Microsoft Outlook

More Than Just Email!

Most folks when they think of Outlook think of an email program … and stop there. If you do not explore the rest of Outlook, you are missing out on a Personal Information Management System, affectionately known as a PIM. And, when coupled with your Personal Digital Assistant, affectionately known as a PDA (i.e. your hand-held computer such as a Palm™) you need never be separated from your calendar, tasks, and contact list again … unless you don't have access to your computer or lose your PDA!

Click on the links in the table as needed.

Outlook Today

Outlook Today is a special folder that shows you all of your active Outlook items is a quick “snapshot”. Any item shown in Outlook Today is linked to its source. This means that you can simply click on it to work with it. For example:

• click on the Inbox in Outlook Today to open your Inbox in email
• click on a Task listed under Tasks in Outlook Today to open the task to see its detail
• click on the check box next to a Task listed under Tasks to indicate that the task is completed
• click on an appointment or event in the calendar section of Outlook Today to open the form for that event or appointment

Outlook Today Calendar Section

All upcoming appointments, events, and other calendar items are summarized. By default, the Calendar Section will display the next five days starting with today. You can adjust the number of days displayed in this section

Customizing Outlook Today

You can set the display of Outlook Today to your preferences. Click on which is usually located near the upper-right corner (some Styles of Outlook Today position this button in a different corner). This will open the Customize Outlook Today dialog box. In this box you can:

• choose whether or not Outlook Today opens when you launch Microsoft Outlook
  • if you uncheck this box, Outlook will open the same folder that was open when you last exited from Outlook
  • you can still open Outlook Today by click on the Outlook Today icon in the Outlook bar.
• set which folders appear in Outlook Today in the Messages section (email)
  • the number of new (unopened) messages appears next to the folder in Outlook Today
  • for example this would indicate 3 new messages in the Inbox
  • you can display all folders you have defined or only certain ones
• set the number of days to display in the Calendar Section, from 1 to 7
• determine which tasks should be displayed and how they should be sorted
• select the display style for Outlook Today
  • you will see a preview of the style just below the drop-down list of styles

When you are finished making your selections, click on in the upper-right corner

To cancel any changes and return to Outlook Today, click instead on in the upper-right corner

Outlook Folders

When you examine the Outlook folder list you probably think these folders are essentially the same as any folders you see on your computer. Sorry, not true! While you are working in Microsoft Outlook, Outlook folders behave as if they are: you can rename a folder or add new folders, and you can even, with some limitations, move items from one folder to another.

However, Outlook folders are very different from ordinary folders:

• Outlook folders can only be accessed from within Microsoft Outlook
• You cannot browse Microsoft Outlook using Windows Explorer or the Finder in Macintosh
• Each type of Outlook folder is limited to storing only items related to its folder type. For example, mail messages cannot be stored in the Calendar folder.

Using the Outlook Bar

The Outlook bar contains a number of icons that are shortcuts. To select which set of shortcuts are displayer, you click on one of the three main buttons, “Outlook Shortcuts”, “My Shortcuts”, and “Other Shortcuts”. In any case, to access a folder, you click on its shortcut icon. In the picture shown, the Outlook Shortcuts buttons are shown. Outlook Shortcuts click on this button to access shortcuts to main Outlook folders note that the Inbox shortcut indicates three unread messages the Deleted Items holds messages that you have deleted until you “empty the trash” choose Tools Empty Deleted Items Folder or you can set Outlook to automatically “empty the trash” when you exit the program Windows choose Tools Options and then click on the “Other” tab now check the box next to “Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting” Macintosh choose Edit Preferences  click on “General” under Microsoft Outlook in the scrollbar on the left now check the box next to “Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting” under Options in the main window My Shortcuts click this icon to access the following shortcuts Drafts this is your “works in progress” folder for email if you begin to create an email but cancel it before sending, Outlook will offer to save a copy in this folder if you think you may need to revise a message before sending, or you get interrupted and need to set aside an email before sending, save it; saved messages are stored in the Drafts folder messages are simply stored in the Drafts folder until you decide to delete them, send them, or open them for additional editing Outbox stores all outgoing email until processed by the mail server when do messages stay in the Outbox? if the server is congested with messages to be sent, email will be stacked in the Outbox; as soon as the congestion clears, all email will be processed (think of a traffic jam on a major highway) if you choose to work OFFLINE, all messages will be stored in the Outbox; once you go ONLINE, email will be sent automatically and immediately (Outlook by default is set to launch and go online. You must set it work offline via Tools Services while the Inbox is open). there is no “unsend” button in Outlook; however any message still in the Outbox can be cancelled Sent Items this folder holds a copy of each message sent since the copies remain in this folder until deleted, it must be emptied periodically! Journal the Journal can be used to track the time you spend on specific projects or activities Outlook update clicking on this gives you access to the Microsoft Office Download Center so that you can check for updates to Outlook  Your defined folders if you create your own Outlook folders, you can add shortcuts to them that will appear here Other Shortcuts Clicking on this button will give you access to My Computer, My Documents and Favorites from within Microsoft Outlook.

