[Windows Mobile Apps and Games] bpaquette:
In the spirit of xmas, i figured i'd try & contribute something to the community

I just upgraded to the new Energyrom with sense 2.5, and noticed that it will search your facebook for people that match contacts, and give you the option to sync certain info with your phone, ie, pictures.

Problem is, if you're anything like me, your contacts aren't exactly in WinMo-friendly format. Specifically, it'll only sync contacts where the first & last name are in separate fields. Having just imported my contacts from an old phone via sim card to my raphael, this was not the case.

Anyway, here's how to fix it (note that if you do this, it will overwrite any photos you may have on contacts with their facebook photos. The solution to this is to, when your phone asks if you want to link facebook profiles with contacts, deselect the names of people whose pictures you'd like to keep.

Step 1: Sync your contacts with outlook, then go to Contacts in outlook

Step 2: In outlook, go to file->import/export

Step 3: Click Export to a File and click next

Step 4: Click Microsoft Excel 97-2003, click next

Step 5: click contacts, click next

Step 6:Select a destination file and click next until that process is finished

Now open Excel

Step 1: highlight the column with your full names

Step 2: Click the Data tab, click Text to Clumns

Step 3: Click next

Step 4: Deselect all delimiters except Space

Step 5: Click next until finished

This will split off all of your last names into the next column. Do any necessary tidying up by hand until you have two clear columns with first/last name. This might be a good time to remove duplicates, the function right next to the Text to Columns function in the data tab.

Save your excel file.

Now back to Outlook

Step 1: Go to contacts, delete all of your contacts

Step 2: File -> import/export

Step 3: Import from another program or file, click next

Step 4: select Microsoft Excel 97-2003

Step 5: make sure "File to Import" is the file you just finished

Step 6: Your call on duplicates, shouldn't matter. Click through until finished

Okay, now just resynch with your phone.

If your having the problem of all your contacts filed as Last, First, follow these steps:

(note: i didn't write this code, but i forgot at what site i found it, so i'm not giving credit where it's due... if you're curious, just google it)

Step 1: Press alt+f11

Step 2: In projects window, go to ThisOutlookSession

Step 3: Paste the code below

Step 4: Uncomment the strFileAs line that you want to format your contacts as

Step 5: close VB editor

Step 6: Go to tools -> macros -> macros

Step 7: Run your new macro. voila.

Public Sub ChangeFileAs()
Dim objOL As Outlook.Application
Dim objNS As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim objContact As Outlook.ContactItem
Dim objItems As Outlook.Items
Dim objContactsFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder
Dim obj As Object
Dim strFirstName As String
Dim strLastName As String
Dim strFileAs As String

On Error Resume Next

Set objOL = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
Set objNS = objOL.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Set objContactsFolder = objNS.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts)
Set objItems = objContactsFolder.Items

For Each obj In objItems
'Test for contact and not distribution list
If obj.Class = olContact Then
Set objContact = obj

With objContact
' Uncomment the strFileAs line for the desired format

'Lastname, Firstname (Company) format
' strFileAs = .FullNameAndCompany

'Firstname Lastname format
' strFileAs = .FullName

'Lastname, Firstname format
' strFileAs = .LastNameAndFirstName

'Company name only
' strFileAs = .CompanyName

'Companyname (Lastname, Firstname)
' strFileAs = .CompanyAndFullName

.FileAs = strFileAs

.Save
End With
End If

Err.Clear
Next

Set objOL = Nothing
Set objNS = Nothing
Set obj = Nothing
Set objContact = Nothing
Set objItems = Nothing
Set objContactsFolder = Nothing
End Sub