How To Create An Email Group In Outlook 2007

(Archives) Microsoft Outlook 2007: Working with Distribution Lists

Last updated Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, at 10:32 a.m.

This article is based on legacy software.

Distribution lists contain email addresses for more than one person. Generally the people are related in some way, such as committee members or work groups. Distribution lists can combine email addresses for individuals, existing lists from UW-Eau Claire, and non-campus users.

Creating Distribution Lists

You can add members to a distribution list by selecting them from the campus directory or by typing their information. You can include existing campus distribution lists in your distribution list.

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Click the next to NEW » select Distribution List
OR
From the Actions menu, select New Distribution List
An Untitled Distribution List window appears.
In the Name text box, type a name for the list
To add members from the UW-Eau Claire directory:
1. Click SELECT MEMBERS
  The Select Members: Global Address List dialog box appears.
2. From the Address Book pull-down list, select Global Address List
3. In the Search text box, type the name or select it from the scroll box
  HINTS:
  You can select an existing list as a member of your distribution list.
  Typing the first few letters of the last name takes you to that part of the directory where you can easily select the name.
4. Click MEMBERS
5. Repeat steps c and d until you have made all of your selections from the directory
6. Click OK
To add off-campus members:
1. Click ADD NEW
2. In the Display name text box, type the member's name
  HINT: Members of the list are displayed alphabetically by the first character(s) of this field. You may want to use the format last name, first name
3. In the E-mail address text box, type the complete email address
4. (Optional) If you would also like to create a Contact for this person, select Add to Contacts
  For more information about creating Contacts, refer to Working with Contacts.
5. Click OK
Click SAVE & CLOSE

Using Copy and Paste to Add Members to a List

You can use copy and paste to easily create distribution lists from existing lists of email addresses. This is best used for lengthy lists where you do not want to copy and paste email addresses individually using Add New. For example, you can use an existing

list of email addresses in Word
list of email addresses in Excel
email addresses in an email message you've received

NOTES:
The email addresses in your list should be separated by semicolons (;).
If you want the Display name to be the person's name, you will have to edit individual members of the list once it is created.

From the program or message where you have the list of email addresses, select the list
Copy the list by pressing [Ctrl] + [C]
In Outlook, from the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Click the next to NEW, from the pull-down list, select Distribution List
In the Name text box, type a name for the list
Click SELECT MEMBERS
The Select Members dialog box appears.
In the Members text box, paste the email addresses by pressing [Ctrl] + [V]
Verify that the addresses are separated by semicolons (;)
Click OK
The email addresses appear in both the Name and the Email columns.
(Optional) To change the Display name to the person's name, modify the information for that member
See Modifying Distribution List Entries below.
Click SAVE & CLOSE

Modifying Distribution List Entries

If you need to make adjustments to a Distribution List, you can easily do so. Simply open the Distribution List and make the desired adjustments.

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Double click the desired Distribution List
The Distribution List dialog box appears.
To modify the information for an individual member:
1. Double click the member's name
  The E-mail Properties dialog box appears.
2. Make the desired changes
3. Click OK
To add additional members, click SELECT MEMBERS or ADD NEW
To remove members, select the member's name and click REMOVE
When complete, click SAVE & CLOSE

Deleting Distribution Lists

If you no longer need a Distribution List, you can delete the list by any of the following methods:

Deleting Distribution Lists: Menu Option

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Select the Distribution List to be deleted
From the Edit menu, select Delete

Deleting Distribution Lists: Keyboard Option

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Select the Distribution List to be deleted
Press [Shift]+[Delete]
A confirmation dialog box appears.
Click YES

Deleting Distribution Lists: Quick Menu Option

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Right click the Distribution List to be deleted » select Delete

Sending Messages to a Distribution List

Sending a message to a Distribution List is very similar to sending a message to a Contact.

Sending Messages to a Distribution List: Toolbar Option

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Select the Distribution List that you want to send a message to
From the Standard toolbar, click NEW MESSAGE TO CONTACT

Sending Messages to a Distribution List: Quick Menu Option

From the Navigation pane, click CONTACTS
Right click the Distribution List you want to send to » select Create » New Message to Contact

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