But you said new Contacts display correctly, right?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"AusRob" wrote in message
...
Hi Russ,

Thanks again for your input. I don't think that I have done anything
unusual
or careless here, as I'm always particular about having the setup "just
right" for important issues such as maintenance of my customer database.
With
respect, it does appear to me that this sequence has changed for no
reason;
all records appeared correct until recently. What really frustrates me is
that something has changed, and Outlook will not allow me to change it
back
again....

The issue that baffles me is that within the Full Name dialog box, the
First
and Last Names are listed correctly, i.e. First = John, and Last =
Smith....
it's when I view the Full Name anywhere else but within this dialog box
that
it displays as "Smith John".

Without any "fix" evident, I guess I'm just going to have to export the
data
to an external database, and re-import into Outlook, making sure that the
First and Last Names enter the correct "slots".
--
AusRob


"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

Doubtful that Outlook reversed the sequence on its own for no reason.
More
likely, these Contacts were created with the wrong sequence preference
set
or without your parsing the name elements yourself. With short names,
Outlook can get confused and may not parse the elements correctly. It is
always better to use the Full Name dialog box to enter Contact name
elements.
If new Contacts are sequenced correctly, then Outlook is functioning
normally.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"AusRob" wrote in message
...
Hi Russ,

Thanks for your response....

I presume that your reference to Contact Folder view is the form which
appears when I click New Contact.... if I then enter a new Contact from
scratch, the "Full Name" appears correctly after entry. In addition, if
I
open the Contact Form/Folder(?) of any of the "Smith John" records and
re-enter the Full Name as "John Smith" over the top of "Smith John", it
changes to the correct sequence, and stays that way. The "File As"
entry
remains at "Smith, John" (the format I have selected) regardless of
whether
the Full Name shows as "Smith John" or "John Smith".

It seems that the Full Names of all of my pre-existing
records/contacts,
which had the correct sequence previously, have changed to "Last First"
format without warning.

Thanks & Regards,
--
AusRob


"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

Clarify the views to which you are referring: Contact Folder or
Address
Book? If you create a new Contact from scratch and parse the name
elements
yourself correctly, what do you see in a Contact Folder view?
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"AusRob" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone,

In the Contacts database of Outlook 2003, within the Contact Form,
the
Full
Name is listed in reverse, e.g. Smith John. This reversed format
also
shows
in other views, where the Full Name is listed in the column of a
table
layout.

If I select "Full Name..." on the Contact Form for any record, it
indicates
that First name is "John", and Last name is "Smith", i.e. the first
and
last
names are given correctly, however they do not appear in the correct
order
when listed together as "Full Name".

Looking at ToolsEmail AccountsView or Change....Outlook Address
BookChange....Show Names by...., "First Last" is checked.

Looking at ToolsOptionsPreferencesContact Options... Default
"Full
Name"
order is "First (Middle) Last". Default "File As" order is "Last,
First".

Can anyone provide any clues as to how I can get the Full Name to
list
correctly? i.e. "John Smith" instead of "Smith John".

I will appreciate any assistance, Thanks...
--
AusRob