Displaying Different Views of Contact Information

You can view an address book in many different formats; each view presents differing information from your contact records either as cards or in a list.

• Business Cards view displays the business card associated with each contact record-either the default card created by Outlook, or a custom card if you have one. Business cards are displayed in alphabetical order by first or last name, depending on the File As selection.

• Address Cards view displays contact information as truncated business cards, with only the contact's name and e-mail address visible. Address cards are displayed in alphabetical order by the File As field.

• Detailed Address Cards view displays contact information in a format similar to that of Address Cards view but includes more information, such as job title and company name.

• Phone List view displays a columnar list including each contact's name, company, and contact numbers.

Other list views include:

• By Category

• By Company

• By Location

In these views, contact records are grouped by the selected field. You can expand and collapse the groups, or select and take action on an entire group of contacts.

You can search and filter your contact records in any view by using the Instant Search feature. You can sort contact records by any displayed column in a list view by clicking the column header, and you can display or hide any column.

Tip 

You can change the fields displayed in each view; the way records are grouped, sorted, and filtered; the display font; the size of business cards; and other settings to suit your preferences. To personalize a view, point to Current View on the View menu, and then click Customize Current View.

In this exercise, you will sort contact records and look at some of the ways you can view contact records.

USE the contact records you created earlier in this chapter.

BE SURE TO display the Contacts module before beginning this exercise.

1. In the Navigation Pane, look at the Current View list. If the Business Cards option isn't already selected, select it now.

   In Outlook 2007, this is the default Contacts module view, displaying the standard business cards for each contact (as well as any personalized business cards you have saved), organized alphabetically by last name.

   By clicking the buttons on the alphabet bar that appears on the right side of the Contacts pane in Business Cards view, Address Cards view, and Detailed Address Cards view, you can quickly jump to contact records beginning with that letter.

   

   Tip 

   You can display an additional alphabet in the alphabet bar. Options include Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Thai, and Vietnamese-other alphabets might be available depending on the version of Outlook and any language packs you have installed. To get started, click the Language Settings button at the bottom of the alphabet bar.

2. In the Current View list, select the Address Cards option.

   Tip 

   The view options are also available as a drop-down list on the Advanced toolbar.

   Outlook displays your contact records on smaller cards similar to the Business Cards, but without the additional formatting and sized to fit the available primary contact information, including name, telephone and fax numbers, and postal and e-mail addresses. (Detailed Address Cards view displays all the information available in the contact record, including the Notes field.)

   

3. In the Current View list, select the Phone List option.

   Outlook displays your contact records in a grid of columns and rows organized in ascending order based on the File As column. If you have a lot of information recorded for each of your contacts, you will probably find that this view displays more contact information on one screen than any other.

4. Click the Full Name column heading.

   Outlook sorts the contact records in ascending order based on the Full Name field, as indicated by the upward-pointing sort arrow to the right of the column heading. You can reverse the sort order by clicking the active heading again.

   

5. Click the Company column heading.

   Outlook sorts the contact records in ascending order based on the Company field. You can enter information into contact records from this view.

   Tip 

   You can add a contact to your address book in any list view by clicking the box under the Full Name header (labeled Click Here To Add A New Contact) and entering the contact's information.

6. In the Greg Guzik record, click the Company cell, type Wide World Importers, and then press the key.

   Outlook automatically reorganizes the list so Greg Guzik's record is alphabetized by the company name you entered.

7. Repeat Step 6 for the Jo Berry and Andy Ruth records.

8. In the Navigation Pane, in the Current View list, select the By Category option.

   Outlook displays the contact records in a grid grouped by category and sorted by the File As field.

   Tip 

   You can collapse or expand a group of contacts by clicking the - (Collapse) button or the + (Expand) button to the left of the group header, or you can collapse or expand all groups by clicking Expand/Collapse Groups on the View menu and then clicking Collapse All Groups or Expand All Groups.

9. Click the Collapse button to the left of the Categories: none header.

   Only the categorized contacts are visible.

   

   Notice that Andrea Dunker appears in the Marketing group, and John Emory appears in the Marketing group as well as the Personal group. When you sort contacts, messages, or other Outlook items by category, items assigned to multiple categories appear in both lists.

10. In the Current View list, select the By Company option.

    Outlook displays the contact records in a grid that is sorted and grouped by the Company field.

    

11. In the Pat Coleman, Holly Dickson, and Max Stevens records, type Consolidated Messenger in the Company field. In the Linda Mitchell and Jill Shrader records, type Lucerne Publishing in the Company field.

    As you change each record, Outlook reorganizes the display, creating new groups if necessary.

12. In the Current View list, select the Business Cards option.

    Outlook returns to the default view of your contact records.