Contacts not alphabetical when addressing email

[CCripe]

If you open a new email and open your local Outlook contacts address book,
the contacts seem to be in a random order alphabetically.

For example:
Outlook Contact Card: John Smith (with "File As" = Smith, John and "Display
As" field = Smith, John)
Outlook Contact Card: Joe Doe (with "File As" = "Doe, Joe" and "Display As"
field = Doe, Joe)

From the above example, you would expect both contacts to be alphabetized
either under J or both under D. That is not what happens.

Open a new email, click To button, open your local Outlook contacts.
John Smith lists as John Smith and is alphabetized with the Js.

Joe Doe lists as Doe, Joe and is alphabetized under the Ds.

I've tried monkeying with the "File As" field, the "Display As" field under
the email address, the options for how contact cards are filed as but cannot
figure out why they don't alphabetize the same way. Any ideas? I have this
with Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007, and the problem seems to occur for all
users.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

From the above example, you would expect both contacts to be alphabetized
either under J or both under D. That is not what happens.

Open a new email, click To button, open your local Outlook contacts.
John Smith lists as John Smith and is alphabetized with the Js.

Joe Doe lists as Doe, Joe and is alphabetized under the Ds.

I've tried monkeying with the "File As" field, the "Display As" field under
the email address, the options for how contact cards are filed as but cannot
figure out why they don't alphabetize the same way. Any ideas? I have this
with Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007, and the problem seems to occur for all
users.

Click Tools>E=mail Account>View or change existing directories or address
books>Next. Select Outlook Address Book and click Change. What do you see
there?