Thanks! I was not aware of this setting but when I found it it was set to
LastName, First. The File As was set to LastName, First, which is perfect.
My concern is the mixing up of Last and First Names when I specify the First
Name, MI and Last Name. In my example, if OL showed the name as John C.
Smith or Smith, John C. all would be (mostly) well, probably leaving me to
chose which order I prefer int he display. But with "John, C. Smith" OL
seems not to be following which is the First and which is the Last.

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote in message
...
Nothing is up with OL. OL does what you tell it to. Tell us what settings
you specified for your Full Name field.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"Joe McGuire" wrote in message
...
I often have a problem with how OL 2003 puts a contact's name together. I
usually type a person's name, e.g., Dustin A. Hoffman. He then shows up
in the contact as something like Hoffman A Dustin. (No, not Hoffman,
Dustin A, which I guess I could live with) I click on the Full Name
thingie and sure enough the poor guy's name gut mishmashed. I straighten
the matter out, making sure the First Name is in the block for that, and
the same for the last Name. Close that out and OL has ignored me. Or
messed it up even further, although degrees of totally messed up are
awfully academic.

So I tried John C. Smith, thinking that ought to be pretty simple. Even
Pocahontas could figure that one out. But no. In the little window his
name looks OK. But click on Full Name and his first name is now C. Smith
and his Last Name is John. But OL is consistent with the wierdness: In
File As he is John, C. Smith. What's up with OL?