or Ctrl+D.

NOTE If you're importing new contacts into Outlook, and you're using the Import and Export Wizard (File > Open & Export > Import/Export), you can prevent duplicate contacts by selecting either Do not import duplicate items or Replace duplicates with items imported during the import process.

So, I'm using Outlook Web App, so things are in different places.

I went to People > left side bar. I click on My Contacts and it displays nothing ("There are no items to show in this view."). Then I click on the address groups which I created through Contacts on my Mac; they are located under People > Other Contacts in Outlook Web App, and my address cards only show up there. Other Contacts seems to be a subfolder in My Contacts.

When the duplicate cards show up in Contacts, they don't show up in Outlook Web App because there isn't a show all folder, like what Contacts has. There is no "show all" address folder in Outlook Web App which allows you to view every address card that you have in one list. I can only see my address cards in separate folders which I created in Contacts.

I also didn't import any contacts; they were all created from scratch in Contacts on my Mac.

This phenomenon occurred again, just now, for no reason. I didn't even have Contacts open beforehand, and I haven't made any alterations or preference changes since the last time I deleted the duplicate address cards.

What I can conclude, is that this is a Contacts issue with Exchange accounts. My conclusion is drawn from the fact that when I log into Outlook Web App on Safari, these duplicate address cards don't show up under the default address group (My Contacts) - or any other address group for that matter. None of my Exchange address cards show up under the default address group, but my regular/original address cards only show up under my user-created address groups where I put them. These duplicate address cards only show up in Contacts (Apple's app) when I click on the first contact group below the Exchange account title on the left sidebar to "show all" address cards for that account. That's the only way I know these duplicate address cards exist - under that first group which "shows all" address cards.

Another conclusion which I can draw is that it's duplicating address cards for email addresses that I have sent to. I know this because there are duplicate address cards for emails that I have never received a reply from. It doesn't stop there - it's also re-creating address cards for email addresses which were initially mis-spelled, which I corrected later on within the original address card! So now, not only do I have duplicates of all of my regular email addresses, but I also have re-creations of address cards with the mis-spelled email addresses.

!!!

However, every email address which I have received from I have also sent to, so it may be duplicating emails that I have sent to as well as received from.

😠