Email

Starting a New Email Message

You think that there would only be one or perhaps two ways to start a new message. Would you believe six?

• choose File New Mail Message
• press Ctrl + N (Windows) or Cmd + N (Macintosh)
• choose Actions New Mail Message 
• choose Actions New Mail Message Using and then select an option from the list (Windows only)
• with the email folder (Inbox) or Outlook Today open click
• if you want to start a new email message with a folder other then Inbox or Outlook Today open (the New Button changes depending upon what Outlook folder is open)  
  • click on the triangle in the new button to open the drop-down list
  • choose New Mail Message 

  You can create a new item for any Outlook activity regardless of which folder is currently open. In other words, even if the Inbox is open, you can still create a new Contact. If the Task folder is open, you can create a new message. The is the beauty of the “two-part” New button. The New button will always default to the folder that is currently open (Inbox open, click New for a new message; Contacts open, click New for a new contact form). Click on the triangle to open the drop-down list to select the other New activities.

Addressing the Email

The Email Message Window
From field (not shown) since this is you, and Outlook automatically enters your email address for you, this box is not shown by default if you must see it choose View From field Why would you use this? If you wanted email replies directed to another email address you use, view this field and enter that address (delete the other address!) To field this field contains the address(es) of the primary recipient(s) of this email to enter multiple addresses, separate them by semicolons or by pressing the <Enter> or <Return> after each address Outlook will resolve each address after a few moments. See below for more information about email addresses Cc Field aka “Carbon copy or “Courtesy copy” this field contains the address(es) of the secondary recipient(s) of this email anyone whose address is listed here is known to all primary recipients and to all other secondary recipients Bcc field if this field is not visible choose View Bcc field aka “Blind carbon copy or “Blind courtesy copy” this field contains the address(es) of any person that must receive the message without any primary or secondary recipient knowing that fact furthermore, if there are multiple Bcc recipients, none of them know of the other Bcc recipients Subject field all email messages should have a subject the subject should be brief and to the point although you can send an email message without a subject, it is common courtesy to let the recipient know why you are sending the email More About Email Addressing You need to address email messages correctly and properly in order for the message to be delivered. Messages with incorrect email addresses will be returned to you … the technical description is that the mail server will bounce the message back to you! This bounce may occur at your host email server or by the intended recipients email server. For example: you send email to jsmith9@email.com    if there is no such user at email.com, the email.com server will return the message to you with some type of explanation; usually a review of the explanation will help discern your mistake if there is no such mail server called email.com, then your email system will not send it and tell you How Outlook Can Help You with Addresses Outlook will verify email addresses to see if they are correctly formatted. Furthermore, if the address you type is in either the Global Outlook Address List or your Contacts folder, you need only type the person's name and Outlook will resolve the email address for you. Assuming you are using a Microsoft Exchange server, here are examples of what can happen You are sending email to someone in your organization With an Exchange server, the email addresses for everyone in your organization will be in the Global Outlook Address List  the Global list only lists the email addresses for that organization; if individuals at your organization have more than one email address, only the organization email address is listed Enter their name(s) in the appropriate address line If you are unsure of their name (spelling, how they may be listed, etc.), click onororto open the Select Names dialog box Using the scrolling list on the left find the name, click on it and then click onororto move it to the box matching the button clicked continue these steps until all addresses are selected bold addresses represent distribution lists (aka group addresses) You can instead enter the first letter or two or three in the box under “Type Name or Select from List:” the scrolling list will scroll to names beginning with the letter(s) you enter You can choose to use another address list by selecting the list from the drop-down list in the upper-right corner When finished click
The Select Names dialog box
You are sending email to someone in your Contacts file Enter their name(s) in the appropriate address line If you are unsure of the spelling, use the steps above to open the Select Names dialog box and select to show names from the Contacts file Select the name(s) as described above When finished click
In either case, Outlook will resolve the addresses for you names that match addresses in either list will be underlined for individuals distribution lists that match will be bolded names that cannot be resolved to a single address will be underlined with a red squiggly line names that cannot be resolved at all will not change
Andrea Peach is a resolved name Biology is a resolved distribution list grovber hibberd is not correct, cannot be resolved nancy regas has more than one address
Using the Check Names button if a name cannot be resolved click this button:
Outlook does not recognize grovber hibberd. Click the <Show More Names...> button to access the Global Address List or Contact list and see what is wrong. If there is an name in the list that is close to what you have typed, Outlook will select it and suggest it as a possibility.
In this case, Outlook found three possibilities for nancy regas. Select the one that is correct (the first one is selected in the picture) and click If none of these are correct you can always <Show More Names...>!

