PPCGeeks - File As Contacts Last Name First Change

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talon Pro (Post 1137400)

Everyone keeps forgetting or ignoring Outlook. In the address book you can cimply change it with a click. Now, im not at home so i cant test or give instructions but i know it can be done.

I haven't tried the .cab fix yet on the phone... However I have been getting headaches and putting everyone around me in a bad mood trying to work with contacts in outlook.

Talon Pro is right... you open options in office, go to contact options, and there is a drop down menu for 'Default "File As" Order' where you can select First Last instead of Last, First.

Also, under account settings in office, you can go to the "Address Books" tab, select the address book, and when you hit the 'change' button there is a "Show names by" dialog box, with two options: "First Last (John Smith)" and "File As (Smith John)"

What I don't understand about the second option is the two choices... you can select it to display the name as "First Last".... or display the name as "File As" ... which tells me you're basically choosing how you want the name to appear in the address book only, and those two choices are better understand as chosing which fields you want to use... regarding the information fields 'First Name' 'Last Name', and then 'File As', which is a seperate field...

When I look at the contacts in outlook using the 'Phone List' view... there is a collumn for "Full Name", which DID change from 'last, first' to 'first last' with the option change, but there is also the "File As" collumn, that remains formatted 'last, first'... It would be great if windows mobile used the 'full name' field, or outlook had a field simply for 'display as', but windows mobile listed the contacts using the 'File As' field.
It seems the only way I can change them is manually opening each contact individually...

I've been searching through all the options in outlook, all the help files relating to address books and contacts... and I'm only getting more frustrated.

Even more interesting, the address book (up top, like GAL you would use w/ an exchange server --- not the contact folder), only shows one of the contacts... even when I select the right folder from the drop down menu. It shows that one contact because it is the only contact with an email address.
What confuses me here, is that on my desktop computer that I synced my old mogul with, the Address book shows ALL of the contacts, only under the 'email address' collumn, it lists the phone number.

Also interesting...
The address book collumns are "Name", "Display Name", and "E-mail Address"
The "Name" is formatted first middle last (full name), the "Display Name" was originally formatted Last, First... after changing the settings, it is THIS "Display Name" field that changed from Last, First to First Last...

So the address book and contacts are obviously seperate, but easy to confuse the two, considering both have similar options; you can change the name format for both; they are both a way to keep track of contact info; oh, and you can *add* the contact list, as an address book.... Which is why my older comp. somehow shows all the names and the #'s under e-mail address (but when I tried to do the same thing on my laptop, only the name w/ an e-mail address would show) FYI- both computers are using Office 2007.

It would be really convienent if the contacts ALSO had a 'display as' field, especially if changing the format settings actually changed the display name for all the contacts (which changing the settings under 'contact options' does not change the order from last, first to first last like it should, even after restarting)...

Can anyone shed some light onto this issue before I start breaking things?

It is so frustrating...
One thing is obvious though... the calendar, to-do, notes, etc sync nicely with windows mobile... but when it comes to contacts, office integrates them into address books, etc, mainly making it easier for companies using a GAL off an exchange server, and the contacts seem to be expected to be used within office, not as a "phone book". Which would explain why the names are listed correctly (First Last) after I change the settings, but the field that Windows Mobile uses (Filed As) is not what outlook uses when listing contacts.... Definately needs to be cleaned up and easier for people to understand if they are making changes that apply to a corporate address book, or if the contacts are meant mainly for emails
- basically it should be easier to use contacts within outlook, use the contactswithin outlook's 'address books', AND use the contacts as a phone book to sync with windows mobile..
As much as it has been frustrating me, I think it would almost be better for them to create a seperate "mobile" folder / "phone book" with the same contacts in it, only with the simply "Display as" field, and options that relate only to the phone book listing of contact info.... but thats enough of what I think is lacking in the sync process.

On the phone, when I enter a name under 'edit contact', you can choose a prefix, first, middle, last, suffix, and nickname....
So if I want to enter [Mr. Jack Mi Hoff Jr. aka "Pervert"] as the contact info, I think it only makes sense that I should be able to choose a 'display as' option so they are listed as [Pervert] in my contact list if I choose nickname, as well as all the other options already provided. As it is right now, if I enter in a nickname, and choose 'file as: First Last' it would show up in the contact list as [Jack "Pervert" Hoff].

I'm sorry this post is so long, I realize it is mostly ranting - (I can't get the automatic ringer profile on the phone to cooperate with outlook either, it will not switch to vibrate during an appointment marked as busy) - so i've been in a bad mood the past 2 days trying to set my phone, appointments, and contact lists how I'd like them... which I ASSUMED would be easy, hence the bad mood.

Thanks for any help - apologize again or the ranting