Distribution Lists

[PatJennings]

Using Outlook 2002

Perhaps someone may help my understanding of the performance of distribution
lists. I have a distribution list which I created several years ago and
modified with addition and deletion entries made over time. It is comprised
of approximately fifty contact names. All of the contacts are in my Address
Book. When viewing the distribution list, the contact names are listed
First-Name, Last Name, sorted alphabetically by First-Name. That layout is
not easy to work with. A recent email that I sent to the distribution list
("To" addressee) and filed in my sent mail folder shows the contact names in
a rather haphazard list. The first name listed begins with Tom (one of the
most recent, but not latest addition to the distribution list). That
addressee is followed by a name beginning with the letter B, followed
alphabetically by other First names, the last of which begins with the
letter S. That is followed by a name beginning with the letter A and again
followed alphabetically with names, the last beginning with the letter R.
The list is not in Last-Name sequence.

Is there a way to list the names alphabetically by Last (family) name, yet
displaying in First-name, Last name sequence in an email message?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.
Pat

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Each version of Outlook has handled DL's differently. DL's used in more than
one version or installation of Outlook rarely work as expected. The format
of the Name in the DL varies from one version of Outlook to the next and is
not subject to end user configuration. Currently it uses whatever the format
is used for the "Email Display As" field, so you _might_ be able to go
through and change those fields one by one to get the results you want.

 

[PatJennings]

For example, I have an "Email Display as" "Al Mission." As described in my
first post, Al's name showed up in the middle of the list - not in an
alphabetical order by either First or Last name. The one beginning with
Tom, which was the first name in the list has a last name that begins with
D. I have approximately 2,000 contact names, some of which are also in
Distribution Lists.

One would expect conformity from product version to product version so that
end users would not be subject to what appears as confusion and would
provide for logical upgrade.

Sincerely,
Pat

Each version of Outlook has handled DL's differently. DL's used in more
than one version or installation of Outlook rarely work as expected. The
format of the Name in the DL varies from one version of Outlook to the
next and is not subject to end user configuration. Currently it uses
whatever the format is used for the "Email Display As" field, so you
_might_ be able to go through and change those fields one by one to get
the results you want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Using Outlook 2002

Perhaps someone may help my understanding of the performance of
distribution lists. I have a distribution list which I created several
years ago and modified with addition and deletion entries made over time.
It is comprised of approximately fifty contact names. All of the
contacts are in my Address Book. When viewing the distribution list, the
contact names are listed First-Name, Last Name, sorted alphabetically by
First-Name. That layout is not easy to work with. A recent email that I
sent to the distribution list ("To" addressee) and filed in my sent mail
folder shows the contact names in a rather haphazard list. The first
name listed begins with Tom (one of the most recent, but not latest
addition to the distribution list). That addressee is followed by a name
beginning with the letter B, followed alphabetically by other First
names, the last of which begins with the letter S. That is followed by a
name beginning with the letter A and again followed alphabetically with
names, the last beginning with the letter R. The list is not in Last-Name
sequence.

Is there a way to list the names alphabetically by Last (family) name,
yet displaying in First-name, Last name sequence in an email message?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.
Pat

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

DL's have never worked the way people expect and never will. Most of us gave
up on expecting anything from DL's and abandoned them long ago for reasons
such as this.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

For example, I have an "Email Display as" "Al Mission." As described in
my first post, Al's name showed up in the middle of the list - not in an
alphabetical order by either First or Last name. The one beginning with
Tom, which was the first name in the list has a last name that begins with
D. I have approximately 2,000 contact names, some of which are also in
Distribution Lists.

One would expect conformity from product version to product version so
that end users would not be subject to what appears as confusion and would
provide for logical upgrade.

Sincerely,
Pat

Each version of Outlook has handled DL's differently. DL's used in more
than one version or installation of Outlook rarely work as expected. The
format of the Name in the DL varies from one version of Outlook to the
next and is not subject to end user configuration. Currently it uses
whatever the format is used for the "Email Display As" field, so you
_might_ be able to go through and change those fields one by one to get
the results you want.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Using Outlook 2002

Perhaps someone may help my understanding of the performance of
distribution lists. I have a distribution list which I created several
years ago and modified with addition and deletion entries made over
time. It is comprised of approximately fifty contact names. All of the
contacts are in my Address Book. When viewing the distribution list,
the contact names are listed First-Name, Last Name, sorted
alphabetically by First-Name. That layout is not easy to work with. A
recent email that I sent to the distribution list ("To" addressee) and
filed in my sent mail folder shows the contact names in a rather
haphazard list. The first name listed begins with Tom (one of the most
recent, but not latest addition to the distribution list). That
addressee is followed by a name beginning with the letter B, followed
alphabetically by other First names, the last of which begins with the
letter S. That is followed by a name beginning with the letter A and
again followed alphabetically with names, the last beginning with the
letter R. The list is not in Last-Name sequence.

Is there a way to list the names alphabetically by Last (family) name,
yet displaying in First-name, Last name sequence in an email message?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.
Pat

 

[Brian Tillman]

Is there a way to list the names alphabetically by Last (family)
name, yet displaying in First-name, Last name sequence in an email
message?

Even if Russ' advice cures the display problem, you won't be able to control
the order in which addresses are used during the transmission of the
message.

 

[PatJennings]

There is another little idiosyncrasy: email addresses long ago abandoned,
e.g., moving from a dial up service to a broadband service, remain
*somewhere* in the system. I typed a name from my address book in the "To"
address field. It was populated with the no longer valid email address for
that person. Are these phantom addresses removable? I thought that I had
deleted the no longer valid address when I updated his contract record. Am
I forever required to be extra cautious and double check addresses?
Sincerely,
Pat

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

So now you're asking about the autocompletion feature.
Remove individual addresses from the autocompletion cache by highlighting
the entry when presented in the suggested names list (use your arrow key to
migrate to the entry) and then hitting your Delete key before you tab out of
the field. To clear the entire cache, follow the instructions here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q287623

 

[PatJennings]

Thanks Russ. That solves that problem.
Pat

So now you're asking about the autocompletion feature.
Remove individual addresses from the autocompletion cache by highlighting
the entry when presented in the suggested names list (use your arrow key
to migrate to the entry) and then hitting your Delete key before you tab
out of the field. To clear the entire cache, follow the instructions here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q287623


--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

There is another little idiosyncrasy: email addresses long ago abandoned,
e.g., moving from a dial up service to a broadband service, remain
*somewhere* in the system. I typed a name from my address book in the
"To" address field. It was populated with the no longer valid email
address for that person. Are these phantom addresses removable? I
thought that I had deleted the no longer valid address when I updated his
contract record. Am I forever required to be extra cautious and double
check addresses?
Sincerely,
Pat