I know about the address book prefs under options, but it stopped

[steve.wong]

In both office 2003 and 2007 I get a problem when Outlook address book
suddenly changed all the names from the default first name, last name order
which I want it to show, to Last, first which is how I have Outlook contacts
but don't want the address book to show. I have followed the given
instructions many times to set the addres book to show first last. But
although new entries get inserted automatically in the right order, old
entries dont change back. Instead you have to open the contact, cut say the
email address and paste it back in, then save the contact. It then shows up
in the address book in the right order. If you just open and save the contact
without editing, the order doesn't change, you have to do some editing job to
make it happen when you save.How can I change my 1000 addresses in the
address book back to the right order without going through this rigmarole for
each of them?

This is happening at work, cusing OST exchange folder and at home using pst
file.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Once is enough. Stop reposting.

 

[steve.wong]

You're right, 2 rude answers in one day is more han enough!
I appreciate that you get questions about this every day, I went through the
entire backlog of threads looking for a solution first. I have been through
all the MS help files, and all the "Crabby Old Lady" columns. I've been
trying to solve this for 4 months. This was a last resort, but unfortunately
it appears to be a figment of my imagination!

Since you (sort of) ask, the address book was working fine in both cases
until some server problems in one case and an update in the other caused me
to do a backup recovery for my contacts. After that the order changed and now
I have to go through the process described to sort it. I had hoped that
Microsoft may be interested in this phenomena but more importantly have a
simpler cure than manually opening and shutting each file.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

A Google search on "Sort Address Book" turned up 2480 hits in this group
alone in 0.3 seconds.
Here is one that should cover just about every scenario you might encounter:

The most frequent question asked about the Outlook Address Book is "why
won't it sort the way I told it to?" Simple answer. Even though we all know
that our Outlook Address Book is simply a view of our Contacts, Microsoft
did not configure it to abide by the settings we chose for our Contacts.
Instead, they hid the sort settings for the Outlook Address Book where no
one could ever find them. Depending on your version and mail support mode of
Outlook, you can sort the Outlook Address Book this way:

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

Outlook 2007:
Go to Tools > Account Settings > Address Book Tab > Outlook Address Book >
Change... > Set sort order there

Note that your options are only to sort by "First, Last" or by "File As." So
if you want your Outlook Address Book to sort by "Last, First," or by
"Company" you must have your Contacts' File As fields configured that way.

 

[steve.wong]

I would really appreciate a solution to this, so I will persevere a little
longer. I did the Google search. I read all the forums. I read all the help
files. I have been using Outlook for 15 years. I am not an idiot. Microsoft
might actually learn something from this instead of denying the problem. It
imay have something to do with Palm synchronisation or Plaxo but whatever the
cause of this phenomenon it would be good to have a batch or macro cure.

Unlike most people I want to sort the address bok by first, last. I presume
that means first name first, last name last? If it means first name shown
last I will admit my mistake and give up on this. But for 10 years the
address book showed the first name first, just like I want it to. But
suddenly it changed and no amount of tweaking the settings on the Outlook
Address book tab sort it. However, if I open a contact, edit and shut it,
then the first last order reappears in the address book. So if I go through
my 1000 contacts individually in this way I can sort it. Clearly the settings
are not affecting existing contacts, only new ones.

I do hope that you can shed some light on this. I won't write again because
although it is boring and pointless to do this job manually, it's quicker
than an endless cycle of getting told to do the things that I eliminated
months ago. As I said before I only wrote in because I am certain that I
already have eliminated all of the instructions that you have pointed me
towards.

I appreciate that you get tired of answering the same old problem. This is
not that problem. But while we are on the subject, perhaps Microsoft should
look for a more intuitive menu for the address book if so many people are
confused about the address book.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Then there is something else at work here. The mere fact that when you edit
a Contact it then appears correctly tells you that. Outlook simply does not
do this all by itself for no reason. Add-ins, syncing, and importing data,
however, are notorious for disrupting the connection between Contacts and
the address book service.

 

[steve.wong]

Hello,

Thanks for taking my enquiry seriously. But the reason that I wrote in the
first place is in the hope that there is a simpler solution than
individually opening and eidting 1000 records. I am not accusing Outlook of
creating the problem, I was hoping that somebody could help me to use Outlook
to solve the problem!

In the meantime, in the interests of expediency I have already done the
tedious solution of editing every entry on one computer and the address book
now works fine. But I have another two computers that need the same treatment
and of course if whatever causesd the sync problem (either Plaxo, Palm or
Microsoft CE) might cause it again. Is there perhaps a macro to open each
entry, re-type part of the entry and save it?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

A solution is impossible to provide when we don't know how the problem was
caused.
There is no macro to do what you want. There might be some code that could
be run. Ask in a programming group.
Have you tried any of the routine maintenance procedures like repairing the
data file, resetting the address book service, or creating a new profile?

 

[steve.wong]

Yes, I tried all those first. Tell you what, I'll just do it manually and
hope whatever caused the problem doesn't happen again. Sorry to have bothered
you.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Since most of the time these problems arise as a result of syncing or
importing improperly, you might see if there are any utilities here that
might help:
http://www.contactgenie.com/