Display of Group Addresses in Mail

[Xairbusdriver]

I can't seem to create a search pattern showing me how to get Mail to display a Contact Group in any kind of recognizable sort order. In other words, does anyone know how or why Mail displays a group of addresses or names in any particular order?

If you have a group set up in Contacts, simply typing that Group's name in the To:, CC: or BCC: field in Mail will insert all those addresses or names in that field. Mine (and more importantly, my wife's) list comes out in a bewildering order. It's not alphabetically by last, first, middle name! Nor is it based on the email name or domain.

My opinion is that the main factor used in the sort is Mother's maiden name.

[Xairbusdriver]

Note to Admins or anyone who recognizes their name or address below: If you consider any of these names and/or email "addy's" to be to 'revealing', please delete the lists or let me know.

I am still being asked "WHY?!!!"

And I still cannot find an answer. A Contact Group has the following names (obviously sorted by Last Name per Contacts Prefs):

• K. Andrew
• J. Boyd
• P. Duncan
• G. Higgins
• B. Kenward
• D. Lee
• N. McAdam
• K. Selvig
• J. Wenrick
• R. Westle
• B. Wood

Here is how they end up in an Apple email (To:, CC:, BCC:):
(Actually, this is a modified list with onlt the first six character of the email address)

• bobnan
• higgin
• westle
• krisse
• neil.m
• paddyd
• weldig
• jwenri
• jw.joe
• andkim
• rmille

Actually, I'm not sure the same names are in both lists, but you can still see there is no "sort" order in the address list. And, no, the email list is not based on the domain of the service, either

Perhaps Apple is trying to spread the load on email servers with some kind of algorithm. Frankly, "Mother's Maiden Name" sounds about write.

[kimmer]

I don't remember seeing this back in Oct 2019    so ... I just tried a group email via Apple Mail and am enjoying the same puzzle you are. I have no clue why it sorts the way it does, and it makes no sense to me either.

"It's a mystery," to quote Philip Henslowe.
https://youtu.be/4XkPUwwYpA0

[Xairbusdriver]

Thanks for confirming that my wife and I (well, at least SWIMBO...) are not crazy.

It's not a real problem, I guess. I have a list of HS classmates that I occasionally have to send batch emails. It the distant past, I could not send all of them at once, Comcast may have dwelt with that problem on its own, but I had to split up the addresses into smaller batches. Fortunately, that list is a column in a spreadsheet, so keeping straight which batch had who was easy. However, my wife had a group of ~65 people and was concerned that she might have to split them between mailings. Turned out they could all go at once but, once again, she wanted to know how to get them "sorted" into logical groupings. If that is really needed, I assume a "real" batch emailer might be the only solution. We once had an app that handled that kind of task and there are likely many options available. It is simply frustrating that one can sort "Contacts"... as long as you don't need them emailed that way! What? Why? Must be a 'help-make-SPAMming-ever-so-slightly-more-difficult' corporate philosophy.

[Paddy]

Well, you're not the only one who has wondered about or been irked by this:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7617908

And from 2007, another discussion where Andrew Wilson points out the cause of the disorder (it's not disorder...it's Apple's bizarre interpretation of what constitutes a USEFUL order. Date added to the &#^%$ address book definitely isn't it!) and a two step work-around, which I haven't bothered trying because I think I have a few dozen things to do that are more interesting/useful...but hey, have at it and let us know if it works.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/830633

[jchuzi]

Apple might respond more quickly if you notify them directly, either via feedback assistant or Mac OS feedback Awhile ago, I used the first one to complain about a problem in Safari. Apple responded by asking for more information and the problem was fixed in the next update.

[Xairbusdriver]

Ask Apple?! Why would anyone want to do that?! It's much more fun to complain about something so minor that extremely few know about and even fewer who find it worth discussing!

Besides, according the the links, there is already a Bug Report. The main thing I see in the second link above is that many people can't even grasp the "bug".

One of the "solutions" is a bit confusing in current (or at least very recent versions of macOS X 10 Ten...

...in a new blank message, click on the Address button to bring up the Addresses window.

There is no longer an "Address" button in Mail. The steps might work if used to select the names in a Group list in Contacts... Nope, the names in the Contacts list are already sorted, but shift-clicking them doesn't select the email address, just the name. It then displays them in the same order it would by just selecting the Group.

Wait, this seems to actually work:

• Open a blank email in Mail
• Open Contacts
• Select the the name you want to be the first in the email list
• Hold the shift key down
• Select (click) the next name you want
• Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have selected all the names you want
• * * * MOST IMPORTANT STEP: Drag the selection to the address field in the blank email
• Release the shift key.

Don't forget to write the message and include any appropriate links and/or images.
Click the send button (which is still in Mail). Those who like to live on the edge, enable Siri and say "Send this email".

I have no idea how SWMBO will react to this method. However, once again. TS provided an answer or clues to how to solve a personal computer user problem!!