Outlook / Contacts / Addresss book - Change the way names are displayed.

Is ther any way of doing a mass update to change the way Outlook displays email addresses.

In Outlook, you can define the way NEW contacts are displayed (First Name/Last Name or Last name/First Name) through Tools/Options/Contacts/Contact Options).

The issue is that the default was set to Last Name/First Name. Now the user want to change all of his contact displays to First Name/Last Name.

So far we've change the default for NEW contacts to be First Name/Last Name... now how can I change the existing contacts with out going through each individual one and changing the display individually.

 

bump... looking for any direction.

 

im using ol2000 so a bit behind the curve, but i use 'tool/organize' while in contact window to change display/sort options.

 

I have Outlook xp but you could check and see if it is the same or similar for 2000. Go to Tools, Options. When dialogue box appears look for the tab titled preferences. About four down it shows the contact icon and there is a button titled contacts options. When that pulls up you can find the default for display and change.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks all, FYI, I'm using OL2000 as well.

I guess my specific problem is with the "Email Display Name" which shows up in the "To" or "CC" field of a new email message.

The "Email Display name" is presented as "Smith, Bill" when the user wants to see "Bill Smith".

To add an email address is really not the problem (or how I get it)... I can enter part of the name and autocomplete usually fills in the name appropriately. I can also change the address book view by choosing "Sort" and then specify what criteria I wan the list sorted so that it makes my selection of names easier.

The issue appears to be more of a cosmetic/presentation thing. The user wants to see the names displayed in the email messages as "First Name/Last Name"... current work around is to go into the address book and change the "Display Name" entry. Note: once it is done... they will be set.

I was just looking for a easy "Mass Update" function/feature that would change the address book "Display Name" to firstname/lastname.

 

i think you may be stuck with editing the contact list for at least putting the first and last names in the correct fields in the 'full name' editing boxes.
after reading your question i went back and did just that... ie checked the contact names that didnt appear correctly and sure enough it was just a matter of getting the names in the right editing fields... it went quite fast.
how that can be done globally with some sort of list view i dont know.
also my email shows the 'first last' names and cant figure out how to get it to do any other, ie 'last first'.
not much help i guess but maybe someone will have a better idea... i hope!
akm

 

You can do them all by editing your address book properties. GO to Tools > Options > Mail Setup tab. Clcik the email accounts button and under Directory select View or Change Directories or Address books. Select your Personal address book or whatever you use and select the way they are displaed on the initial page there: