Using Contact Nicknames in Windows Mail

[Guest]

I had my old OE addressbook set up so that when I addressed an email, only
the nickname (usually initials) appeared in the "TO" box of the form BT; CS;
TM;, etc. However, in Windows Mail there appears to be no way to do this
even though I have imported the OE addressbook. Now when I address an email,
this appears in the "TO" box: Toms, Bob <[email protected]>; Smith,
Charles <[email protected]>; Morris, Tim <[email protected]; etc.

If Windows Mail is suppose to replace and be better than OE, why do you
delete useful features in OE from Windows Mail? Please put it back, or
explain to me what I am doing wrong in Windows Mail so that this feature no
longer works.

----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/co...b96c23&dg=microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

Whether the new format is useful or not depends on your point of view.
I have several contacts who each have multiple email addresses (i.e.,
one for work, one for home, one for their cellphone, etc.). By seeing both
the name and the address I can confirm that the appropriate address
has been picked for a given contact.

How does it hurt you to see the expanded form?
There is no way to change it.

Gary VanderMolen

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your reply. I too have several contacts with multiple email
addresses. What I do is enter them with a code -- Smith (h), John or Smith
(o), John for home and office, for example. My OE and WM addressbooks are
set up to display Lastname, Firstname when I am selecting addresses. I want
WM to display within the "TO" box the nickname and to send the nickname as
was done in OE. For some of my close friends I have, shall we say,
"colorful" (not vulgar) nicknames, as they have for me.

I feel that this is just another case of someone at MS deciding to make
something "better" by changing just for the sake of change. How hard would
it have been just to have the same features in WM that were in OE, plus
adding the new WM features? Why even have nicknames if they cannot be
utilized?

I disagree that there is no way to change it. That is what software updates
are for.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

I disagree that there is no way to change it. That is what software updates
are for.

Obviously anything that is software can be changed by a competent
software developer. My point was that the end user can't configure it.

 

[billsmith]

This is an old string, so no doubt you've already figured this out. If you
want nnicknames in Windows Contacts to behave the same way they did in OE
Address Book, do this: In each contact with a nickname, put the nickname in
the "Full Name" field, e.g., "Smitty". Click "OK". Now the nickname appears
on your contact list. Highlight it, then right click, then click "Rename".
Type in the person's actual name, e.g., "Smith, Bill". Hit "Enter". So now,
whenever you address an email from your Contact list, "Smith, Bill" will come
up as "Smitty" on the actual email. It will also auto complete when you start
to type "Smitty" in the "TO" field.