Viewing Address Book by category sorted alphabetically by name

[bsneale]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Is it possible for me to view my address book sorted by category and be able to view my contacts alphabetically within each category? I currently have my address book sorted by category (family, work, etc.) but they are not listed alphabetically, which is kind of a pain due to the number of contacts i have. Is there some sort of rule I could set up, where I can sort FIRST by category and SECOND by last name and THIRD by first name, or some sort of combination that gets the result I am looking for?

 

[Diane Ross]

Is it possible for me to view my address book sorted by category and be able
to view my contacts alphabetically within each category?

Yes.

When you view the Address Book window there are columns listing the info.
Simply select the column you want to sort by that criteria. You can toggle
the column to show a/z or z/a.

Entourage 2008 has the ability to show First Name and Last Name.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ng_views/column_view.html>

 

[Ed Kimball]

Yes.

When you view the Address Book window there are columns listing the info.
Simply select the column you want to sort by that criteria. You can toggle
the column to show a/z or z/a.

Entourage 2008 has the ability to show First Name and Last Name.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ng_views/column_view.html>

Diane,
That doesn't quite answer the question. The question was, essentially, can I
sort on TWO columns simultaneously -- specifically name within category.

As far as I can tell, there is no way to do that, at least in 2004. :-(
Has that feature been added to E 2008?

 

[bsneale]

Exactly, for some reason when I sort by Category, all members in each category are NOT listed alphabetically. So if I have a large Family category (which I do) or Job Category (which I also do) it is difficult to get a good view of my Address Book. I could always sort by Name, of course, but then all of my entries are jumbled. So is there a setting in Entourage that can be changed so that you can view Categories sorted by Name? It appears as if the contacts within each Category are currently listed in the order in which they were last modified, for some reason. This is not a helpful default sorting method.

Any thoughts?

 

[Diane Ross]

Exactly, for some reason when I sort by Category, all members in each category
are NOT listed alphabetically.

I guess I didn't explain it fully.

Sort by Category
Select Last Name column when sorted in that category

I just did it in my Address Book and it should be the same in Entourage
2004.

 

[Ed Kimball]

I guess I didn't explain it fully.

Sort by Category
Select Last Name column when sorted in that category

I just did it in my Address Book and it should be the same in Entourage
2004.

It wasn't when I tried it in 2004.

First, if I sort by Category, then sort by Name, I have a sort by Name; no
indication of category.

I had hoped that the other order (first by name and then by category), but
after that sort, it appears that contacts are sorted first by category, then
by order in which they were added to the Address book. Not very
satisfactory.

 

[bsneale]

I'm getting the same result as Ed. Here are the exect steps I have followed:

1) Sort by Last Name (clicked on "Last Name" column), then Sort by Category (clicked on "Category" column). Result: Categories appear in alphabetical order, but individual contacts in each Category are not in alphabetical order, they are arranged by the date they were added to Entourage.

2) Sort by Category (clicked on "Category" column) then Sort by Last Name (clicked on "Last Name" column). Result: Last Names appear in alphabetical order, but Categories to which they belong are not in alphabetical order, they are arranged by the date they were added to Entourage.

Bottom line is this: can contacts be listed in alphabetical order (by last name) when sorted by category? Is there a way to "turn off" the default secondary sorting method (date added to the Address Book)?

If Entourage is not currently configured to do this, can this be changed in the next update to Entourage? A default secondary sorting by last name is infinitely more effective than a default secondary sorting by date added to Address Book.

If there is a way to set this up as Entourage is currently configured, could you please explain?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

 

[Diane Ross]

First, if I sort by Category, then sort by Name, I have a sort by Name; no
indication of category.

If they are sorted by category, then that's all that's showing. It's like a
mini ab for that category.

Diane

 

[Diane Ross]

In the popup select category <select category>
Click on name column

Do you guys need a screenshot?

Diane

 

[Ed Kimball]

In the popup select category <select category>
Click on name column

Do you guys need a screenshot?

Diane

That gives sorted by names in ONE category; OP wanted (and I too would like)
sorted by name within category for all categories.
Equivalent SQL would be something like
SELECT NAME, CATEGORY <, other columns> FROM CONTACTS
SORT BY CATEGORY, NAME

Entourage 2004 does not seem to be able to do this. Can Entourage 2008?

