Just to stress one thing before anything else - the <FullName> field is a
separate field which while using Outlook in any way (via UI or impot/export
etc), represents the "sum of its parts" (clickon the FullName button in any
open contact and you will see what fields represent the "sum" part). As
long as there is something contained in "any" of the component name
fields - there will be a value in the <FullName> field.
So with that said.....
#1 - Re: If your <FullName> field is populated in Outlook
means that whatever value appears is contined in one of the 5 component
parts which in your case is something other than <FirstName> <LastName>.
Open any errant contact to see which field contains the information
#2 - Re: "I've always just entered something into Outlook into the fullname
field"....
Well, you can run into a small problem doing that which you have become
already painfully aware. When you enter a value "just" in the <FullName>
field, Outlook parses that information into what it thinks should be in the
<First> & <Last> name fields. Not somehing that is always done correctly.
If you want to be sure that your info is correctly recorded - click on the
FullName button and explicitly fill in the individual fields
#3 - Re: "I could just amend them by hand......"
Very possible that you are not going to have any choice in this case unless
the FirstName and LastName fields are always in the same field and can be
split. My guess is that in this case, the process is going to be that is
not the case and will be prone to errors no matter what you try due to a
lack of consistency - all depends on what is in your data. Ergo, going to
have to edit things by hand whether within Outlook or in Excel.
#4 - Re: Exporting to Excel - no "FullName" field
There is no name field since it wasn't included in the export field map
which has to be "manually" done. The Outlook <FullName> field corresponds
to the <Name> field in the Outlook import/export field map and is <not>
included when using the <Default Map> - hence no <FullName> field appears
in the output file. Just add the <Name> field to the field map and you will
have the FullName field in the output file.
#5 - Re: Importing <FullName> field (trivia info)
Mapping to the <Name> field <AND ANY> of the component fields (i.e
FirstName, LastName) is a waste of time since Outlook will populate the
<FullName> field based on what it finds in the component fields when the
contact is saved. On the other hand, mapping data <only> to the FullName
field leaves you vulnerable to the issue in item #2.
#6 - Re: Getting info back into Outlook
Once you <bulk update> your data outside of Outlook - you still have the
problem of how you are going to get that edited data back into Outlook.
Given the fields involved, it's not going to be a case of simply
re-importing the information and getting Outlook to "update" the existing
contacts. Alternate choice in this case is to empty your contact file and
re-import the complete Excel file back in. Name fields are used in
Outlook's determination of "duplicates". Based on past experience, a lot of
times - Outlook gets <very annoyed> when the "check for duplicates" option
is enabled when importing via the Outlook import/export wizard (but that
could possibly have been solely related to the sample data sets used to try
this across multiple attempts - debugging the issue in Outlook was/is not a
priority for us).
#7 - Re: How can I fill in those fields
Given the description of the problem and without being able to get a
flavour of what state your data is in - virtually impossible to provide a
definitive answer (including the use of 3rd party products such like a
ContactGenie import/export product so going to refrain from suggesting
anything CG in this case)
On a generic basis - this is something that I would seriously investigate:
a) create a <custom Outlook view> that at a minimum includes the FullName,
FirstName, LastName, CoName fields (along with any other field that would
enable you to identify the contact such as email address or email display
as etc)
b) correct the contacts "in place" via the view - tantamount to the same
things as doing it in Excel without having to worry about how you are going
to get the info back into Outlook
My guess is that if you try and find any shortcut way to populate your
info, the time that it will take to find that approach and then correct all
the potential errors - at the end of the day, probably will take as long,
if not longer, then just sitting down and "gettin 'er done" as described
above.
#8 - The side effect things to keep in mind
Nothwithstanding any of the above - 2 other fields that you need to keep in
the back of your mind are:
a) <FileAs> - make sure that you have the FileAs default set to what you
want so that the FileAs field gets updated correctly (if you import your
data via the Outlook import wizard - the FileAs field will <not>
be updated to your default setting unless your default happens to be the
same option used by the import wizard
b) <EmailDisplayAs> - this field will only get refreshed if the <Email
Address> field gets changed so any changes just to the <Name> in whole or
in part will not be reflected after any update
(for either of these fields, ContactGenie Toolkit
(
http://www.contactgenie.com/toolkit_4_outlook.htm ) has functions that
could deal with these fields from a standardization standpoint)
May have missed some other salient points but this at least should give
you an idea of what you're options are and what you need to think
about in coming up with a workable solution (not to mention avoiding
the problem in the future).
Karl
--
____________________________________________________________
Karl Timmermans - The Claxton Group
ContactGenie - QuickPort/DataPort/Exporter/Toolkit/Duplicate Contact Mgr
"Contact import/export/data management tools for Outlook '2000/2010"
http://www.contactgenie.com