How to: Programatically Change the Display Format for All Contacts

In Outlook, you can specify the the default setting for how to file new contacts through the options for Contacts, as well as when you create the new contact. For example, the default setting is Last, First, which files a contact by the last name followed by the first name. However, changing this setting only applies to new contacts that you create. For contacts that already exist, if you want to change the way that their names are filed by, for example, changing from the default Last, First to First, Last, you will have to either do it individually for each existing contact in the inspector, or, you will have to write a macro to change the setting for all existing contacts in the Contacts folder.

This topic shows a code sample that goes through all the Contact items in the default Contacts folder and uses the FileAs property of each Contact item to specify the string to file the contact by; in this particular example, the string is changed to first name followed by a blank and then the last name. The code sample then saves the changes to the Contact item.

Note
Generally, a folder in Outlook can contain heterogeneous items, and the Contact folder can contain ContactItem objects as well as other items. The code sample ensures that it only changes the file-as format for Contact items by filtering on the message class IPM.Contact. For more information on item types and message classes, see Item Types and Message Classes.

  Private Sub ReFileContacts()
    Dim items As items, item As ContactItem, folder As folder
    Dim contactItems As Outlook.items
    Dim itemContact As Outlook.ContactItem
Set folder = Session.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts)
Set items = folder.items
Count = items.Count
If Count = 0 Then
    MsgBox "Nothing to do!"
    Exit Sub
End If

'Filter on the message class to obtain only contact items in the folder
Set contactItems = items.Restrict("[MessageClass]='IPM.Contact'")

For Each itemContact In contactItems
   itemContact.FileAs = itemContact.FirstName + " " + itemContact.LastName
   itemContact.Save
Next

MsgBox "Your contacts have been re-filed."

End Sub