 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussionsAccessExcelInfoPathOutlookPowerPointPublisherWordDirectoryUser Groups Related Topics Outlook ExpressInternet ExplorerWindowsMS Server ProductsMore Topics ... |
MS Office Forum / Outlook / Contacts / March 2008How to get "Display as" in Contacts (e-mail) to show last name fir
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? You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other way to Outlook's default format for that field.  SignatureRuss Valentine [MVP-Outlook] >I have selected "File As" in < Outlook/Tools/E-mail >accounts/Directory/View [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > to > solve the problem? 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. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > to > > solve the problem? 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. SignatureMargaret > Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very > frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information that [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > > to > > > solve the problem? 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. SignatureRuss 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 [quoted text clipped - 59 lines] >> > to >> > solve the problem? 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 [quoted text clipped - 71 lines] > >> > to > >> > solve the problem? 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. SignatureRuss Valentine [MVP-Outlook] > Okay, I give! So if DLs are too inconvenient and unreliable, is there > another [quoted text clipped - 92 lines] >> >> > to >> >> > solve the problem? 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 [quoted text clipped - 95 lines] > >> >> > to > >> >> > solve the problem? Clearly, they intended for us to use something else, and most of us do. SignatureRuss Valentine [MVP-Outlook] > > If the purpose of distribution lists is not to actually create usable [quoted text clipped - 124 lines] >> >> >> > to >> >> >> > solve the problem? > 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? SignatureBrian Tillman [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 ????? 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. SignatureBrian Tillman [MVP-Outlook] 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. > > If the purpose of distribution lists is not to actually create usable > > distribution lists....ones where you can see your list in good alpha [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > 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. > Perhaps this approach will also help us > when we wish to export the information for use in an Earthlink [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > 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 SignatureBrian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
|
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.