The default OE5 WAB is whatever *.wab file is entered in this registry key:
\HKEY_CURRENT_USER
\Software
\Microsoft
\WAB
\WAB4
\Wab File Name
This allows you to change the location to one of your choice, including a mapped network drive. However, because the OE5 WAB is so bound to the Identities registry key on the local computer, it is not recommended that you attempt to locate the WAB on a network drive. If a user starts OE5 and the mapped network drive is not available for any reason, OE will immediately revert to the default values and will re-write this path to the WAB registry key.
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft
\Address Book\.wab
While this is a non-destructive action, it is likely to happen sooner or later. A better option is to let each user have the OE5 WAB on a local disk and place a standalone WAB on the network drive.
To determine the location of your OE5 WAB file, open the WAB in OE and click Help| About Address Book. If you open that folder in Windows Explorer, you will see not only the .wab file but also an automatic backup copy named .wa~. To find all WAB files and backups on your computer, just do a Windows search for "*.wa?". To open a backup copy, simply rename the file and change the extension to wab.
cheers!
