Most of us who are used to phone books like to look up contacts by the person's last name. In Outlook, when you compose a new message, and then click the To or Cc button, the Contacts list may display names that are sorted by the contact's first name. Here's how you can change the list to display entries by the contact's last name.

Sort the Contacts list by the File As field

1. Start Outlook.
2. On the Tools menu, click E-mail accounts.
3. Click View or change existing directories or address books, and then click Next.
4. Click Outlook Address Book, and then click Change.
5. Under Outlook Address Books, click Contacts: Mailbox - YourMailboxName, and then under Show names by, click File As (Smith, John).
6. Click Close, and then click Finish.

Verify that the newly created contacts are filed in last name, first name order

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Preferences tab, and then click Contact Options.
3. In the Default "File As" order list, click Last, First.
4. Click OK twice.
5. To view the new Contacts list sort order, restart Outlook.

 Note   If you want to display a particular contact in a different order than the rest of the Contact list, you can modify the File As field in individual contact cards. For example, you may want to sort some contacts by the Company field.