Contacts problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jim White
  • Start date Start date
J

Jim White

When I go to send mail and select someone from my contact list, it
automatically lists names like this:

[First Name] [Middle name] [Last Name]

I would like for my contacts to be listed as follows:

[Last Name], [First Name] [Middle Name]

Is there a way to change these for all my contacts at once, or do I have to
change this individually for each contact in my contact list???

Thanks for your help,
Jim
 
This is a known problem. You can add a column for Last Name and sort by
that, but the sorting can take over a minute every time you open Contacts.

In the thread "How do you sort contacts by last name?" Keith Miller said
he's preparing an automated way to change the format of all Contacts. But
that doesn't seem like the ideal approach since you'd also need to change
every new Contact from a message you received.

I gave up and left the contacts alphabetized by first name and just use the
search box to find the one I need.
 
No can do. It's not that's it a problem, just something that wasn't thought
of would be more precise I guess.
 
Very frustrating that there aren't some better tools to manage contacts.
Fortunately, I set my contacts up by Last, First Middle to begin with, so
it's really no problem editing new ones as I add them. In fact, I just
added a 2 digit number to the Last Name of my most often used contacts so
that they show up at the beginning of the list when I select To/CC/BCC.

I'm considering a new scheme whereby all contacts in a given folder would
have the same number added to the Last Name, but I don't want to go through
a lot of work if M$ changes the behavior in an update to recognize folders
like OE does/did.

Cheers, Dave

No can do. It's not that's it a problem, just something that wasn't thought
of would be more precise I guess.
 
If you're composing a new e-mail & using the 'Select Recipients' dialog,
clicking the sort arrow in the 'Name' header cycles thru FOUR options:

FullName ascending
FullName descending
Last, First ascending
Last, First descending

If a contact has a FullName/filename of 'LastName, FirstName', there is no
apparent difference. But if you allow the default FullName contruction of
'FirstName LastName', or if you edit FullName to be some arbitrary text, the
difference becomes apparent.

In terms of viewing the Contacts folder, the filename is governed by
'FullName' field of the Contact -- & the Contact Properites dialog
constructs 'FullName' as 'First Last' by default. If you click the
drop-list for the 'FullName' field, You are given 3 default contructions:

First Last
Last First
Last, First

If you don't mind editing contacts one-by-one, you can do it that way. I'm
working on a script to do batch renames -- a basic version should be ready
shortly.
 
Keith Miller MVP said:
If you're composing a new e-mail & using the 'Select Recipients' dialog,
clicking the sort arrow in the 'Name' header cycles thru FOUR options:

FullName ascending
FullName descending
Last, First ascending
Last, First descending

If a contact has a FullName/filename of 'LastName, FirstName', there is no
apparent difference. But if you allow the default FullName contruction of
'FirstName LastName', or if you edit FullName to be some arbitrary text, the
difference becomes apparent.

In terms of viewing the Contacts folder, the filename is governed by
'FullName' field of the Contact -- & the Contact Properites dialog
constructs 'FullName' as 'First Last' by default. If you click the
drop-list for the 'FullName' field, You are given 3 default contructions:

First Last
Last First
Last, First

If you don't mind editing contacts one-by-one, you can do it that way. I'm
working on a script to do batch renames -- a basic version should be ready
shortly.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Jim White said:
When I go to send mail and select someone from my contact list, it
automatically lists names like this:

[First Name] [Middle name] [Last Name]

I would like for my contacts to be listed as follows:

[Last Name], [First Name] [Middle Name]

Is there a way to change these for all my contacts at once, or do I have
to change this individually for each contact in my contact list???

Thanks for your help,
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I understand what has been said. I have an individual who I originally sent a
message to at a dot com address by mistake. I then entered her address at a
correct dot org address. However, when I type her name in the To line I keep
getting the dot com address along with the dot org address. How do I
permanently get rid of the dot com address. Thanks,

Margaret.

Keith Miller MVP said:
If you're composing a new e-mail & using the 'Select Recipients' dialog,
clicking the sort arrow in the 'Name' header cycles thru FOUR options:

FullName ascending
FullName descending
Last, First ascending
Last, First descending

If a contact has a FullName/filename of 'LastName, FirstName', there is no
apparent difference. But if you allow the default FullName contruction of
'FirstName LastName', or if you edit FullName to be some arbitrary text, the
difference becomes apparent.

In terms of viewing the Contacts folder, the filename is governed by
'FullName' field of the Contact -- & the Contact Properites dialog
constructs 'FullName' as 'First Last' by default. If you click the
drop-list for the 'FullName' field, You are given 3 default contructions:

First Last
Last First
Last, First

If you don't mind editing contacts one-by-one, you can do it that way. I'm
working on a script to do batch renames -- a basic version should be ready
shortly.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Jim White said:
When I go to send mail and select someone from my contact list, it
automatically lists names like this:

[First Name] [Middle name] [Last Name]

I would like for my contacts to be listed as follows:

[Last Name], [First Name] [Middle Name]

Is there a way to change these for all my contacts at once, or do I have
to change this individually for each contact in my contact list???

Thanks for your help,
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Unfortunately it is not easy to get rid of the auto-complete for
addresses you recently sent to.
Unless you are familiar with editing the registry, I would
advise you to ignore the problem for now. Eventually
the bad address will drop off the remembered list.
If you are proficient with registry editing, the pertinent key is:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Recently Used Addresses

Gary VanderMolen
 
When I'm typing in and address the auto complete feature only selects names
that I've sent messages to since I've turned on my computer.
mblurie said:
Keith Miller MVP said:
If you're composing a new e-mail & using the 'Select Recipients' dialog,
clicking the sort arrow in the 'Name' header cycles thru FOUR options:

FullName ascending
FullName descending
Last, First ascending
Last, First descending

If a contact has a FullName/filename of 'LastName, FirstName', there is
no
apparent difference. But if you allow the default FullName contruction
of
'FirstName LastName', or if you edit FullName to be some arbitrary text,
the
difference becomes apparent.

In terms of viewing the Contacts folder, the filename is governed by
'FullName' field of the Contact -- & the Contact Properites dialog
constructs 'FullName' as 'First Last' by default. If you click the
drop-list for the 'FullName' field, You are given 3 default contructions:

First Last
Last First
Last, First

If you don't mind editing contacts one-by-one, you can do it that way.
I'm
working on a script to do batch renames -- a basic version should be
ready
shortly.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Jim White said:
When I go to send mail and select someone from my contact list, it
automatically lists names like this:

[First Name] [Middle name] [Last Name]

I would like for my contacts to be listed as follows:

[Last Name], [First Name] [Middle Name]

Is there a way to change these for all my contacts at once, or do I
have
to change this individually for each contact in my contact list???

Thanks for your help,
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes, that's a known bug (or 'feature') of Windows Mail.
Some people report auto-complete success when they type the
first three letters followed by hitting the Tab or Enter key.

Gary VanderMolen
 
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