E-mail to group using categories vs. distribution list

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Guest

I've seen the recommendation that I should use categories vs. a distribution
list and am doing so - but, I need to send an e-mail to a group of about 50
members, then cc the same message to their support staff, which I have
assigned a custom category titled "group-support." The only way I know how
to send an e-mail to a group of categorized contacts is to do so from the
contact list using the "by category" view, but I cannot figure out an easy
way to then cc the other category members on the same e-mail.

I've done a workaround by going back to the contact list and creating a new
e-mail to the second group, then cutting/pasting those addresses from the
"to" field into the "cc" field of my original e-mail, but that seems clunky.
Is there an easier way to accomplish what I'm trying to do?
 
That's as easy as it gets. Probably takes less time than it would to maintain a distribution list.
 
Are there any plans to make the process easier in future releases?

Michael Henderson
midahe(removethis)@gmail.com
 
Microsoft does not publicize its plans for features in future releases. If you have an idea on how it could be made easier, you can post that in the newsgroup web interface as a suggestion.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
Thanks. I do have a follow up question...is there an easy way to then
"share" the categorized list with someone within my network who wants to send
an e-mail to the group, using the most up-to-date contact information?

I have given her permission to view my entire contact folder and
instructions on how to send/cc to the group using categories, but that's
extreme overkill, as she really only needs this specific list. I initially
made subfolders within my contact folder for the various groups (I could then
have given permission to view only that subfolder), but that was problematic,
since many contacts are members of more than one group/category, so it was
difficult to locate an individual without everyone appearing in one master
list.

This is definitely not the easiest way there is to maintain group lists....
As a former GroupWise user, I have to say that they seem to have developed a
much more intuitive way of storing contact information in a format that can
be used as well as selectively shared with other users.
 
The easiest way to maintain contacts for multiple people to use is in a public folder, IMO.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
Sue Mosher said:
The easiest way to maintain contacts for multiple people to use is in a public folder, IMO.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
Click to expand...
 
Hi Sue,

Can you set up categories in a public folder for multiple users or do you
need use distribution lists? It sounds like categories are the way to go,
but I'm not clear about how to do this in a multiple user environment.

Thanks so much,

Karen
 
Any item in any folder can have any category. Whether one or 100 users looks at the item makes no difference. The category is part of the item's properties.

If you want to restrict items in a folder so they required one of a limited set of categories to be applied, you can do that with a custom form. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/forms/reqcat.htm
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
Thanks for your answer. One more question:

Is it possible to set up contacts in categories and then when you select the
category for receipt of an e-mail that these recipients are sent with a bcc:
rather than just a direct receipt? I want to hide the list besides the fact
that it's very long...

Thanks,

Karen
 
You can cut and paste from the To field to the Bcc field. My preference (and recommendation) would be to do a mail merge instead.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
Ok, Sue. I'm not sure what you mean. I've used mail merges for labels and
letters, but not for an e-mail. I'm intrigued; would you please explain? It
sounds like you can set up basically an e-mail "template" for each category.
Then just call it up when you want to create a new message? If so, please
tell me how.

Thanks so much,

Karen
 
When you perform a mail merge, Word gives you a choice of three different outputs -- direct to printer, to a new document, or to individual email messages. The body of the email message is what you write in the Word merge document. For best results, start the merge from Outlook's Tools | Mail Merge command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
If I don't have a selection in my Outlook 2003 under Tools for Mail Merge,
would I find it somewhere else or is there some add-in that I need to install?

Thanks again,

Karen
 
It appears only when you are viewing a contacts folder.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
HI Sue,

I've gotten deeper into switching to categories rather than distribution
lists.

I set up all the master categories and printed out the our distribution
lists for another employee to enter, and when she opens the master file she
can see the categories in the master file that I created, but when she goes
into an individual record to update specific reports and clicks on the
category in the bottom right, she doesn’t see the new master category list,
she sees all the Microsoft default nonsense. So will I have to create a
master category list at every desk in the office? Or can I do it on the
administrator? Or copy it somehow?

Thanks again. Your help is invaluable.

Karen
 
The master category list is specific to each user. If you and she use different Windows logins, you won't see the same master category list. Registry export/import and various tools can help you copy the list to different users. See http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/olcat.htm
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
 
I've just entered the PC world from the Mac world (by job requirement, not
choice). If you were using a Mac and Microsoft's Mac email program Entourage
(Outlook equivalent supposedly) you would simply have a group for the To: and
a group for the CC:.

I'm sorry, but it shouldn't be more difficult than that. Distribution
lists(DL), mail merges, DL recipient limitations, etc. are all work arounds
to doing the obvious.
 
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