Sending Messages

To send email immediately, simply click

Sometimes your message may require some type of special handling. For these cases, you should explore Message Options

Setting Message Options

• before sending the email, choose View Options or press to open the Message Options dialog box

• Message Settings
  • These are used to set indicators of the message's importance and sensitivity
  • These settings are advisory, the recipient can of course ignore these settings, and the email system treats the all messages the same regardless of setting
  • Importance
    • use this drop-down box to set the importance of the message to Low, Normal, or High 
    • default setting is Normal
  • Sensitivity
    • use this drop-down box to set the sensitivity of the message to Normal, Personal, Private or Confidential 
    • default setting is Normal

• Voting and Tracking Options
  • check “Use voting buttons” so that your recipients can more easily reply to messages (works only if your system is using an Exchange server)
    • once checked you can select the buttons that will be added to your message from the drop-down list
    • the selected buttons will be added to the recipients toolbar when the message is opened (message must be opened, buttons do not show in Preview Pane)
      • all they need to do is click the appropriate button to respond
      • the subject of the response message you receive will be modified with the response'
      • and the status bar of the message when opened will also tell you the response
      • of course, the recipient can still add any necessary comments
      • send something to yourself so you can see what this does!
  • check “Request a delivery receipt for this message” to automatically receive a message informing you when a message was delivered
    • the key word here is delivered
    • just because a message is delivered does not mean it is read!
  • check “Request a read receipt for this message” to automatically receive a message informing you when a message was read
    • just because you do not receive such a receipt does not necessarily mean that a message you send is not read
      • Outlook can be configured so that it does not send read receipts for messages that are read
      • some email systems automatically reject such requests
• Delivery options
  • check “Have replies sent to” to direct replies to be sent to a different email address 
    • when this box is checked you can either
      • type an email address here
      • or useto open a dialog box that is essentially the same as the Select Names dialog box; you can now select a name from the Global Address List or your Contacts list
      • why would you do this?
        • for whatever reason you need replies to go to another email address you have
        • an assistant is going to tally the responses for you
        • etc.
  • check the box “Save sent message to” so that any message you send is automatically saved
    • the default is to save sent messages in the Sent Items folder
    • you can useto select a different folder
  • check “Do not deliver before” to delay the delivery of the message until the selected date; Outlook will hold the message until that date
  • check “Expires after” to automatically delete any messages that have not been delivered by the specified date 

Creating A Signature

A signature is information that Outlook will automatically add to your outgoing messages. It generally includes the customary information included as part of letterhead stationery. You can create more than one signature. For example you may want to have a job-related signature that contains your name, title, office phone and fax, etc.; you may also want to have a personal signature that contains only your name and home phone number. It is your choice!

The rules of 'Netiquette suggest that email signatures be kept to only a few lines, generally 4 or 5.

To create a signature:

choose Tools Options click on the Mail Format tab of the Options dialog box at the bottom of this tab you will note the Signature section as shown to the right (note the listing of one of my signatures in the drop-down box) click on the <Signature Picker> button the Signature Picker dialog box will now open any signatures you have already created will be listed (note that I have three created) a preview of the selected signature will appear at the bottom in the preview window clickto start a new signature clickto edit or modify an existing signature clickto delete an existing signature
click the Create New Signature dialog box opens enter a descriptive name for this signature in section #1; remember that this name is for your use only so that you can identify the signature select the appropriate radio button on section #2  Start with a blank signature means just what it says! Use this existing signature as a template means that you wish to use an existing signature as a starting point for a new one Use this file as a template means you have a signature in a file (e.g. a Word document) that you wish to use as your Outlook signature click
the Edit Signature dialog box now opens type you signature text in the white area clickto open the Font dialog box to change the font, font style, etc. font changes will have no effect if you create a plain text message of if your recipient is unable to read your font changes due to the limitation of his/her email system clickto open the Paragraph dialog box if you wish to select the alignment options, used bulleted paragraphs, etc. for your signature clickif you wish to clear any text and start your signature over clickif you wish to use Microsoft Word to create your signature clickwhen you are done to return to the Signature Picker dialog box repeat the process if you wish to create one or more alternate signatures clickto return to the Options dialog box the name of the signature you have created appears next to Use this Signature by default if you have created more than one signature, select one to be the default signature from the drop-down list
	If you create a message for which you wish to use a signature other than your default signature, you can switch to an alternate signature. First delete the default signature from the message. Then either choose Insert Signature and select one of your alternates from the submenu or click on the Signature Picker button

