"select message names" won't look in contacts

[Guest]

Reinstalled Outlook 2003 in a new computerand it won't look for contacts when
I click in a new message "TO" button. When I click on "TO" button it
automatically comes up with the "Show Names from the" window set to OAL. I
can manually reset this to "Contacts" but it doesn't show the contacts that
are on my computer's contacts list. Might be reading from an old file
somewhere or from the enterprise sever that hasn't updated. So this is hugely
dysfunctional when needing to send emails to multiple names. I can't find a
place to reset the defaults for the message "Names" function in various
options and haven't succeeded in finding anything relevant in Outlook Help.
Any ideas? Thanks very much.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Reinstalled Outlook 2003 in a new computerand it won't look for
contacts when I click in a new message "TO" button. When I click on
"TO" button it automatically comes up with the "Show Names from the"
window set to OAL. I can manually reset this to "Contacts" but it
doesn't show the contacts that are on my computer's contacts list.

You didn't finish the reinstallation properly.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287563/en-us

 

[Guest]

Brian, thanks. The link you sent looks very helpful.
Jock

 

[Guest]

Brian:
Turns out the link you sent did not fix my problem after all. The steps
described were already done, so evidently the installation had been finished.
the basic problem is that when writing a new message, clicking on the "TO"
button brings up a list that is not the address book containing all the names
in the "Contacts" folder. There are many names in Contacts that do not appear
in the address book that appears. Furthermore, I cannot get the "TO" button
to open the "Contacts" list of names by default. It opens with "OAL" in the
"Show Names from the" window. When I change this to "Contacts" the erroneous
list comes up (don't know from where) and this list does not contain the
names that I can see whn I pull up Contacts folder in Outlook. The list that
does come up via the "TO" window doesn't behave properly, for example it
shows names as first name first when the Contacts folder has been instructed
to show last name first, and it's incomplete.
I would be very grateful for anyone's help on this.
Thanks very much.
Jock

 

[Brian Tillman]

Turns out the link you sent did not fix my problem after all. The
steps described were already done, so evidently the installation had
been finished. the basic problem is that when writing a new message,
clicking on the "TO" button brings up a list that is not the address
book containing all the names in the "Contacts" folder. There are
many names in Contacts that do not appear in the address book that
appears.

Only contacts with electronic addresses will appear int he address book.

Furthermore, I cannot get the "TO" button to open the
"Contacts" list of names by default. It opens with "OAL" in the "Show
Names from the" window.

So, change it. In the address book click Tools>Options and select which one
you want to appear first.

When I change this to "Contacts" the
erroneous list comes up (don't know from where) and this list does
not contain the names that I can see whn I pull up Contacts folder in
Outlook. The list that does come up via the "TO" window doesn't
behave properly, for example it shows names as first name first when
the Contacts folder has been instructed to show last name first, and
it's incomplete.

So, if you don't like the sort order, change it. In Outlook click
Tools>E-mail Accounts>View ir change existing directories or address
books>Next. Select the Outlook Address Book and click Change. Select the
sort order you'd like there.

I think you've damaged your mail profile and the quicked way to sort our
your address problems is to recmove the Outlook Address Book from your mail
profile (Click Remove instead of Change in the dialogue I just mentioned),
stop and restart Outlook, click Tools>E-mail Accounts>Add a new directory or
address book>Next>Additional Address Books>Next. Select Outlook Address
Book and click Next, select the sort order, and click Finish. Stop and
restart Outlook. RIght-click your Contacts, choose Properties, select the
Outlook Address Book tab, and make sure the box labeled "Show this folder as
an e-mail Address Book" is checked. Click OK.