How to sort address book on last names??

[Mortimer Snerdgrass]

When you open Contacts in Outlook 2000 or 2003 (I use both on
different machines) the contacts are sorted on last name. When you
compose a message and click on To? the list comes up sorted on first
name. With lots of names of contacts, some of whom have unfamiliar
first names this makes finding the addressee a real pain.

I thought that I could reverse the first and last names as they appear
in contacts and get the desired result so I tried it, but it had no
effect whatsoever on the appearance of the "Name" column in Adderss
Book.

It is possible to reverse the names in the "Display as" dialogue of
Contacts and that get the last name first under the "Display Name"
column of the Address Book. The problem is that the "Display Name"
column and all columns in the address book are unsortable.

Does anyone know something that will work here?

Cecil Warren

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Each version differs, and you failed to provide the mail support mode of
Outlook 2000. So you can read the instructions for every version:

98/2000 in Corporate/Workgroup mode:
Tools menu > Services > Highlight the Outlook Address Book service > Click
Properties > Set sort order

98/2000 Internet Mail Only:
Tools menu > Address Book > View menu > Sort by

Outlook 2002/2003:
Go to Tools > E-mail accounts > View or change existing directories or
address books > Outlook Address Book > Change. > Set your sort order there

In older versions of Outlook sorting of Outlook Contacts actually occurred
on the Subject field. In some cases it may be necessary to change the
Subject field (which is not normally seen) in order to get the results you
want. You can use the form described on this web page:
http://www.slipstick.com/dev/olforms/ordcont.htm

 

[Laura]

Hi Mortimer,

Funny you should ask -- I was currently editing a document on Outlook tips.
Here are the steps -- Note that if your company uses Exchange Server with
the "Global Address List" (for internal email addresses) that name order is
usually set at another level, but you can change the order for your Contacts
folder.

By default, names in the Outlook address lists appear in First Last order.

To change the order of your Contact e-mail address list:

1. In Outlook, choose Tools, E-mail Accounts. The E-mail Accounts
wizard opens.

2. Choose View or Change existing directories or address books,
Next. The second page of the E-mail accounts wizard displays.

3. If necessary, select Outlook Address Book.

4. Choose Change. The Microsoft Outlook Address Book dialog box
opens.

5. Choose Show names by (Smith, John), Close, Finish.

6. Close and then reopen MS Outlook. The Contacts address list name
order is now last, first.


The DISPLAY AS has to do with the order the contacts are in when you use the
address book view. By the way -- there is a default for this but it can
also be changed on a contact by contact basis. If you change it to Last,
First, contacts entered PRIOR to the change will still have the original
save as order. If your contacts are all hosed because of this, you can
export them and then re-import them to make them consistent.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

As you edit your document, note that none of this will apply to Outlook
2000.

 

[Mortimer Snerdgrass]

Thanks for the replies. The information was direct, helpful and
absolutely accurate. I feel like a dummy for not having dug deep
enough before asking.

Cec Britton

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You shouldn't. It's one of the most hidden options in Outlook and hence one
of the most frequently posted questions here.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Thanks for the replies. The information was direct, helpful and
absolutely accurate. I feel like a dummy for not having dug deep
enough before asking.

You may find that Google Groups (http://groups.google.com/) makes this
easier. Since, as Russ said, this particular issue has been addressed
multiple times, using Google to find those prior discussions can prvent hair
loss.