OL2000: Importing Distribution Lists Also Import the Individual Contacts

ID: Q230942


The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000


SYMPTOMS

When you import Distribution lists (DL) from a Personal Address Book, either during the upgrade, or later through the Import Wizard, all the contacts contained in the DL are expanded into individual contacts.


RESOLUTION

Open the DL and click Update Now. You can then safely delete the individual expanded contacts.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.


MORE INFORMATION

The expanded contacts can be deleted only after you have updated the DL. Following this, you can delete the contacts that were expanded during the import of the DL. There are three tasks to accomplish this.

  • Update the distribution list


  • Create a new view


  • Delete the extra contacts


The following steps assume that you imported only distribution lists. Any individual contacts that were imported must be manually moved to a different folder.

Update the Distribution List

To retain the information in the distribution list after you delete the expanded contacts, you need to update the DL. to do this follow these steps:
  1. In the Contacts folder, double-click an imported distribution list to open it.


  2. Click Update Now.


  3. Click Save and Close.


  4. This will add the contact information directly into the DL. Deleting the individual contacts will not remove them from the DL. Repeat these steps for each DL that was imported before you contine to the next task.

Create a New View

With this step you will create a view that lists only contacts that were modified "today" assuming that you imported the DL today. If you added some individual contacts today, they will need to be identified and possibly moved to another contact folder temporarily, to avoid possible deletion. If the import occured on a different day you will need to change the condition in step 7 to "on" and in the Value field, type the date of the import.
  1. In your Contacts folder, on the View menu, point to Current view, and then click Define Views.


  2. Click New.


  3. In Name of new view, type Modified today.


  4. In Type of view, click to select Table, and then click OK.


  5. Click Filter.


  6. On the Advanced tab, in the box under Field, type Modified.


  7. Under Condition, click to select Today.


  8. Click Add to list.


  9. Under Field, type Message Class.


  10. Under Condition, click Doesn't contain.


  11. Under Value, type IPM.DistList.


  12. Click Add to List.


  13. Click OK, OK, and Apply view.


  14. You can see only the contacts that were imported today (or on a specific date). If you created other contacts today they will also be visible. You may want to move those contacts to a different folder before deleting the extra contacts.

Delete the Extra Contacts

  1. On the Edit menu, click Select All.


  2. If there are contacts that you do not want to delete, while pressing the CTRL key, click to cancel the selection of the contact.


  3. On the Edit menu, click Delete.


  4. Change your view to show all current contacts and distribution list's.


Additional query words: OL2K extra multiple explode

Keywords : kbdta
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: July 27, 1999
© 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.