How to Create and Manage Group Mailing Lists in Microsoft Outlook 2007

How to Create and Manage Group Mailing Lists in Microsoft Outlook 2007
Page content

Making Group Mailing Lists in Outlook

If you have a team, committee, board, or family members and friends you send email to on a regular basis, a distribution list saves you time. You won’t have to enter each email address or contact name. Instead, you enter the group name and Outlook takes care of the rest.

A distribution list, or group mailing list, contains a group of Contacts with its own name. You might create lists called “Board,” “Team”, and “Department.” If you use Exchange, you can also use distribution lists in task requests and meeting requests.

Follow these steps to create a new distribution list:

  1. Click New from the File menu and select Distribution List, or use Ctrl+Shift+L shortcut.
  2. Enter a name into the Name box.
  3. Click Select Members from the Distribution List tab’s Members group for those listed in Contacts.
  4. Select the Address Book by clicking the down arrow under Address book.
  5. Enter the name into the search box to quickly navigate the list, select the name, and click Members.
  6. Repeat Step 5 for each member you want in the distribution list, and click OK when finished.
  7. Click Add New from the Distribution List tab’s Members group to add members who don’t appear in Contacts.
  8. Complete the Add New Member form and click OK.
  9. Click Save & Close.

Send an email to the newly created distribution list by opening a new e-mail message and entering the name of the list into the To box. You can click To and open the Contact list to search for the name of the distribution list. Write the email message and send it.

Save time by clicking the plus sign (+) next to the distribution list in the To box and click OK to expand the list showing the members’ names. The disadvantage of this method is that you can’t collapse the list. This comes in handy if you’re planning a surprise for one or two members on the list and you need to remove them from the email distribution.

To add or delete names from a distribution list, click the Address Book icon and locate the distribution list. Double-click the list to manage the list. Click Remove to delete a name. Click Save & Close when you finish.

Looking for more user guides and tutorials? Be sure to browse through the other items in Bright Hub’s extensive library of Microsoft Outlook tips and tricks. New and updated items are added on a regular basis, so bookmark us and check back often.

This post is part of the series: Outlook 2007 Contacts

Be in charge of your address book holding all your contacts’ information and use it to the fullest.

  1. Create a New Contact and Business Card in Outlook 2007
  2. Create Distribution Lists in Outlook 2007
  3. Create another Address Book in Outlook 2007
  4. Find, Forward and Print Contact Information in Outlook 2007