How to get "Display as" in Contacts (e-mail) to show last name fir

[A. Dewez]

I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first name, which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File As" not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be done to
solve the problem?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other way to
Outlook's default format for that field.

 

[A. Dewez]

Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based on how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know that if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name, First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is: Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for communication, to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other way to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be done
to
solve the problem?

 

[Margaret]

I've read the postings with interest as I've got a similar (I think) problem.
A friend had been using 2 old organizers for all of the contact information
for his outside sales job. The organizers are "dying" so last weekend, I
exported the data and backed it up several ways. I then set up two Excel
data files containing all of the contact information, created CSV files and
ultimately imported & mapped over 1300 entries addresses into Outlook. We
then used hot sync to export the data to his new organizer. In this case,
"File As" provides several "options" but he really wants everything to show
the same as the "company name field." Is there a way that that I can set up
"File As" to automatically show the data shown in the "company name" field.
We're running Office 2000. " With over 1300 records, manually checking and
correcting each one is not efficient! I think there are over 100 entries
showing as "Inc., ......" Any help will be appreciated.
--
Margaret

Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based on how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know that if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name, First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is: Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for communication, to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other way to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be done
to
solve the problem?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

The Email Display As field is a derived field derived from both the Full
Name field and the actual email address. Each version of Outlook has used a
different combination of those name elements to format that field and you
cannot change that format other than by editing the Email Display As field
directly. None of the information you have found contradicts that because
none of that information you posted is referring to the Email Display As
field or to DL's. They are referring to the File As... field and the Outlook
address book, neither of which is in play here.
The only way to sort a DL the way you want is to directly edit each Email
Display As field of each member to show exactly what you want. You are now
beginning to understand why most of us find DL's too inconvenient and
unreliable to be of any use.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name
shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the
Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based on
how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by
clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know that
if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in
properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name,
First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First
name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is: Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft
Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for communication,
to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their
lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other way
to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but
the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with
First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File
As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be
done
to
solve the problem?

 

[A. Dewez]

Okay, I give! So if DLs are too inconvenient and unreliable, is there another
Microsoft tool for creating mailing lists to send e-mails to a group? I have
Office Outlook 2003 (11.8010.8107) SP2

The Email Display As field is a derived field derived from both the Full
Name field and the actual email address. Each version of Outlook has used a
different combination of those name elements to format that field and you
cannot change that format other than by editing the Email Display As field
directly. None of the information you have found contradicts that because
none of that information you posted is referring to the Email Display As
field or to DL's. They are referring to the File As... field and the Outlook
address book, neither of which is in play here.
The only way to sort a DL the way you want is to directly edit each Email
Display As field of each member to show exactly what you want. You are now
beginning to understand why most of us find DL's too inconvenient and
unreliable to be of any use.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name
shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the
Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based on
how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by
clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know that
if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in
properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name,
First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First
name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is: Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft
Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for communication,
to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their
lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other way
to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but
the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with
First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File
As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be
done
to
solve the problem?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Most of use either Categories or separate Contact Subfolders. There are
countless posts here that will help you decide which option is better for
your needs.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Okay, I give! So if DLs are too inconvenient and unreliable, is there
another
Microsoft tool for creating mailing lists to send e-mails to a group? I
have
Office Outlook 2003 (11.8010.8107) SP2

The Email Display As field is a derived field derived from both the Full
Name field and the actual email address. Each version of Outlook has used
a
different combination of those name elements to format that field and you
cannot change that format other than by editing the Email Display As
field
directly. None of the information you have found contradicts that because
none of that information you posted is referring to the Email Display As
field or to DL's. They are referring to the File As... field and the
Outlook
address book, neither of which is in play here.
The only way to sort a DL the way you want is to directly edit each Email
Display As field of each member to show exactly what you want. You are
now
beginning to understand why most of us find DL's too inconvenient and
unreliable to be of any use.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information
that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName
format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name
shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the
Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based
on
how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by
clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know
that
if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in
properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that
entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name,
First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First
name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is:
Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference
Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help
information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft
Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for
communication,
to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their
lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne


:

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other
way
to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but
the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with
First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first
name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File
As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be
done
to
solve the problem?

 

[Tish]

If the purpose of distribution lists is not to actually create usable
distribution lists....ones where you can see your list in good alpha order by
last name, it's easy to understand why people are using everything but
distribution lists to accomplish their goals. So what did Microsoft actually
have in mind for the real purpose of a distribution list ?????

