OUTLOOK PROPERTIES

To view the general properties of Outlook:

Go to Options under the Tools menu on the Menu bar.

Under the General Tab there are General settings and Start Up settings that can be set.

The E-mail tab allows you to set the notification method when new e-mail arrives and also allows automatic processing of receipts and responses.

Among the features available on the Sending tab are setting the font and its size for your e-mail message, the message's importance, tracking options and the options for saving copies of messages you send.

The Reading tab allows you to set the style, font and font size of a reply to a message or a message you are forwarding.

The Spelling tab allows you to select spell check options. See the list to the right.

NOTE: "Ignore words in UPPERCASE." is a default.

SIGNATURES

To create a signature for your e-mail messages, choose AutoSignature from the Tools menu.

You can select whether you want the signature at the end of new messages and/or replies and forwarded messages. You can change the font and the alignment by choosing Font and Paragraph respectively.

FOLDERS

To create a new folder, choose New under the File menu, then select Folder.

Then enter a name and select where you want your new folder to be located.

Click OK.

You may be asked if you want to add this new folder to your Outlook bar. Click Yes or No.

COLUMN HEADINGS

The Importance column allows you to mark a message that is high priority. If a high-priority message is sent to you, a red exclamation point appears in this column.

The Icon column gives you the status of a message. The following symbols appear in the Icon column.

Indicates that a message has not been read.

Indicates that a message has been read.

Indicates that a reply has been sent.

Indicates that the message has been forwarded to someone else.

The Flag Column allows you to flag an item for various reasons, such as, to ensure that you respond in the next few days.

The Attachment Column allows you to tell whether an e-mail message has an attachment.

The From Column allows you to tell who sent the e-mail message.

The Subject Column allows you to see the subject field of the message.

The Received column tells you when the message was received on our server.

Notice that the Received column heading has a s in it. That is because I have the messages sorted by the time received - latest to earliest. You can change the way the messages are sorted by clicking on the column heading you want to sort by and then clicking on it again to reverse the order that the messages are sorted.

Among other options for column headings are Categories, Cc, Conversation, Created, Do Not Archive, Due By, Message, Message Flag, Read, Sensitivity, Sent, Size, and To. Customized fields that you create can also be added. To access these fields, go to Show Fields under the View menu. You can then highlight the fields you wish to add or remove and click the Add or Remove button.

FINDING MESSAGES

The capability to sort your messages can come in handy when you are searching for a message someone sent you. If you remember who sent the message to you, you can click on the From Column Heading and the messages will be sorted in either alphabetical or reverse-alphabetical order. From there you can more easily find the message you want to locate.

Notice that the messages are now sorted alphabetically.

When you are sorting messages you can also use the Sort feature under the View menu. From this you can choose a primary and secondary sort field.

You can also search for e-mail messages by selecting Find Items under the Tools menu. Enter the known information about the message (i.e. subject, sender, folder, etc.), then click Find Now.

A list of the matching messages will appear at the bottom of the Find screen.

FILTERING

Filters can also be used to find messages. To create a filter, choose Filter under the View menu.

For example, to filter all the messages received from Kathy Garrison, enter Kathy Garrison in the From field then click OK. When this is done, the only messages that show in the Inbox are from Kathy Garrison.

Notice that in the top right corner "Filter Applied" appears. To remove the filter, go back to Filter under the View menu and click "Clear All" followed by "OK".

Automated Processing of Messages

Messages can be automatically sent to folders other than the Inbox or deleted. To do this, go to the Inbox Assistant under the Tools Menu.

Then click "Add Rule."

To move any items sent from Kathy Garrison to a folder called Outlook. Type Kathy Garrison in the From box and then check the box to the left of "Move to." Click the Folder button. Then select the folder and click OK.

Then click OK again to complete the automated processing setup. Then click OK again to complete all the rules for the Inbox Assistant.

When an e-mail message is sent by Kathy Garrison, it will now automatically go to the Outlook folder.

Notice that the Outlook folder now has one unread message (denoted by the 1 in parentheses beside the folder name).

