How to Create Distribution List / Contact Group in Outlook 2010

I guess you are familiar with distribution list. You have been using distribution list with previous versions of MS Office older than 2010. It is now called Contact Group in Office 2010.

Distribution list is a collection of email addresses under one name. It is used when you have to send an email to several people in your contacts. The most obvious way is to add all the recipients addresses manually and send it. It is lot of work and there is a chance that you might miss out one or more email addresses from your desired list. Distribution list solves that problem as well. You just have to create a new distribution list and add all the email address in the list and save it with a name. When you want to send the email to this newly created distribution list, you just have to add it as if you are adding an email address. This will send email to everybody in that list.

Now, what is "Contact Group"?. Contact Group (Outlook 2010) is the new name for the same old distribution list as known in previous version of MS Outlook. It works same as distribution list and an email sent to a Contact Group will send email to all the recipient listed in the group.

Contact Group/Distribution List can be included in messages, task requests, meeting requests and in other Contact Group / Distribution list.


CREATE A CONTACT GROUP:

Now lets talk about how to create a Contact Group in Outlook 2010 -

1. Open Outllook in your computer - Click on Start Button -> All Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Microsoft Outllook 2010

2. Once Outllook is open, Click on Contacts in the left pane

3. Then Click on the "New Contact Group" and type the name of the Contact Group in the name box

4. Under Contact Group tab, Click on Members Group and then click on "Add Members".

5. After you have clicked on "Add Members", you will be given three (3) choices - [i]. From Outlook Contacts [ii]. From Address Book [iii]. New E-mail Contact

6. If you are adding contacts from Outlook contacts or Address Book, do following - go to the Address Book drop down list and click on the name you want to add to the list and then Click on "Members" to add the name to the Contact Group. You need to repeat this process for every contact you want to add to the Contact Group List.

7. If you have selected to add members from E-mail Contact, you will be required to enter the information for the person in the "Add New Member" dialog box.

Add A Distribution List Received From Someone Else To Your Contacts in Outlook 2007

This is very simple. You just need few click to save the distribution list received from someone else to your Contacts in Outlook 2007. Distribution Lists are stored in Contacts folder by default. So, when you receive a distribution list from someone else, you can save it to your contact list as well.

This is how it is achieved -

1. Open the message which has distribution list.

2. Now, right-click the distribution in the deader of the message and click on "Add to Outlook Contacts".

3. Congratulations, You have successfully added the distribution list from a message.

Create A Distribution List By Copying Names From An E-mail In Outlook 2007

Distribution list in Outlook is a collection of e-mail address under one name. If you send email to that one contact, every e-mail address added in the list will receive e-mail from you. This saves time and it is efficient way to send e-mail to a group of people in your organization.

In this guide, we are going to discuss how to create a distribution list by copying names from an email you received which has multiple e-mail addresses.

Now, Lets see how this is done -

1. Open the message which has name you want to copy and create a distribution list from that.

2. Select the names in To or Cc box and right-click your selection and click "Copy"

3.  Now Click on "Microsoft Office Button" -> "Create New Outlook Item" -> "Distribution List"

4. While in "Members" Group under "Distribution List" tab, Click "Select Members"

5. Now - in the "Members" box at the bottom of the "Select Members" dialog box, right-click and paste the name copied earlier.

6. Click OK

7. Type the name of the distribution list and click "Save & Close" under "Distribution List" tab -> "Actions" group.

Create A Distribution List In Outlook 2007

A distribution List in Outlook 2007 is nothing but a collection of contacts and stored by default in "Contacts" folder in your computer. Basically, it provides an easy way to send e-mail to group of people in your organization or friends list. A message sent to a distribution list goes to all the recipient listed in the distribution list. A distribution list can be included in a message, task, meeting request and even in other distribution list.

