Most of use either Categories or separate Contact Subfolders. There are
countless posts here that will help you decide which option is better for
your needs.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"A. Dewez" wrote in message
...
Okay, I give! So if DLs are too inconvenient and unreliable, is there
another
Microsoft tool for creating mailing lists to send e-mails to a group? I
have
Office Outlook 2003 (11.8010.8107) SP2


"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

The Email Display As field is a derived field derived from both the Full
Name field and the actual email address. Each version of Outlook has used
a
different combination of those name elements to format that field and you
cannot change that format other than by editing the Email Display As
field
directly. None of the information you have found contradicts that because
none of that information you posted is referring to the Email Display As
field or to DL's. They are referring to the File As... field and the
Outlook
address book, neither of which is in play here.
The only way to sort a DL the way you want is to directly edit each Email
Display As field of each member to show exactly what you want. You are
now
beginning to understand why most of us find DL's too inconvenient and
unreliable to be of any use.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"A. Dewez" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your prompt reply, Russ. I must admit, I find it very
frustrating! In two Microsoft Help places I have found information
that
suggests the contrary.

From: Oulook Help/Display the Contacts list in LastName, FirstName
format
(Notes):
"In a contact card, the Display Name for e-mail addresses is the name
shown
on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines of an e-mail message as well as in the
Address
Book when you search for a contact. The Display Name is created based
on
how
you type the contact's name in the Full Name box."

Normally I enter the "Full Name" using the complete form you get by
clicking
on the "Full Name" box - First Name, Middle, Last etc. I didn't know
that
if
I typed Smith, John into the "Full Name" box it would still fill in
properly.
I thought this might be the answer so I tried a new card using that
entry
format. Auspicious beginnings, the "File as" field showed Last name,
First
name. But then when I typed in the e-mail address it reverted to First
name
Last name in the "Display as" box!!!

The other place that suggested I could control "Display as" is:
Microsoft
Office Training: Become an Address Book expert/Quick Reference
Card/Change
how names are displayed. The instructions I found here are the ones I
followed and repeated below.

If what you have responded is really true, shouldn't the Help
information
say the same thing?

But more important, how can such a sophisticated product as Microsoft
Office
not allow distribution lists, which are a critical tool for
communication,
to
be displayed last name first? I can't imagine many people manage their
lists
by first name. This truly is a nightmare!!

Thanks for any ray of hope you can provide ......... Anne


"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You must edit the Email Display As field manually. There is no other
way
to
Outlook's default format for that field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"A. Dewez" A. wrote in message
...
I have selected "File As" in Outlook/Tools/E-mail
accounts/Directory/View
or change existing directories or address books/Show names by but
the
"Display as" field in the Contacts form continues to autofill with
First
Last. This means my distribution lists are alphabetized by first
name,
which
makes reviewing and amending them extremely awkward. Why does "File
As"
not
dictate how "Display as" autofills and is there anything that can be
done
to
solve the problem?