The "PARTY" menu item

When I press 'P' or select party from the menu item nothing happens that I can see. I thought that this would help in joining a party but it doesn't seem to. Is there any easy way to join a party besides trying to locate the character or by pressing the tab key untill the name appears in the party window.

Am I missing something here or is there an easier way to join a party than physically locating the person who is advertising the 'lfp' ??

In the gray box that you see these names in the party window, you can actually type their names in.

Pressing "p" only hides/shows the party window when outside an outpost.

when the person talks, click on their name, like to PM them, bu just highlight the text of their name. then press ctrl-c and then ctrl-v it into the text box in the party window and press the + sign