How to create a distribution list from your contacts in Outlook 2016, 2010, 2007

Do you tend to send emails to the same group of people? Save some time and effort emailing all those contacts at once by creating a custom contact group in Outlook 2016. At present, this feature only works if you have a business or school account, not a personal Office 365 account.




Outlook's Contact Group feature lets you send an email to a group of email addresses quickly under one name, e.g., "Family & Friends" or "Fellow Board Members." When you send an email to the Contact Group, it goes to all of the recipients you've specified for that group. Here's how to set it up.
1. Open Outlook and click on the Contacts icon in the bottom left navigation pane. (It looks like the silhouette of two people)
2. Click the New Contact Group button under the Home tab. A new window opens.
3. Under the Contact Group tab, click Add Members and select From Outlook Contacts.
4. Hold down the CTRL key as you select each email contact you want to add to the Contact Group. 
5. Click the Members button to add those specific contacts as your group members and click OK.




6. Enter a name for the group. after checking that you've got all the names and emails you want for your contact group.
7. Click Save & Close under the Contact Group tab. 
When you want to send a message to all of the members in this group, create a new email as usual, but put your new Contact Group name in the "To..." field. (Start typing it in and you should be able to select the group from Outlook's autocomplete.) You can check who's in the distribution list by clicking the plus (+) sign besides the Contact Group name and, if needed, delete or add email addresses to the recipients list.
This is one of the best email shortcuts in Outlook when you have to send a mass email. You can also add the Contact Group to the CC or BCC field. Just make sure you upgrade your Contact Group if and when someone should no longer be on your emailing list. (Go to Contacts, click on the group name, and then click Edit to add or remove contacts from the group.) 

Create a contact group in outlook 2010

  • Create a contact group with new names or add names from the Address Book    
    1. In Contacts, on the Home tab, in the New group, click New Contact Group.
    2. In the Name box, type a name for the contact group.
    3. On the Contact Group tab, in the Members group, click Add Members, and then click From Outlook Contacts, From Address Book or New Email Contact.
    4. If you are adding a new email contact, enter the information for the person in the Add New Memberdialog box.
      If you are adding a member from Outlook Contacts or an Address Book, do the following:
      1. In the Address Book drop-down list, click the address book that contains the email addresses that you want to include in your contact group.
      2. In the list of names, click the names that you want, and then click Members. You can add names from different address books to the same contact group.
    5. Do this for each person whom you want to add to the contact group, and then click OK.
      The contact group is saved in your Contacts folder under the name that you give it.


  • Create a contact group by copying names from an email message    
    1. In the message that you want to copy the names from, click the names in the To or Cc box.
    2. Right-click your selection, and then click Copy.
    3. In Mail, on the Home tab, in the New group, click New Items, then click More Items, and then click Contact Group.
    4. In the Name box, type a name for the contact group.
    5. On the Contact Group tab, in the Members group, click Add Members, and then click either From Outlook Contacts or From Address Book.
    6. At the bottom of the Select Members dialog box, in the Members box, right-click, and then click Paste.

Create a contact group in outlook 2007


Do one of the following:
  • Create a distribution list by using names in the Address Book    
    1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Distribution List.
    2. In the Name box, type the name of your distribution list. (For example, "Political Friends.")
    3. On the Distribution List tab, click Select Members.
    4. In the Address Book drop-down list, click the address book that contains the e-mail addresses you want to include in your distribution list.
    5. In the Search box, type a name that you want to include. When the name you're searching for appears in the list below, click it, and then click Members.
    6. Do this for each person whom you want to add to the distribution list, and then click OK.
      If you want to add a longer description of the distribution list, on the Distribution List tab, click Notes, and then type the text.
      The distribution list is saved in your Contacts folder under the name that you give it.


  • Create a distribution list by copying names from an e-mail message    
    1. In the message that you want to copy the names from, select the names in the To or Cc box.
    2. Right-click your selection, and then click Copy on the shortcut menu.
    3. Click the Microsoft Office Button Office button image , and under Create New Outlook Item, click Distribution list.
    4. On the Distribution List tab, in the Members group, click Select Members.
    5. At the bottom of the Select Members dialog box, in the Members box, right-click and then click Paste on the shortcut menu.
      Note: A member does not need to be in your Address Book in order to be added to the distribution list. The member's name and e-mail address will be included when you copy and paste from the original e-mail message.
    6. Click OK.
    7. In the Name box, type a name for the distribution list.
    8. On the Distribution List tab, in the Actions group, click Save & Close.

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