Reading New Messages

• When you receive new mail, Outlook will alert you with a sound. Outlook Windows users will also see a picture of an envelope in the Systray of the Task Bar (lower right corner of screen where the time is!)
• You can tell Outlook to display a notification message when you have new mail, turn off the sound, etc. Check out Tools Options. Under the Preferences tab clickand check out these options. Then clickand check out those options as well!
• By default
  • all new messages are deposited in the Inbox folder
  • unread messages are displayed in bold type; read message in normal type
    • select Edit Mark as Read or Edit Mark as Unread to change the status of the selected message
  • messages are listed in Received order
    • click once on a column to sort messages by that column (From, Subject, Received)
    • click a second time on the same column to sort by that column in reverse order (A Z or Z A)
• Double-click on a message to open and read it
  • choose View Preview Pane to open the preview pane at the bottom of the Inbox folder window
    • this pane displays the message selected in the Inbox folder
    • it is a scrollable window which means you could read the entire message in this window
    • however some features that would be displayed if the message is truly opened are not displayed in the preview pane
  • choose View AutoPreview to display the first few lines of the message in the Inbox folder window

Replying to a Message

• clickto send your reply just to the sender of the message; RE: will be added to the subject of the original message
• clickto send you reply to all of the original message recipients; addresses will automatically be added to the TO and CC address fields as appropriate; RE: will be added to the subject of the original message
• clickto forward this message to someone other than the sender or one of the original recipients; FWD: will be added to the subject of the original message

In any case, you can always add additional recipients, or in the case of Reply to All, you can deleted selected recipients.

Regardless of the button you select, the message editor window opens and you compose your reply. Although there is no rule that states you must always include the text of the original message in your reply, the rules of 'Netiquette and common courtesy dictate that you do so. This helps both the sender and the recipient(s) understand the thread of the discussion of the email.

Using Rules to Filter Email

In the opinion of many this is just may be the most beneficial feature of Outlook. Very simply you can establish a series of rules to separate your email into multiple sets — the process is known as filtering email — and then have the rule do something with each set automatically. For example, if you are a teacher you can establish a rule to have any email sent from a student in your class automatically moved to a folder set up just for class email. If you receive spam from the same person or organization and cannot get off of their email list, you can set up a rule to automatically delete this junk email.

The Outlook Rules Wizard makes setting up rules quite simple and painless. The Wizard will lead you through the process step-by-step presenting the possible rules applicable at each step to you. It is just a matter of making a decision and pointing and clicking!

Unfortunately, since there are so many possibilities it would not be practical to try to present to you each possible scenario. Instead, this tutorial will present to you the process for creating a rule to move email received from students in your class to a special folder for that class. Once you have tried this, you can explore the Wizard and attempt to create other rules.

An Email Filter Scenario

You teach a class entitled “Technology Literacy” which is designated “GSC120”. You want to filter this email and place it in a separate folder in your box. By doing so you will be able to give priority to class-related email and deal with students questions and problems. However, you realize that filtering only works if you can pick out the desired email from all other email by unique “tag”. As you review the filter rules, you decide the simplest way is to look for a key word in the subject of the email. You instruct your students that any email they send to you that is class-related must have the keyword GSC120 in the subject. As an inducement, you tell them that if they do this, your email filter will segregate class email and you will promise to give it #1 priority, that is, you will read it first before any other email. If they fail to use the keyword GSC120 then email they send will just put in the pile with all other email you receive and you will not be able to give it a #1 priority.

Creating the Filter for GSC120

Contacts

What are Contacts? All of the information you usually keep about your friends, relatives, fellow workers, and business associates! All of the information you usually place in your address book or rolodex or keep in a business card file can be put in the Outlook Contacts folder … and more!

Viewing All of Your Contacts

You have multiple ways to view the contents of your Contact folder. The best way to understand the differences is simply to examine each view. With Contacts open, choose View Current View and select one of the seven different set views available as well as the Customize and Define options

The default view is as Address Cards.

When in either of the Card views, you can use the letter tabs along the right and/or the scroll bar along the bottom to move from one page of contacts to another.

Viewing a Single Contact

When you either create a new contact or view the information about an existing contact, you open the Contact Form. This form consists of five separate tabs: General, Details, Activities, Certificates, All Fields. The General tab is displayed by default.

This tab shows all of the outstanding Outlook items that are related to the selected contact. You use the drop-down list next to Show: to select which outstanding items to show in the list

• Contacts shows all contacts that have been linked to the selected Contact
• Email shows all email that have been sent to the selected Contact
• Journal shows all journal entries related to this Contact
• Notes shows all notes related to this Contact
• All Items shows all of the above

Items displayed can be sorted by click on a column heading. To view an item in the list, just double-click on it.

