Be careful changing the full name format within Dynamics CRM

One of the settings that is available to a Dynamics CRM administrator is the ability to change the format of the full name.  The options can be seen below:

 

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I’ve seen a few customers change the the format from the default, First Name Last Name, to Last Name, First Name.  This allows you to Contacts and Leads sorted by last name.

The Issues

This is very effective, but here are some issues:

  • when performing a quick search ( typing in a name in the search box at the top of a view ), you must enter the full name as Last Name, First Name, instead of First Name Last Name. For example: Smith, Bob instead of Bob Smith.  This is usually counter intuitive to most users.

 

  • Mail Merge operations can no longer use Full Name as a field. You must use the First Name and Last Name fields.  Otherwise, the person’s name will be displayed in reverse order.

 

Those are just a couple of things to keep in mind when you start changing the default system settings.

Please let me know if you have any comments or have found additional issues.

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