Getting NAME OF DISTRIBUTION LIST to appear in To: Line of Msg

[AcademicLibrarian]

Our institution has a global address book. When using MS Outlook 2003, I was
able to create a "dummy" contact with Display Name as distribution list name,
associating it with my personal e-mail address. This allowed name of
distribution list to appear in the To: line of an e-mail.

We now have MS Outlook 2007 and my "dummy" contacts (i.e. with distribution
list name as display name) no longer work. The To: line now has my name and
not name of distribution list.

I read a recent posting where someone advised people to set up a throwaway
free e-mail account at hotmail or yahoo and associate display name of
distribution list with this throwaway e-mail account. That way our
institutional global address book would not be searched and therefore the
distribution list name would appear in to: line of e-mail rather than my name.

IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO DO THIS? In MS Outlook 2003, I was able to in
essence fool the server into not checking global address book and use display
name of distribution list name instead.

NOTE -- FYI, HERE WERE INSTRUCTIONS I USED SUCCESSFULLY WITH MS OUTLOOK 2003
WHICH NO LONGER WORK IN OUTLOOK 2007:

1. Put the actual distribution list you wish to use in the "Bcc" (blind
carbon copy) field of a new email message.**
This is the actual distribution list which the computer will use to
determine who to send the message to. Because it is in bcc field, recipient
names will not appear in the to: line.

2. However, something should appear in the to: line. It cannot be left
blank.

By creating a "dummy" distribution list, which you can insert in the "to:"
line of a message this problem will be solved. Here's how.

3. Create a new "dummy" DISTRIBUTION LIST. I recommend you name this
distribution list with a name similar to that of the "real" distribution
list. For example, if the "real" distribution list is called Business
Faculty, name the dummy list Business Faculty DUMMY LIST.

4. Click on "Add New"

5. In "display name" box, type the name of the "real" distribution list
ENCLOSED IN ANGLE BRAKCETS. e.g. <Business Faculty>

6. In "email address" box, type in your email address, e.g. (e-mail address removed)

7 Click on "OK". This box will close, returning you to the list of members
in the list.

8. Do not add any more names to this dummy distribution list.

9. Double click on the entry you just created (e.g. <Business Faculty>. The
box with "display name" will open again.

10. In the "display name" box, delete the angle brackets (e.g. change
<Business Faculty> to Business Faculty).

11. Click on OK.

12. Click on "save and close"

NOTE THAT WHEN YOU REOPEN THIS LIST, YOU WILL SEE THAT ANGLE BRACKETS STILL
APPEAR IN THE ENTRY IN THE DISTRIBUTION LIST. HOWEVER, IF YOU CLICK ON THE
ENTRY, THE BOX with "display name" will show the name without angle brackets.

HERE'S WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU WANT TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE DISTRIBUTION LIST
AND ONLY HAVE THE LIST NAME APPEAR IN THE "TO:" LINE OF THE MESSAGE.

1. Open up a new mail message.

2. Click on "Bcc" (blind carbon copy). Put the "real" distribution list
containing the actual names of recipients in this "bcc" field. (If bcc:
field does not appear, see info. at end of this message, copied and pasted
from help files).**

3. Put the dummy distribution list in the to: line of the message.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Our institution has a global address book. When using MS Outlook
2003, I was able to create a "dummy" contact with Display Name as
distribution list name, associating it with my personal e-mail
address. This allowed name of distribution list to appear in the To:
line of an e-mail.

We now have MS Outlook 2007 and my "dummy" contacts (i.e. with
distribution list name as display name) no longer work. The To: line
now has my name and not name of distribution list.

Why bother to put anything in the To field?

 

[AcademicLibrarian]

You are right that it is not necessary to have anything in the "To:" line of
a message. Still it looks odd to have a blank "To:" line. Since I had found
a way to do this using Outlook 2003, I was puzzled as to why it would no
longer work in 2007 and thought that there might be a simple fix.

 

[Brian Tillman]

You are right that it is not necessary to have anything in the "To:"
line of a message. Still it looks odd to have a blank "To:" line.
Since I had found a way to do this using Outlook 2003, I was puzzled
as to why it would no longer work in 2007 and thought that there
might be a simple fix.

And this happens no matter what you define for the "Dsiplay As"?

 

[AcademicLibrarian]

I could not find "Display as". Is this supposed to appear when you add an
entry to a distribution list (e.g. in Add new member screen) or is it
supposed to appear when you're displaying the distribution list itself? I
see it in neither place. All is see is "Display Name" on "Add New Member"
screen, when I'm about to add a new member to the list. Even when I type in
the name of the list in "Display Name", when message is actually sent, my
name appears in to: line rather than db name.

 

[Brian Tillman]

I could not find "Display as".

The Display As is the field in a Contacts record just underneath the E-mail
field. It's what controls what Outlook shows in the recipient field when
you address a message. You talked about it in your very first post, calling
it "display name" in this sentence: "When using MS Outlook 2003, I was able
to create a 'dummy' contact with Display Name as distribution list name,
associating it with my personal e-mail address." Perhaps Outlook 2007 has
relabeled it. I can't check as I'm not near my OL 2007 system right now.