A Contacts search allows you to define search criteria to filter Contacts in an Address Book or Distribution List. The result of a search is a filtered list of Contacts who meet specified criteria. You can add the Contacts in the filtered list to an existing Static Distribution List, or create a new a Dynamic Distribution List or Static Distribution List.
Before you begin
To create a Distribution List, you need:
- Distribution List Management rights and Write permissions for the destination Outbound E-mail Folder
- Category Management rights and Read permissions—needed to define filters based on Categories and Keywords
About this task
Note: For information on how you create a chain of filters to narrow down an audience you are targeting, refer to
Contact filtering.
Procedure
- Open the Content Manager Explorer.
- Navigate to a Publication and do one of the following:
- In the Audience Manager node, select an Address Book.
- In the Outbound E-mail node, select a Static or Dynamic Distribution List in a Folder.
The search window shows Standard, Details and Keyword filter options and the list view the Contacts within the Address Book or Distribution List:
- In the Search window:
- Define search criteria as described in Searching Contacts.
- Click the Search button. The list view shows Contacts filtered according to the search criteria.
- Click the Save button.

A dialog appears in which you can add the Contacts in the filtered list to an existing Static Distribution List, or create a new a Dynamic Distribution List or Static Distribution List.
- Update a Static Distribution List as follows:
- In Step 1, Choose the type of item to save by selecting
Existing Static Distribution List from the drop-down menu.
- In Step 2, Select a Static Distribution List then click OK to update the Distribution List.
- Create a Distribution List as follows:
- In Step 1, Choose the type of item to save by selecting one of the following from the drop-down menu:
New Static Distribution List
New Dynamic Distribution List
- In Step 2, Enter title and description.
- In Step 3, Select a Folder where you want to save the Distribution List then click OK to save the Distribution List.
Results
- Outbound E-mail creates or updates a Static Distribution List and adds the Contacts in the Search results to the list.
- Outbound E-mail creates a Dynamic Distribution List. The list contains Contacts in a Static Distribution List or Address Book which meet the specified criteria. The list of Contacts is updated automatically to match the filter, for example when:
- A Contact is added to the Address Book or Static Distribution List whose personal details, mailing details, or Keywords meet the search criteria.
- A Contact's extended details, mailing details, or Keyword in the Address Book or Static Distribution List are modified so that these no longer meet the search criteria.
- You change the definition of the Dynamic Distribution List by modifying the filters.
Note: By default, a new Distribution List is assigned a priority value of 1 (when a Mailing is sent, e-mails are sent to Contacts in order of Distribution List priority—the higher the value, the higher the priority).