Most of use either Categories or separate Contact Subfolders. There are
countless posts here that will help you decide which option is better for
your needs.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Okay, I give! So if DLs are too inconvenient and unreliable, is there
another
Microsoft tool for creating mailing lists to send e-mails to a group? I
have
Office Outlook 2003 (11.8010.8107) SP2

The Email Display As field is a derived field derived from both the Full
Name field and the actual email address. Each version of Outlook has used
a
different combination of those name elements to format that field and you
cannot change that format other than by editing the Email Display As
field
directly. None of the information you have found contradicts that because
none of that information you posted is referring to the Email Display As
field or to DL's. They are referring to the File As... field and the
Outlook
address book, neither of which is in play here.
The only way to sort a DL the way you want is to directly edit each Email
Display As field of each member to show exactly what you want. You are
now
beginning to understand why most of us find DL's too inconvenient and
unreliable to be of any use.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information
that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName
format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name
shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the
Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based
on
how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by
clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know
that
if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in
properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that
entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name,
First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First
name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is:
Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference
Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help
information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft
Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for
communication,
to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their
lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne


:

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other
way
to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by > but
the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with
First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first
name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File
As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be
done
to
solve the problem?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Clearly, they intended for us to use something else, and most of us do.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

If the purpose of distribution lists is not to actually create usable
distribution lists....ones where you can see your list in good alpha order
by
last name, it's easy to understand why people are using everything but
distribution lists to accomplish their goals. So what did Microsoft
actually
have in mind for the real purpose of a distribution list ?????

Most of use either Categories or separate Contact Subfolders. There are
countless posts here that will help you decide which option is better for
your needs.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Okay, I give! So if DLs are too inconvenient and unreliable, is there
another
Microsoft tool for creating mailing lists to send e-mails to a group?
I
have
Office Outlook 2003 (11.8010.8107) SP2


:

The Email Display As field is a derived field derived from both the
Full
Name field and the actual email address. Each version of Outlook has
used
a
different combination of those name elements to format that field and
you
cannot change that format other than by editing the Email Display As
field
directly. None of the information you have found contradicts that
because
none of that information you posted is referring to the Email Display
As
field or to DL's. They are referring to the File As... field and the
Outlook
address book, neither of which is in play here.
The only way to sort a DL the way you want is to directly edit each
Email
Display As field of each member to show exactly what you want. You are
now
beginning to understand why most of us find DL's too inconvenient and
unreliable to be of any use.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information
that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName
format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the
name
shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the
Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created
based
on
how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by
clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't
know
that
if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in
properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that
entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last
name,
First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to
First
name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is:
Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference
Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones
I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help
information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as
Microsoft
Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for
communication,
to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage
their
lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne


:

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no
other
way
to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by >
but
the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill
with
First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first
name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does
"File
As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can
be
done
to
solve the problem?

 

[Brian Tillman]

If the purpose of distribution lists is not to actually create usable
distribution lists....ones where you can see your list in good alpha
order by last name, it's easy to understand why people are using
everything but distribution lists to accomplish their goals. So what
did Microsoft actually have in mind for the real purpose of a
distribution list ?????

Why not change the Display As fields so they appear in the DL as you wish?

 

[Brian Tillman]

If the purpose of distribution lists is not to actually create usable
distribution lists....ones where you can see your list in good alpha
order by last name, it's easy to understand why people are using
everything but distribution lists to accomplish their goals. So what
did Microsoft actually have in mind for the real purpose of a
distribution list ?????

Something else to be aware of - when adding members to a DL from a Contacts
folder, the "Name" column in the Address Book view will use a Contact field
called "Subject", which may contain something different from your File As or
Display As fields. You can see the field if you display your Contacts in a
table view and then add that field from the "All Contact Fields" category
using Field Chooser. This field (and the Display As field) seem originally
to be generated from the Full Name field (without the Title field), but once
created, it doesn't change even if you change the Display As.

 

[Tish]

Thanks Brian. This info is really helpful. Much more so than the option
would be of continuing to create individual contact folders for each
distribution list. Perhaps this approach will also help us when we wish to
export the information for use in an Earthlink address book. (We export as
our messages epitomize the problems that spam filters are designed to flag
---we have either large attachments or embedded photos and we normally send
from a private server. Exporting our messages to an Earthlink address makes
them 'more trustworthy' to many of our recipients. Brian, I always look
forward to your responses as they 'fix' our problems. Thank you.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Perhaps this approach will also help us
when we wish to export the information for use in an Earthlink
address book. (We export as our messages epitomize the problems that
spam filters are designed to flag ---we have either large attachments
or embedded photos and we normally send from a private server.
Exporting our messages to an Earthlink address makes them 'more
trustworthy' to many of our recipients.

Some other suggestions for handling bulk mail can be found here:
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/massmail.asp