To force users to see a custom view when they open a public folder:
-- Create the custom view, choosing the "On this folder, visible to everyone" option
-- On the Properties dialog for the folder, on the Administration tab, select your view as the initial view on the folder.
-- Choose View | Current View | Define Views, and at the bottom of that dialog, check the box for "Only show views created for this folder."

Signature
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Outlook and Exchange solutions at http://www.slipstick.com
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming: Jumpstart
for Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx
> Have created a contact folder in the public folders of
> outlook 2000 with a exchange 5.5 server. I have
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Thanks Tim