QuikSand
11-25-2015, 10:45 AM
Since this site has been so helpful with all manner of tech issues, I'm dipping in again for free advice.
My office has been using the MS suite for some time, and was very comfortable using "distribution lists" as a principal means to send out emails. We were frequently sending out messages to entire groups, or to individual members from within the groups, and life was fine.
A recent upgrade (not sure if it was recent for the world, or just for us) appears to have wiped out distribution lists and replaced them with "contact groups." And much of their former functionality seems to be gone.
Some online notes on how they work:
Create and edit a Contact Group (formerly distribution lists) - Outlook (https://support.office.com/en-nz/article/Create-and-edit-a-Contact-Group-formerly-distribution-lists-88ff6c60-0a1d-4b54-8c9d-9e1a71bc3023)
Here's the situation that irks me the most. I need to send an email to a set of 6 people from my Board and their support staff. I used to have two nice distribution lists - one for my Board and one for Board Assistants. It took me 45 seconds to click the right people from those two lists, put them into the right recipient fields, and my email was prepped to go. Now, as nearly as I/we can tell, I just have to search for each name individually in one master pool of addresses, meaning I have to remember or look up all the names of the assistants, and so forth. It's ridiculous, and I can't imagine ours is the only office suffering from this change.
Other than DUMP MICROSOFT, any hints? Does this problem ring a bell with anyone? Anyone know of a workaround?
My office has been using the MS suite for some time, and was very comfortable using "distribution lists" as a principal means to send out emails. We were frequently sending out messages to entire groups, or to individual members from within the groups, and life was fine.
A recent upgrade (not sure if it was recent for the world, or just for us) appears to have wiped out distribution lists and replaced them with "contact groups." And much of their former functionality seems to be gone.
Some online notes on how they work:
Create and edit a Contact Group (formerly distribution lists) - Outlook (https://support.office.com/en-nz/article/Create-and-edit-a-Contact-Group-formerly-distribution-lists-88ff6c60-0a1d-4b54-8c9d-9e1a71bc3023)
Here's the situation that irks me the most. I need to send an email to a set of 6 people from my Board and their support staff. I used to have two nice distribution lists - one for my Board and one for Board Assistants. It took me 45 seconds to click the right people from those two lists, put them into the right recipient fields, and my email was prepped to go. Now, as nearly as I/we can tell, I just have to search for each name individually in one master pool of addresses, meaning I have to remember or look up all the names of the assistants, and so forth. It's ridiculous, and I can't imagine ours is the only office suffering from this change.
Other than DUMP MICROSOFT, any hints? Does this problem ring a bell with anyone? Anyone know of a workaround?