Fields – Several questions

[Mary Ann]

I am experimenting with fields in Outlook 2003 and have a few questions about
what I have encountered.

1. In my Phone List View I have a field called Journal which is a tick box
field. What does this do?

2. I have created a new field in a Contact item to hold a particular phone
number. Is it possible to display this field in the Phone Number fields
grouping on the All Fields tab of the contact form? At the moment it only
appears in the User Defined Fields In This Item group.

3. I have created a new field in a Contact item, the Type is Date / Time
and the Format is March 06. When I save and close the item the format
changes to show the day, date and time. However when I use the field in a
table view, it displays the original format I set. How do I keep the
original format in the item?

4. In a Contact item on the All Fields tab the All Contacts group includes
User Field 1, 2, 3, and 4. What is the difference between these and new
fields I create?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

1. In my Phone List View I have a field called Journal which is a tick box

field. What does this do?

It shows whether the contact has been set for automatic journaling of emails and meeting requests.

2. I have created a new field in a Contact item to hold a particular phone
number. Is it possible to display this field in the Phone Number fields
grouping on the All Fields tab of the contact form? At the moment it only
appears in the User Defined Fields In This Item group.

No.

3. I have created a new field in a Contact item, the Type is Date / Time
and the Format is March 06. When I save and close the item the format
changes to show the day, date and time. However when I use the field in a
table view, it displays the original format I set. How do I keep the
original format in the item?

Right-click the table column headings, and choose Format Columns.

4. In a Contact item on the All Fields tab the All Contacts group includes
User Field 1, 2, 3, and 4. What is the difference between these and new
fields I create?

The built-in fields can be exported with Outlook's Import and Export Wizard.

You might also find the information at http://www.outlookcode.com/d/fields.htm useful.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Mary Ann]

Thank you Sue.

Regarding the format of new fields – I understand how to change the format
in a table view. I was wanting to know how to ensure the field kept my
original choice of format in on the All Fields tab of the Contact item.
After I have exited and re-opened the item the date format is changed.

Secondly, just to check my understanding – are you saying that the Export
wizard does not work on new fields I create? If so, how can I get that data
to Excel?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

1) I don't think there's any way to control the format on the All FIelds tab. Since you're using a custom form, you might want to consider hiding that tab.

2) Quick and dirty method:

1. Put all the items from your form in one folder.
2. Use a table view to display all the data fields that you want to export to Excel.
3. Choose Edit | Select All.
4. Choose Edit | Copy.
5. Paste to Excel.

If some of the fields are multi-line, see Eric Legault's handy tip for an Excel formula to break up the lines -- http://blogs.officezealot.com/legault/archive/2005/04/08/4502.aspx

The alternative is custom code or use a third-party application. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/customimport.htm .


--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Mary Ann]

Fantastic - thank you!

1) I don't think there's any way to control the format on the All FIelds tab. Since you're using a custom form, you might want to consider hiding that tab.

2) Quick and dirty method:

1. Put all the items from your form in one folder.
2. Use a table view to display all the data fields that you want to export to Excel.
3. Choose Edit | Select All.
4. Choose Edit | Copy.
5. Paste to Excel.

If some of the fields are multi-line, see Eric Legault's handy tip for an Excel formula to break up the lines -- http://blogs.officezealot.com/legault/archive/2005/04/08/4502.aspx

The alternative is custom code or use a third-party application. See http://www.outlookcode.com/d/customimport.htm .


--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers