A distribution list is a single data item, stored in a contacts folder, that contains a list of names and addresses. It contains no other information -- no phone numbers, no company names, no mailing addresses, etc.

DLs are quite useless, IMO, except for small, relatively static lists, such as peer colleagues or a committee whose membership changes only once a year. In those scenarios, you can send a message to everyone on the list by simply typing the name of the list into a message's To box.

The vastly more detailed information available in individual contact records in a contacts folder allows for reports, mail merges, searches, and other similar operations.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54

"serg.kr" wrote in message ...
Outlook allows you to have contact folders and distribution lists. They seem
to serve a very similar purpose. What is the difference? How are they *meant*
to be used?