Open the Outlook folder and see that a message sent by Kathy Garrison is in the Outlook folder.

The automated processing can be removed by returning to Inbox Assistant under the Tools menu and clicking "Delete Rule" and then clicking Yes and then OK to confirm that the rule is to be removed from the Inbox Assistant.

ARCHIVING MESSAGES

Archiving is the process of moving data from Outlook to store it elsewhere. This can be done automatically or manually. To manually archive information, choose Archive from the File menu.

Choose the folders to be archived, select the date that items should be older than, and give the archive file a name. Then click OK.

All items in the folder(s) are now archived. To retrieve this items, choose Import and Export from the File menu and select "Import from a personal folder file (.pst)"

Click "Next>" button.

Choose one of the options and click the Next> button.

Select the folder to import from and click the Finish button. The archived items are now back in MS Outlook.

AutoArchiving means that Outlook will automatically archive all items that you wish to archive under the conditions that you have set up. Two elements of autoarchiving are setting the options in the Options dialog box and setting the options for each folder to be autoarchived.

To set the archiving options in the Options dialog box, select Options from the Tool menu

Then go to the Properties dialog box for each folder, click the AutoArchive tab, and select the "Clean out items older than" check box and enter a time. (The easiest way to get to the Properties dialog box is to right click on the folder name and choose Properties.) Outlook will now autoarchive your folders.

Retrieving messages is the same as for manual archiving. (See pages 12 and 13 .)

SYCHRONIZING FOLDERS FOR OFFLINE VIEWING

If you would like to keep a copy of your e-mail messages on your hard drive for offline viewing, you may synchronize your mail folders. Select Synchronize under the Tools menu and select All Folders. Depending on the number of messages, this may take several messages. If you prefer synchronizing a specific folder, right click on the folder icon in the Folder List, select Properties, click on the Synchronization tab, and select This folder is available when offline or online. Click OK.

You will be prompted to configure a folder for storing the e-mail messages on your hard drive. Click Yes.

Select the default file location and encryption settings. Click OK.

If the folder does not currently exist, you will be prompted to create it. Click Yes.

OUT OF THE OFFICE MESSAGES

To automatically reply to e-mail while you are out of the office, select Out of Office Assistant under the Tools menu. Select I am currently Out of the Office. Enter a message in the auto reply box. Click OK.

When you return to the office, make sure to reset the Out of Office Assistant to currently in the Office.

CALENDARS

The calendar in Outlook is similar to an online appointment book. To access the calendar, click the calendar icon on the Outlook bar or the calendar folder in the Folder list. There are several views for the calendar. Decide which view is best for you.

There are options that you may wish to change on your calendar to do this go to Options under the Tools menu and choose the Calendar tab. Among the options are the days of the week you wish to have as your work week, the working hours of your day, and how far in advance you want to be reminded of appointments. The font can also be changed if you wish to do so.

To create a new appointment, choose New under the File menu and then select appointment. Enter the Subject, Location, Start Time, End Time, Check box if all day event, check box if you want to be reminded and if you want to be reminded, select how far in advance you want to be reminded. You can also choose to show the time as busy or free and you can add additional information in the comment box. You can make the appointment private if you wish.

After you have entered the information, click the Save and Close button in the top left corner. Your appointment will now appear on your calendar.

To edit an appointment, select the day of the appointment and double click on the appointment time and the same box as above will appear, make the necessary changes and click Save and Close.

To set up recurring appointments, create the appointment on the first day it is to occur. Then select the Appointment menu and select Recurrence. You can set up how often the appointment will recur. Click OK and then Save and Close.

MAKING A NEW MEETING REQUEST

With the Calendar feature of Outlook open, click on Calendar on the menu bar, and select New Meeting Request.

Enter the participants’ e-mail addresses in the To field, the Start time, the End time, and any of the other information. Then click the Send button.

ACCEPTING A MEETING REQUEST

To make a decision on the meeting request, open the e-mail request and that will open the meeting properties. Then click Accept, Tentative, or Decline

If the meeting is accepted, it now appears in your calendar.