Controlling the Display Name in Distribution Lists

We sometimes create personal distribution lists (DLs) in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 that mix names from the Global Address List (GAL) with names from Outlook contacts folders. For the GAL entries, the DL displays the person's name in the Name column and the email address in the E-mail column. But for the contacts, the DL displays the email address in both columns. How can we make the name for a contact appear in the Name column of a personal DL?

Outlook 2003 gives users complete control over the display name for each email address on a contact. This display name is what appears in a DL's Name column. Depending on how you created the contact, the display name might be the person's name, email address, or a combination of the name and email address.

The solution to the DL display, therefore, is to open each contact that you want to use in the DL and set the display name to show just the contact's name. Then, save the contact and add it to the DL.