We are going to create a distribution list by adding names from Address Book

1. From the "File" Menu -> New, click on "Distribution List"

2. Type the name of the distribution list in "Name" box.

3. Click on "Select Members" under "Distribution List" tab

4. Select the address book which contains the e-mails you want to add to the distribution  list in the "Address Book" drop-down

5. Now - Either "Search" the e-mail addresses or  scroll through the list, click on the name you want to add and then click on "Members" to add to the list. You will have to repeat this step for each e-mail you want to add to the list.

6. Click OK once done adding members and this will save a distribution list with the name you provided under Step-2 in "Contacts" folder in your computer.

What is Windows Blue?

First of all, Windows Blue is related to Windows 8. Recently, you have been hearing lot about people are not happy with Windows 8. Based on the feedback received from users and channel partners, Microsoft has planned an update for Windows 8 and Windows Blue is the code name for that update.

This update is expected to be available later this year. It has also been unveiled by Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President for Windows, that a build will be releasing at the end of June for public preview before the final release and more update about release/features for Windows Blue is expected in June.

At this point of time, there are lot of speculation but it is not sure what has been really planned in this update. This is what Tami Reller, Chief marketing officer and CFO, has to say -

Windows Blue is a codename for an update that will be available later this year, building on the bold vision set forward with Windows 8 to deliver the next generation of tablets and PCs. It will deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance, while creating new opportunities for our ecosystem. It will provide more options for businesses, and give consumers more options for work and play. The Windows Blue update is also an opportunity for us to respond to the customer feedback that we’ve been closely listening to since the launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT.

[Via Microsoft Blog]

Update(16 May 2013): Windows CFO Tami Reller has revealed that Windows 8.1 will be the official name  for Windows Blue. This update will be made available free of charge to existing Windows 8 users. - Reports ZDNet

View The Names in Contact Group in Outlook 2010

MS Outlook 2010 has a feature which can let you create "Contact Group". It is known  "Distribution List" in earlier version of office. Either you have created a Contacts Group or received an email which has Contact Group, and you want to know who else are on that group apart from you. You find yourself in that need, here is what you have to follow-

Steps:

1. Open the message which has Contact Group in it

2. Click on "To"

3. Select the address book that contains the Contact Group from the Address Book drop-down list

4.  Browse or search for the name of the Contact Group you want to open and right-click the Contact Group and then click Properties

5. Now, the recipient names will be displayed in a separate window

Shortcut Method: There is a shortcut to view the recipient names of a Contact Group - Click on the plus sign (+) in the "To" box and that will expand and displays all the names right there. The list can be collapsed after you are done viewing.

Merge Skype Account with Microsoft or Facebook Account

After the acquisition of Skype by Microsoft, Skype has been displaying a message at login screen to merge your Skype account with either to Microsoft or Facebook Account. There are still many people out there who has not merged their Skype account with Microsoft account(i.e. hotmail.com, live.com, outlook.com account) yet. This is not a big deal until you get your Windows 8 machine and wants to use Skype. Skype in Windows 8 doesn't allow you to login using Skype ID. You have to have your Skype account linked to your Microsoft account in order to signin and use Skye service in Windows 8. So, how do you do that? Lets follow steps below and you will be set -

1. Download the latest Skype Version or update it to latest version if you already have one installed in your computer.

2. Open the Skype and when you at the right side of its Window - you will see two links for "Alternatively, Sign in with - Microsot Account or Facebook". What does it mean by Microsoft Account is that you can sign in to Skype with your existing Hotmail.com, live.com or Outlook.com accounts. That's the Microsoft account.

3. Next, Click on the "Microsoft Account" and sign in with your existing hotmail.com or outlook.com account. If you don't have one yet, click on the link "Sign me Now" and create a brand new account with either hotmail.com or outlook.com. You have to have one of these account in order to keep using Skype.

4. If your Microsoft Account is not linked to any Skype ID, it should present two options for you to choose from - "I have a Skype account" and "I'm new to Skype". Select your option as "I have a Skype account" as I suppose you already have a Skype account. If you don't, go ahead and sign for a new Skype account and then link it with your Microsoft Account now.

