It is not possible to answer your question more accurately or in more detail
than I did because you have left out too many details as to exactly how you
are entering addresses (autoresolution VS autocompletion) and exactly how
your Display Names are configured (which was changed in Outlook 2002).
Moreover, you are asking to change several different behaviors at the same
time. The format of the email address, for example, is controlled by the
Display Name field, which you would have to change manually. Finally, the
hierarchy and logic of how the autocompletion cache is searched is not
documented.
However, autoresolution does work the same in Outlook 2002 as it did in
previous versions, and it sounded to me as if that were the feature you
preferred to use, hence my suggestion. The only difference I have found is
that early builds of Outlook 2002 failed to store manual autoresolutions
consistently in the autocompletion cache.
I'll post the primer on how the two features differ and how to use each.
You'll have to experiment with your own settings and with modifying your own
name cache and Contacts data to try to get the results you want. For most
users these are not critical issues since autocompletion largely replaces
the need for autoresolution once you have built up a good autocompletion
cache.
Here is your primer. Just remember, your mileage may vary:
Autoresolution has been a feature in all versions of Outlook. Its purpose is
to resolve any name typed in the To: field of a new message to a valid
e-mail address. It searches all Outlook Contacts Folders that have been
enabled as email address books for potential matches and presents any
matches as potential recipients for the message. In the past, many users
have used autoresolution as a substitute for the autocompletion feature seen
in Outlook Express and other e-mail programs.
Outlook 2002 and 2003 added a true autocompletion feature to Outlook but
have also retained this earlier autoresolution feature. The combination of
these two features is awkward and can be confusing to novice users. Users
need to understand the differences between autoresolution and
autocompletion.
Autoresolution resolves the name you are typing in the To: field by
searching through your Contacts Folders to provide you with the correct
e-mail address. It is enabled by checking the box for "Automatic Name
checking" in "Advanced e-mail options." To use this feature, follow these
steps:
1.. Open a new message.
2.. In the To: field, type the first three letters of an e-mail address
that is stored in one of your contacts.
3.. Tab or click out of the field or on the "Tools" menu, click "Check
Name." You can also use the "Check Name" toolbar button (the one that has a
red check mark and a picture of a person) or press CTRL+K.
4.. If you have more than one listing matching the name you have typed,
the name you type will have a red wavy line below it. You can now
right-click the name and select the correct name from among the
possibilities presented. That choice will then be stored so that the next
time you compose a message using that name, the name will resolve
automatically. You will notice, however, that the name will now have a
dashed green underline instead of a solid underline just to let you know
that other possible matches exist in case you want to select another of the
possible matches.
When you resolve a name in Outlook 97-2000, that information is stored in a
file with a "nick" extension so that name resolutions will be remembered
from one session to the next.
Autocompletion is a feature that is new in Outlook 2002 and 2003. As you
begin to type a name in the To: field , Outlook offers to complete the entry
based on addresses, aliases, or names from e-mail messages that you have
previously sent. Note that this feature starts functioning immediately after
you have typed the first three letters in the To: field and does not require
that you Tab out of the field or hit CTRK+K. Also note that it does not use
your Contacts Folder as its data source but rather a cache of information
Outlook creates as you actually send messages. At first, the feature may
appear not to be working since it takes a while for Outlook to build its
cache. The autocompletion feature is enabled by default when you install
Outlook 2002 or 2003, but you can disable it by clicking "Options" on the
"Tools" menu, clicking "E-mail Options" on the "Preferences" tab, and then
clicking "Advanced E-mail Options," then uncheck "Suggest names while
completing."
In Outlook 2002 and 2003, both autoresolution and autocompletion features
function side by side. Curiously, both features store their data in the same
file. The file now has an "NK2" extension. Because both features are usually
in play, it is easy to get confused as to whether you are using
autocompletion or autoresolution. Just remember that autocompletion is in
play as soon as you have typed 3 or more letters (or just 1 letter in
Outlook 2003) in the To: field and remains in play until you click out of
the field or expressly invoke autoresolution by one of the methods listed
above. As long as one of the names suggested by the autocompletion feature
remains highlighted in the To: field dropdown, tabbing or clicking out of
the field will select that name as the sending address. If autocompletion
finds no matches in its cache (and therefore suggests no names) or if your
typing restricts the list so that no entries remain, then autocompletion is
no longer in play and autoresolution will take over once you tab or click
out of the field. In Outlook 2003, you can also invoke autoresolution at any
time by hitting "Escape" while typing in the To: field. Once autocompletion
is no longer in play, then Outlook will try to resolve the name you enter
against your various Contacts Folders, but not against the autocompletion
cache.
