Outlook: select Distributon List members from open Address Book

[Cliver6]

How can I create a Distribution List by selecting multiple members from the
Address Book or Contacts List, as can easily be done in Outlook Express? The
number of members I want for new Distribution List are too many for me to add
one at a time.

 

[Gordon]

How can I create a Distribution List by selecting multiple members from
the
Address Book or Contacts List, as can easily be done in Outlook Express?
The
number of members I want for new Distribution List are too many for me to
add
one at a time.

Then use a Category instead. (If you are using Outlook 2003 or 2007 - I'm
not sure that prior versions have this function)

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Odd question. The DL dialog box lists every electronic address in your
Contacts Folder when you go to Select Members. Select as many as you want.
Gordon's point is that DL's are a poor choice for grouping recipients in
Outlook. They don't work very well, and the more recipients they contain,
the more likely they are to go belly up. There are better ways for grouping
recipients in Outlook, like Categories.

 

[Gordon]

Odd question. The DL dialog box lists every electronic address in your
Contacts Folder when you go to Select Members. Select as many as you want.
Gordon's point is that DL's are a poor choice for grouping recipients in
Outlook. They don't work very well, and the more recipients they contain,
the more likely they are to go belly up. There are better ways for
grouping recipients in Outlook, like Categories.

Russ, am I right in thinking that only 2003 and 2007 have categories or do
prior versions also have that function?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Categories have been around since the dawn of Outlook (97). They actually
worked, too, except in Outlook 98\IMO. But then nothing worked in Outlook
98\IMO, even though Microsoft never admitted it.
Unfortunately, Categories are an imperfect substitute for DL's. Most users
create their categories using criteria other than emailing as their prime
concern. Accordingly, members of a category often contain no email address
or multiple email addresses. Both of these conditions can create problems
when the user tries to select the Category and use the "Actions > Create
email to Contact" option.
I would consider it a fair statement to say that Outlook has never properly
addressed the need for end users to group multiple recipients when using
Internet Email protocols. Outlook is a great client for Exchange (damn well
better be), but it is sadly lacking as an email client for the standalone
end user.
Will Outlook 2010 be better? I can hope, but I've been disappointed every
time so far.

 

[Gordon]

Categories have been around since the dawn of Outlook (97). They actually
worked, too, except in Outlook 98\IMO. But then nothing worked in Outlook
98\IMO, even though Microsoft never admitted it.
Unfortunately, Categories are an imperfect substitute for DL's. Most users
create their categories using criteria other than emailing as their prime
concern. Accordingly, members of a category often contain no email address
or multiple email addresses. Both of these conditions can create problems
when the user tries to select the Category and use the "Actions > Create
email to Contact" option.
I would consider it a fair statement to say that Outlook has never
properly addressed the need for end users to group multiple recipients
when using Internet Email protocols. Outlook is a great client for
Exchange (damn well better be), but it is sadly lacking as an email client
for the standalone end user.
Will Outlook 2010 be better? I can hope, but I've been disappointed every
time so far.

Thanks for the interesting info!