5. Next, you will be asked to sign in to Skype using your Skype account and Skype Password. Don't confuse yourself with Microsoft account. Lot of people seems to mess this up. Best practice in my opinion will be to set same password for Skype account and Microsoft account.

6. After successful Sign In to Skype account, Skype will display a message showing that - "One last step - merge your account" and " From now on, Please use your Microsoft account xxxxx(i.e. your Skype account) to sign into Skype".

7. That's it. You are all set now. Just follow the screen and you should be good.

Unlink Skype Account with Microsoft or Facebook Accounts

I ran into problem this morning when I was trying to merge a Skype Account to hotmail account for one of my friends. The failure was due to the reason that he had merged his skype account with his yahoo account. In theory, Skype account can not be merged with more than one account for Microsoft account. The error message was not clear so I started looking for possible reason.

I took following steps to fix this problem.

Steps:

- Log into your skype account - https://secure.skype.com/

- This takes you to the profile overview (If it doesn't, click on your username on the left top corner).

- Scroll the page down and look for Account Details as shown in the picture below -

- Click on Account Settings as highlighted in red.

- It will show the Linked Microsoft Account as well as Facebook if you have linked your Facebook account as shown below -

- Click on the "Unlink" as shown in the screenshot above to unlink skypoe from your Microsoft and Facebook Accounts.

- Now, you are ready to link your account with another Microsoft Account of your Choice.

More reading: SKYPE FORUM

Format for Naming Drives Under Linux

This is very important to know how Linux names its drive. If you understand the naming convention of drives under Linux, you would easily figure out if the drive is IDE or SCSI.

IDE convention is - /dev/hdx# : Where x stands for drive and # stands for partition number that the distribution is on. The # would be 1 if there is only one partition on the drive.

Drive                          Location

/dev/hda       (ide0)    – Primary Master         - Master drive on the primary IDE bus
/dev/hdb       (ide1)   – Primary Slave            - Slave drive on the primary IDE bus
/dev/hdc       (ide2)   – Secondary Master      - Master drive on the secondary IDE bus
/dev/hdd       (ide3)   – Secondary Slave         - Slave drive on the secondary IDE bus

Note: In x86 PC architecture and IDE, each hard drive can have only 4 primary partitions and the first partition is denoted by 1. Hence, they will look like this –

- hda1 : First Primary Partition
- hda2 : Second Primary Partition
- hda3 : Third Primary Partition
- hda4 : Fourth Primary Partition

SCSI hard drive naming convention - /dev/sdx# :

Where x corresponds to the order in which the device is found at boot time – lowest SCSI ID number would be the first device found by SCSI BIOS. SCSI devices are listed such as sda, sdb, sdc, sde etc. in /dev directory.

x Stands for partition number same as for IDE drive (i.e. partition can range from 1 to 16 in these disks)

Note: fdisk –l cab ne used to check the list of partitions on a drive. (Use fdisk command with caution as it might cause data loss if used incorrectly)

Why to use Linux?

Linux distributions have come to a stage now where you should not look for reasons to use it. But if you are not convinced yet, look into the reasons below which might make sense –

- It’s a powerful operating system. It still takes less resources and very stable system.

- The best part is that it’s free. All the goodness of Linux is available free of cost.

- It offers some of the most matured and reputed development tools for development.

- You can run your mail, web, print, database, FTP, NFS services with Linux easily as Linux is very stable. Some of best servers are Apache for web, MySql for database, PHP for server side scripting etc..

- Portability - Linux can run on various architectures.

- Source Code for Linux is freely available. If you don’t like something about Linux, you can make modifications by yourself.

- Linux does very well with multitasking – it handles many applications at once without any problem.

- The most important thing I like about Linux is the ability to switch ON and Off the X-Windows – If don’t like GUI interface in Linux, either you can switch to another type of X-Windows window manager or switch it OFF completely and work in text mode only. There is no need for GUI interface if you are working on Linux Server.