Certificates are digital IDs that can be used to positively identify the sender of an email and can also be used to send an encrypted message to someone. You must have a recipient's digital ID in order to send that person an encrypted message.

Since Outlook can track a lot of information about each of your contacts, and since it is next to impossible to show this information is a single form tab(s), Outlook gives you the All Fields tab. When you open this tab, you can use the Select from: drop-down list to select which groups of fields to display. Now you display that information is a row-and-column format about the contact, you can edit the information, change properties of fields, and so forth.

Creating a Contact Manually

As always, there is more than one way to do this. You may either

• choose File New Contact
• choose Actions New Contact
• or click  
• then enter as much information as you have about this contact in the appropriate places

Creating a Contact from an Email

If you receive an email from someone not in your contact list and you wish to add her/him

• double-click on the sender's name
  • this will open the Properties dialog box for that person
  • click  next to Add to: 
• or right-mouse click on the name and select Add to Contacts (Outlook Windows only)
• Outlook will now open the Contact form, fill in the information it gleans from the email; you can add more information if you wish

Addressing Email from Contact Info

There are two ways to address an email message using Contact information. One, with the Contacts folder open, and two, from the New Message form:

• open the Contacts folder
• select the desired contact
  • you may either simply click on the contact in the contact list
  • or double-click the contact in the list to open that contacts form
• click(the New Message to Contact button)
  • a new email message will open
  • preaddressed to your contact!

• start a new email message
• clickororbutton
• the Select Names dialog box will open
  • select the desired name(s)
  • for more about using this dialog box, see More About Email Addressing in the email section of this tutorial

Searching Your Contacts

The Find a Contact box is available on the Outlook toolbar for all Outlook folders
Use this search feature when you know at least part of the name of the individual(s). 

• enter the text, as much of the contact's name as necessary
• press <Return> or <Enter> 
• if only one Contact matches what you have entered, the Contact record for that person opens
• if more than one contact matches what you have entered, the Choose Contact window will open
• select the correct contact and press

You use this feature when you do not know at least part of the name, or you need to search for contact(s) based upon some other criteria. (For example, you want to see all of the contacts in your list that work for some company, live in a given state, etc.)

• click(the Find button) on the Outlook toolbar
  • this will open the Find Items box; which box it opens depends upon which Outlook folder is currently open
  • to open the Find Items in Contacts box, make sure to open the Contacts folder first!

  the Find Items in Contacts box

• enter the search word or phrase in the text box, click
• only those contact records matching the criteria will be displayed
• clickor simply close the Find Items in Contacts box to display all contacts

If the search word or phrase you enter does not match anything in your Contacts, Outlook will respond with No Items Found. You can perform successive searches on your entire Contacts list even though only some records are displayed.

When the other search methods are not enough, then you need Advanced Find. With this feature, you can specify and/or combine a broad range of criteria for your search. However, even though it is possible to specify many qualifiers, your rule of thumb should be to specify as few as possible. Each additional condition or qualifier that you specify makes it that much more difficult for your records to satisfy all of the conditions you have set.

• with the Find Items in Contacts box open (see above), click onto open the Advanced Find box

the Advanced Find dialog box

• the Look For drop-down box allows you to set which folder in Outlook you wish to search
• enter the word(s) to be searched for in the Search for the word(s) text box
• use the In: box to restrict as necessary the search
  • use the drop-down listto set the limitations
• you can search for contacts by email address: use the email text box to enter an email address, or click onto open Select Names box to select a name from your contact list
• use the More Choices or Advanced tabs to add even more criteria!

Viewing Maps of Contact Addresses

You can actually view a map of your contact's address(es) using Outlook. As long as you contact resides in the United States, this feature will connect. to the Microsoft Expedia web site and show you a map of your contact's location …  and you can even get directions!

• with a contact form open, click on the Display Map of Address button

Calendar

For some, a calendar is simply a device to help you keep track of what day it is. The Outlook Calendar can do that. For most, however, calendar is much more. It is a(n)

• device to remember the birthdays of relatives
• means to keep track of the due dates of bills
• event planner
• appointment book

The Outlook Calendar can do all of this and more … and it is a perpetual calendar!

Calendar Terms

Appointments

activities that you plan that do not involve inviting other people or reserving resources such as room

Meetings

appointments that involve inviting other people or reserving resources

Events

activities that last a full day or longer

Selecting Calendar Views

This can be a little confusing because Outlook allows you to choose the different calendar views in two different places. Which one you use depends upon just what you want to accomplish

• To choose the actual calendar view
  • Choose View Current View
  • This menu enables you to select the types of views you would normally associate with a Calendar (just like determining the type of day planner you might buy in the old days of paper calendars!)
• To choose the variation on the Day/Week/Month view
  • click on the Time Period Button of your choice in the Outlook toolbar
  • you can switch back and forth as needed

  The Time Period buttons. The Month button is currently selected in this picture.

Understanding the Calendar Views

• displays a detailed schedule for one day
• shows which time periods are free, which are not
• scroll up or down as needed
• Task Pad is visible
• by default, Outlook will display the current day when you switch to this view from another
  • to switch to another date, click on the date in the monthly calendars in the upper-right section of this view
  • if the date you want is not currently visible, click the arrows that are above the calendars
  • to return to current date, click on

• displays a detailed schedule for the current work week (Sat and Sun not shown)
• shows which time periods are free, which are not (however, it is a little scrunched!)
• scroll up or down as needed
• Task Pad is visible
• you can switch to different weeks by using the monthly calendars in the upper-right section of this view

• displays the entire calendar week
  • Sat and Sun blocks are condensed
• in this view, instead of showing a detailed scheduled for each day, the scheduled events for each day are listed
• scroll up or down as needed
• Task Pad is visible
• you can switch to different weeks by using the monthly calendars in the upper-right section of this view

• more like a traditional calendar but
  • the week begins with Mon
  • Sat/Sun are condensed in the last column
• Task Pad and the small monthly calendars are not visible
• to view a different date/month
  • use the scroll bars
  • or choose View Go To Go to Date or press Ctrl + G (Windows)
  • or choose Go Go to Date or press Cmd + G (Macintosh)

• On the View Current View menu, you will see both Day/Week/Month and Day/Week/Month With AutoPreview list as options. The only difference between the two is that the “With AutoPreview” option displays the first line of an event's description when you point and pause the mouse over the item. The first line will “pop-up” much like a screen tip when you point to a button on a toolbar.
• AutoPreview, if selected, works in any calendar view.

• Select this by choosing View Current View Active Appointments
• This view shows your appointments and meetings starting with today's date.
• Active Appointments are separated by how often they reoccur. Since you may have numerous appointments in each recurrence category, you may want to collapse or expand the categories for easier viewing
  • There is a small box to the left of the word Recurrence, this box is a toggle switch
  • Click on it to switch to a + sign, the category is collapsed
  • Click on it to switch to a - sign, the category is expanded

The Active Appointment View with two categories collapsed, one expanded.

• Select this by choosing View Current View Events
• This view shows the current year events (remember that Active Appointments only showed appointments from today forward).
• Events are also separated by how often they reoccur. Since you may have numerous appointments in each recurrence category, you may want to collapse or expand the categories for easier viewing
  • There is a small box to the left of the word Recurrence, this box is a toggle switch
  • Click on it to switch to a + sign, the category is collapsed
  • Click on it to switch to a - sign, the category is expanded

To change an event into an appointment or meeting, remove the check from the All day event checkbox in the Event form

• Select this by choosing View Current View Annual Events
• Use this view to see the activities that happen each year such as birthdays and anniversaries.

• Select this by choosing View Current View Recurring Appointments
• Use this view to see the activities that happen on a regular basis.
• Recurring Appointments are also separated by how often they reoccur. Since you may have numerous appointments in each recurrence category, you may want to collapse or expand the categories for easier viewing
  • There is a small box to the left of the word Recurrence, this box is a toggle switch
  • Click on it to switch to a + sign, the category is collapsed
  • Click on it to switch to a - sign, the category is expanded

• Select this by choosing View Current View By Category
• Use this view to see your activities organized by categories … if you use categories!

Customizing Calendar Views

You can choose to customize any of the Calendar views. Or you can just customize the current view.

• To customize any view
  • choose View Current View Define Views
• To customize the current view only
  • choose View Current View Customize Current View

Explore these options with care!

Creating an Appointment

You can schedule an appointment while in any Outlook folder, Inbox, Calendar, Tasks, etc. Since some folks find it easier to schedule an appointment with the Calendar folder open the directions that follow start with that step. Once you are comfortable with scheduling appointments, you will most likely find yourself scheduling appointments with other folders open.

• Open the Outlook Calendar
• Select the day of the appointment on the calendar
  • click on the day if you are in a calendar view other than Day view
  • or switch to Day view and go to that date
  • this is an optional step but may save you some time since you will not have to choose that date after you open the appointment form
• Choose File New Appointment or click on to open a blank Appointment form

  This is the New Appointment button. Note the “down arrow”. This is in reality a two-part button. Since the Calendar folder is open, the button part is for New Appointment. However,  the “down arrow” opens a drop-down list. Click on the arrow and you will be able to choose one of the other File New options. In other words, as stated previously, you can create anything new regardless of what folder is currently open.

  A portion of the Appointment Form

  Enter a brief description in the Subject box Enter the Location, if necessary Set the Date and Time If this is an Event instead of an Appointment, check All day event instead If you want to reminded, check the Reminder box and set the time prior to the start for the reminder to occur. Add any notes in the space below this box (not shown) Click

Editing an Existing Appointment

• Double-click on the appointment  in any Calendar view
• The Appointment form will open
• Make any necessary changes
• Click

If all you need to do is change the time of an appointment, you can just drag the start and/or the end times in the Day or Work Week views.

Moving an Appointment to a Different Day

If you need to change an appointment to a different day, there is no need to start over! Do this:

• Open the Appointment form
• Change the date
• Change the time also, if necessary
• Click

If the appointment will occur at the same time on a different day, you can just drag it to the new date. You must be in Week or Month view to do this. 

Setting a Recurring Appointment

See Scheduling a Recurring Meeting below.

Meetings

If you can create use the calendar to create an appointment for yourself, you have nearly mastered the task of creating a meeting! There is the additional complication of coordinating the schedules of the folks to be involved in the meeting, but Outlook nearly automates that process.

Outlook can automatically check the availability of participants who use Outlook to schedule their time. If you can convince your colleagues to use Outlook, you can say “Goodbye“ to the days of calling everyone to find out their availability.

Scheduling a new meeting

When you set an appointment for yourself, the most important thing is the time. When you are scheduling a meeting, the most important factor is the meeting location since multiple folks are involved. The steps are:

Choose File New Meeting Request to display the meeting form

A portion of the meeting request form in Outlook. Note the yellow message bar above the button.

Enter the meeting description in the Subject: box. Don't skip this step, it is important that the participants know the purpose of the meeting when they receive the notice! Enter the proposed location for the meeting. Set the date and time for the meeting. If yellow message bar gives you a warning that the meeting Conflicts with another appointment on your calendar, do the following: Click the Attendee Availability tab You will now see a schedule grid that will graphically indicate conflicts and open times When finished click the Appointment tab to return to scheduling.

A portion of what you will see when you click on the Attendee Availability tab is pictured here. The blue horizontal bars indicate an appointment or some other event for which you are not available (at the bottom of this window, not shown in the picture, is the color coding for the horizontal bars). The white vertical bar indicates the proposed time for the meeting. The names of the attendees are show under All Attendees.

To automatically pick the next available time, you can click on the button Repeatedly clicking this button “moves” the meeting forward in time.

Click on the button to add attendees You will now see the Select Attendees and Resources dialog box The Global Address List is the system list of addresses of all the folks on the campus system Other lists are accessible by clicking on the down arrow (this is a drop-down list) Contacts is your names and addresses list Use the scrolling list of names on the left to find the name(s) you want to invite to the meeting bolded names are group addresses Double-click on the names to add them to the invitation Click

The Select Attendees and Resources dialog box. Select the names of persons to invite to the meeting from this box.

Click the button to send a meeting request to each of the attendees Outlook will send an email message to each attendee inviting them to the meeting Outlook will also check their schedule to see if the proposed meeting time is available

Scheduling a Recurring Meeting

A Recurring meeting is one that occurs two or more times. It may or may not occur on a regular basis (e.g. every week on  Tuesdays, once a month on Thursdays, etc.), it may a limited duration, or go on definitely (your birthday!). You can change the status of any appointment or meeting to a recurring event:

• Double-click the meeting or appointment in the Outlook calendar
• Click to display the Appointment Recurrence dialog box

• Set the appointment time options (should already be set for a meeting that already exists as a single event)
• Choose the appropriate recurrence pattern options
  • the dialog box will show different options depending upon whether you select Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly
  • Weekly options are shown
• Choose the range of recurrence
  • you can set the starting date and either
    • leave no end date as shown (indefinite recurrence)
    • end after the specified number of occurrences
    • end by a specific date
• Click
• Click to close the Meeting form and save your changes

To change a meeting back to a single event, open the Appointment Recurrence dialog box and click

Receiving & Responding to a Meeting Invitation

Anyone invited to a meeting will receive an email invitation to that meeting. An example of such an email is shown:

Viewing Attendee Availability

You can return to Attendee Availability at any time see if there are any meeting conflicts. Of course this assumes that each person is using Outlook to schedule their time!

• do this before you send the email invitations and adjust the meeting time if there are conflicts
• do this as you receive responses and adjust the meeting time as needed

Adding Additional Attendees

Oftentimes you must find out if a few critical folks can attend a meeting before you invite others. If at any time you need to invite additional attendees follow these steps:

• double-click the meeting in the Outlook Calendar to reopen the Meeting form
• click the Attendee Availability tab
• click
• the Select Attendees and Resources dialog box will open
• add any additional people
• click
• click to send out the new invitations

Canceling a Meeting

It never fails, but sometimes after the invitations have been sent, you must cancel a meeting:

• Open the meeting in your calendar by clicking on it
• Click on the button
• You will now have the option of canceling the meeting with or without notification to the attendees
• Click
• If you elected notification, each participant will receive an email like this

• Attendees can click to removed the meeting from their calendars

Public and Private Calendars

It may be desirable to have more than calendar, one that is “public” and one that is “private”. For example, if you council students you may wish to post those appointments and meetings on the “private” calendar instead of your “public” one. 

It is important to note the Outlook distinction between “public” and “private”:

• public
  • calendar that is viewable to others when meeting requests are made via Outlook
  • however, you must remember that the only thing the others “see” is that you are busy at a certain time, no one can actually see the details of any item on your calendar
  • you must “share” your calendar if you want others to actually see the details of your calendar
• private
  • calendar that is not viewable to others when meeting requests are made via Outlook

Creating a Second, Private Calendar

1. Open Outlook
2. Choose FILE New Folder
3. The CREATE NEW FOLDER dialog box will open
4. Enter a name for the new folder in the Name: box
5. In the Folder contains: drop-down box, choose Appointment Items 
6. In the Select where to place the folder: scrolling list, scroll until you see your Mailbox (it will be at the top of the list and will read "Mailbox" followed by your name). 
7. Click on your Mailbox
8. Click

Your new calendar has now been created. You now need to set its properties. Do this: 

1. In the Outlook window, at the top below the toolbar and to the right of the Outlook Shortcut bar, is the name of whatever window you have open. For example, if you are viewing your email, it will read . If you are viewing your calendar, it will read . Immediately to the right of that name is a small triangle. Click on it to open your Outlook folder list. 
2. At the top of the folder list you will see  
3. Click on the picture of the push pin. This will prevent you from accidentally closing the folder list during the next couple of steps. 
4. Scroll in the folder list if necessary until you see the name of the new calendar you have just created.
5. Click once on this folder name to select it (the new calendar you just created will appear in the window).
6. Now right-mouse click on this folder name and choose Properties from the contextual pop-up menu.
7. The Properties dialog box for your folder will now appear. Note that the name of the dialog box is the name of the folder followed by “Properties”. In the picture, the new calendar I created was called “Private Calendar”
8. Click on the Permissions tab. 
9. Towards the bottom right you will see the check box Folder Visible. Uncheck this box. 
10. Click

Now you may want to have this folder visible in the Outlook Shortcuts bar. If so do this: 

1. The folder list should still be open. 
2. Open the appropriate Shortcut bar, i.e. do you want a shortcut to this new calendar in Outlook Shortcuts or My Shortcuts? Click on the tab for the one you choose. 
3. Drag the folder from the folder list to the shortcut bar. As you drag you will note a black line. Position this black line where you want the shortcut to this new calendar. For example, if you want this new calendar to be below your public calendar, position the black line between the Calendar and the next item in the list. 
4. Release the mouse button.

Now you can close the folder list: 

1. Click on the X at the top of the

Now you are ready to work with your "public" calendar and your "private" calendar!

VISIBLE means that the calendar is visible via the Exchange server so that if someone sends a meeting request they can view your calendar. However, viewing a calendar does NOT show any calendar details to others. The only way that someone can see the details of any calendar item is if you SHARE your calendar with that person.

Tasks

Tasks represent your “to-do lists”. They can be created with or without a specified due date. Tasks in Outlook can be viewed in a variety of ways. If you display the Outlook Calendar in Day, Work Week, or Week view, a condensed listing of tasks appears in the TaskPad. If you open Outlook Today, you will see a list of tasks along with the other information presented in Outlook Today. With the Task folder open, you can use View Current View and select from a variety of view options for your task list.

Creating A Task

As usual there is more than one way to do this. This first way is rather basic, the second gives you many options!

• open the Task folder
  • in Outlook Today, click on at the head of the list of Tasks
  • or regardless of which folder is open, click on Tasks in the Outlook Bar
• the Task List window will open

• in the Subject box, click where it says Click here to add a new Task 
• enter the name or subject for your task
• if you need to set a due date (task must be completed by this date), click in the Date Due box
  • you may simply enter a date
  • or click to open a mini-calendar to select the date
• press Return/Enter to add the task to your list

• with any Outlook folder open, choose File New Task
• the Task Form will open

• enter the name or subject for your task in the Subject box
• set the Due date, if necessary (this is the date when the task must be completed)
  • you may simply enter a date
  • or click to open a mini-calendar to select the date
• set the Start date, if necessary (this is the date when the date will first appear in your list in Outlook Today)
  • you may simply enter a date
  • or click to open a mini-calendar to select the date
• set the Status for the task if you wish
  • you may choose from In Progress, Complete, Waiting on Someone Else, or Deferred
• set the Priority for the task if you wish
  • you may choose from