 

[Diane Ross]

That gives sorted by names in ONE category; OP wanted (and I too would like)

I thought you only wanted one category alphabetized.

sorted by name within category for all categories.
Equivalent SQL would be something like
SELECT NAME, CATEGORY <, other columns> FROM CONTACTS
SORT BY CATEGORY, NAME

Entourage 2004 does not seem to be able to do this. Can Entourage 2008?

You can only do one category at a time. You might be able to do this in
Excel.

 

[Kenneth B Winiecki]

Too bad no one has replied yet. I have a similar request: sort my contacts
by first name within last name. The old punched card sorting machines solved
this by sorting the cards on the lowest key first (e.g., first name), then
sorting them again on the higher key (e.g., last name). That approach
doesn't work in Entourage.

Ken
<-- Replace fake with .mv; remove .invalid

 

[Adam Bailey]

Too bad no one has replied yet.

Actually there were numerous replies to this topic.

You can view them in the Google Groups archive at:
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...83c128fc/5961e04ba8e31b6d?q=#5961e04ba8e31b6d

 

[Diane Ross]

Are you aware that in Entourage 2008 you can have a First Name and Last Name
column? Add these and remove the old Name column. The old Name column was
confusing.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ng_views/column_view.html>

Sort by Category, then click on the Last Name column to sort alphabetically.

 

[Ed Kimball]

Are you aware that in Entourage 2008 you can have a First Name and Last Name
column? Add these and remove the old Name column. The old Name column was
confusing.

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/ng_views/column_view.html>

Sort by Category, then click on the Last Name column to sort alphabetically.

But does that solve the OP's problem of sorting by first name within last
name, or more to the point, by first name within last name within category
(i.e., first by category, then by last name, then by first).

As the OP said, many apps (including Excel) save the previous sort order
when sorting by a new field. If Entourage did that, you could sort in
reverse order (first, then last, then category) to get what OP wants.
Unfortunately, Entourage doesn't work that way. :-(

 

[Diane Ross]

But does that solve the OP's problem of sorting by first name within last
name, or more to the point, by first name within last name within category
(i.e., first by category, then by last name, then by first).

As the OP said, many apps (including Excel) save the previous sort order
when sorting by a new field. If Entourage did that, you could sort in
reverse order (first, then last, then category) to get what OP wants.
Unfortunately, Entourage doesn't work that way. :-(

This is getting a bit confusing. In Entourage contacts....

If you sort by Category in the popup, then you can sort within by columns.

If not, then give me an exact example of what you would want.

 

[Ed Kimball]

This is getting a bit confusing. In Entourage contacts....

If you sort by Category in the popup, then you can sort within by columns.

If not, then give me an exact example of what you would want.

Diane,
I'm still using E 2004, which may be different from E 2008.
If I sort by Category (by clicking on the column label), I get contacts
sorted by category (ACM, Advertising, etc.), but the contacts appear to be
in random order within each category.

What I (and the OP) would like is to have the contacts sorted by name WITHIN
category. I.e., the equivalent of the following SQL Select statement:
Select * from AddressBook
order by category, name;
I haven't found a way to get Entourage to do that for me. I don't understand
your statement that "you can sort within by columns." What do you mean and
how do you accomplish it?

Thanks,

 

[Diane Ross]

If I sort by Category (by clicking on the column label), I get contacts
sorted by category (ACM, Advertising, etc.), but the contacts appear to be
in random order within each category.

You should be able to click on the columns now to sort. AFAIK this view is
the same in 04 and 08. I sent you a screenshot off list.

 

[Ed Kimball]

You should be able to click on the columns now to sort. AFAIK this view is
the same in 04 and 08. I sent you a screenshot off list.

As I replied off-list, you selected one category and sorted within that. I
was looking for a listing of ALL contacts sorted first by category, then
name within category. That was my understanding of the OP's request, too.
Entourage refuses to do that.

 

[greenjack77]

I may be a bit late coming to the party on this. Would it be useful to
use the "Category is" box first to select a category, and then sort
the names that remain by first or last name? It means you only get a
list of one category at once but that may be all you need.