Distribution List problems

[Guest]

How can I make Microsoft Outlook on a PC work like Microsoft Entrourage on a
Mac?

I simply want to create a group of contacts (33 total) to send email to. In
Entourage I would simply create a group of those contacts, then use that
group as the contact in my To: field.

In Outlook I have create something called a Distribution List. The contacts
in this list can only maintain limited information, as too much info per user
creates too large of a field to send email. And then the DL can only have a
certain number of contacts, else you will get a message saying that there
were too many recipients.

None of these problems exist in Microsoft Entourage using the same number of
contacts sending through the same email server. Microsoft insists that it is
on the ISPs end, yet I've never had this problem on my Mac doing the exact
same thing.

Please explain why I would only be required to have a basic name and email
address for a contact to keep the info being sent out small. If I'm only
emailing, shouldn't only the name and email address be used? Physical
addresses, phone numbers, website addresses, and the other information that
can be stored for a contact aren't to be sent. So why would that information
need to be deleted to use a DL?

And if DLs are so difficult to use, how is using another program (MS Word)
to do a mail merge easier?

Can someone explain what the difference between a distribution list and a
group is? Where can a create a group in Outlook to simply send an email?
Distribution Lists seem to be the only option.

I do not want to use third-party programs, or use work-arounds.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I simply want to create a group of contacts (33 total) to send email to. In

Entourage I would simply create a group of those contacts, then use that
group as the contact in my To: field.

That's exactly the way distribution lists are used in Outlook.

In Outlook I have create something called a Distribution List. The contacts
in this list can only maintain limited information, as too much info per user
creates too large of a field to send email.

I don't know where you got that information. A distribution list can either contain one-off names and addresses or include recipients selected from any Outlook contacts folder. The outgoing mail item will contain exactly the same amount of information for each person, regardless of the source -- the email address and display name.

And then the DL can only have a
certain number of contacts, else you will get a message saying that there
were too many recipients.

Outlook does not have a fixed limit on the number of recipients in an email message. Many ISPs do.

Outlook does have a limit on the number of addresses in a distribution list *but only* if the DL is stored in an Exchange Server folder. (That limit is about 120, much more than your scenario requires.)

None of these problems exist in Microsoft Entourage using the same number of
contacts sending through the same email server. Microsoft insists that it is
on the ISPs end, yet I've never had this problem on my Mac doing the exact
same thing.

As noted above, Outlook doesn't have such a limit. You might want to discuss the exact bounce message you're getting with your ISP.

Please explain why I would only be required to have a basic name and email
address for a contact to keep the info being sent out small. If I'm only
emailing, shouldn't only the name and email address be used? Physical
addresses, phone numbers, website addresses, and the other information that
can be stored for a contact aren't to be sent. So why would that information
need to be deleted to use a DL?

As noted above, there is no such requirement.

And if DLs are so difficult to use, how is using another program (MS Word)
to do a mail merge easier?

Mail merge results in each recipient getting an individual message, which has two benefits:

-- The message is less likely to be categorized as junk.
-- Individual recipient addresses are kept private.

Can someone explain what the difference between a distribution list and a
group is? Where can a create a group in Outlook to simply send an email?
Distribution Lists seem to be the only option.

"Group" and "distribution list" are synonyms in this context. Outlook uses the term "distribution list."
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers