MICROSOFT OUTLOOK VERSION 2010 LEVEL 2

Transcription

1 MICROSOFT OUTLOOK VERSION 2010 LEVEL 2

2 CONTENTS CONTENTS... 2 LESSON 1 ADVANCED MESSAGE TOOLS... 5 REQUESTING RECEIPTS... 6 VIEWING THE MESSAGE DELIVERY STATUS... 7 CREATING A MESSAGE WITH VOTING BUTTONS... 8 RESPONDING TO A VOTING MESSAGE... 9 TRACKING VOTES SETTING MESSAGE TRACKING OPTIONS SETTING OTHER MESSAGE OPTIONS RECALLING A MESSAGE RESENDING A MESSAGE USING THEMES (STATIONERY) WORKING WITH TEMPLATES LESSON 2 MANAGING AND ORGANISING THE MAILBOX USING MAILBOX CLEAN UP VIEWING AND CLEANING UP CONVERSATIONS USING CONDITIONAL FORMATTING USING DIFFERENT TEXT COLOURS WHEN REPLYING AND FORWARDING MESSAGES ARCHIVING MESSAGES SETTING GLOBAL AND FOLDER AUTOARCHIVE PROPERTIES MANAGING OUTLOOK DATA FILES LESSON 3 USING CROSS-COMPONENT TOOLS USING CATEGORIES MANAGING CATEGORIES USING INSTANT SEARCH USING ADVANCED FIND CREATING SEARCH FOLDERS IMPORTING DATA INTO AN OUTLOOK FOLDER EXPORTING OUTLOOK DATA LESSON 4 COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS SHARING INDIVIDUAL FOLDERS ACCESSING ANOTHER PERSON S FOLDER REMOVING SHARING PERMISSIONS FOR A FOLDER SENDING CALENDAR INFORMATION TO ANOTHER PERSON SETTING UP DELEGATE PERMISSIONS SENDING A MESSAGE ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ADDING ANOTHER PERSON S MAILBOX CREATING CALENDARS GROUPS ASSIGNING A TASK TO ANOTHER OUTLOOK USER ACCEPTING/DECLINING TASKS INDICATING THE PROGRESS OF A TASK SENDING A STATUS REPORT VIEWING TASKS ASSIGNED TO OTHERS LESSON 5 AUTOMATING MESSAGE HANDLING ADDING A RULE TO THE RULES WIZARD EDITING A RULE DELETING A RULE CREATING AN AUTOMATIC REPLY RULE USING QUICK STEPS WWP Training Page 2

3 Contents LESSON 6 ADVANCED CALENDAR TOOLS CHANGING THE TIME SCALE CHANGING THE TIME ZONE DISPLAYING WEEK NUMBERS CUSTOMISING THE WORK WEEK PROPOSING NEW MEETING TIMES RESPONDING TO A NEW MEETING PROPOSAL SETTING OTHER CALENDAR OPTIONS LESSON 7 - ADVANCED CONTACTS TOOLS CREATING A CONTACT GROUP (DISTRIBUTION LIST) CREATING A SAME COMPANY CONTACT USING MAIL MERGE WITH OUTLOOK MONITORING ACTIVITIES WITH CONTACTS USING SUGGESTED CONTACTS MAKING CHANGES TO MULTIPLE CONTACTS LESSON 8 - USING THE JOURNAL OPENING THE JOURNAL FOLDER CREATING A MANUAL JOURNAL ENTRY ASSIGNING A CONTACT TO A JOURNAL ENTRY MODIFYING JOURNAL ENTRY TYPES DELETING A JOURNAL ENTRY LESSON 9 CUSTOMISING VIEWS ADDING AND REMOVING FIELDS IN A VIEW MOVING A FIELD IN A TABLE FORMATTING A COLUMN IN A TABLE VIEW SORTING ITEMS IN A FOLDER FILTERING A VIEW GROUPING ITEMS IN A FOLDER RESETTING A VIEW FORMATTING THE SETTINGS FOR A VIEW FORMATTING THE SETTINGS FOR NON TABLE VIEWS CREATING A CUSTOM VIEW DELETING A VIEW LESSON 10 - WORKING WITH RSS FEEDS SUBSCRIBE TO AN RSS FEED READ RSS FEEDS UNSUBSCRIBE FROM AN RSS FEED LESSON 11 - USING NOTES OPENING THE NOTES FOLDER CREATING A NOTE OPENING A NOTE VIEWING NOTES PRINTING NOTES DELETING A NOTE APPENDIX A - POPULAR OUTLOOK OPTIONS CUSTOMISING THE OUTLOOK TODAY PAGE OPENING THE OPTIONS DIALOG BOX GENERAL OPTIONS MAIL OPTIONS CALENDAR OPTIONS CONTACT OPTIONS TASKS OPTIONS NOTES AND JOURNAL OPTIONS WWP Training Page 3

4 Contents SEARCH OPTIONS ADVANCED OPTIONS CUSTOMISE THE RIBBON OPTION QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR OPTIONS TRUST CENTER OPTIONS APPENDIX B MESSAGE RECALL BEHAVIOUR APPENDIX C INSTANT SEARCH CRITERIA EXAMPLES INDEX WWP Training Page 4

5 LESSON 1 ADVANCED MESSAGE TOOLS In this lesson, you will learn how to: Request receipts View message delivery status Use Voting Buttons Set tracking options Set other message options Recall a message Resend a message Use Themes and stationery Work with templates WWP Training Page 5

6 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools REQUESTING RECEIPTS Outlook includes a tracking feature allowing you to track the delivery and read status of sent messages. If these tracking options are selected, you automatically receive a receipt in your Inbox informing you that the message has been delivered and/or read. Receipts are identified by either a green arrow icon (delivered) or a green tick mark icon (read). Read receipts will have the name of the recipient in the From field and delivery receipts will have System Administrator in the From field. Delivery Receipt message icon Read Receipt message icon NB: Not all mail servers or applications are able to process receipts, so you are not guaranteed a response on every occasion for messages sent outside of your organisation. Furthermore, when a recipient receives an containing a read receipt, they may be given an information box warning them of the content and can click No to prevent a response being sent. Read receipt information message See page 11 for information on how to manage and change your tracking options. Procedure 1. Create a new message. 2. Click the Options tab on the Ribbon. 3. Tick the Request a Delivery Receipt and/or Request a Read Receipt check box(es). 4. Complete the message as necessary. 5. Click Send. WWP Training Page 6

7 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools VIEWING THE MESSAGE DELIVERY STATUS The Tracking page in messages sent with delivery or read receipts, displays a table containing the delivery information for each recipient. When a receiving mail server (in the case of delivery receipts) or a recipient (in the case of a read receipt) respond to a receipt, the response is sent to the message owner s Inbox in the form of an . The for the receipts can be identified by its icon: (delivery receipt) or (read receipt). The message subject also confirms that it is a receipt with the words Delivered: <Subject of sent message> or Read: <subject of sent message> in the message list - or in the Reading Pane. The third confirmation that the message is a receipt, is given in the body of the itself, visible in either the Reading Pane or the full message window. A list of all the people to whom the message was sent appear in the Tracking page of the sent . The Tracking page will only appear in the sent message when the first response is received. You will know when this happens because the sent s icon will change to As votes are received from other people to whom the message was sent, responses are automatically added to the tracking list. The Info Bar at the top of the Tracking page displays the totals for each response. WWP Training Page 7

8 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools NB The Tracking page will not appear in the original message until the first response is received. Results will then be updated automatically as each response is received. Procedures 1. Select the Sent Items folder. 2. Double-click to open a message sent with receipt requests; look for the icon next to the message. 3. Select the Tracking command on the Ribbon in the Show group. 4. To return to the message text, click the Message command in the Show group. 5. Close the message window when finished. Tip See page 13 for a useful option to automatically move receipts out of your Inbox. This is a useful setting to help keep your Inbox clear of unnecessary messages. CREATING A MESSAGE WITH VOTING BUTTONS When you use Outlook on a Microsoft Exchange Server, you can include voting buttons in your messages to poll recipients answers to a question. You can select one of the three standard voting button sets: Approve;Reject, Yes;No, or Yes;No;Maybe; or you can customise the buttons by entering your own text. When you create buttons with customised text, you must enter each button name into the Use voting buttons: text box, separated by a semicolon. Using voting buttons Creating custom voting buttons WWP Training Page 8

9 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools Voting buttons will not be visible in a message until the message is sent. Once the voting message is sent, the buttons appear when the recipient clicks the Vote command on the message Ribbon. Voting buttons do not appear in the Reading Pane. Procedures 1. Create a new mail message. 2. Select the Options tab on the Ribbon. 3. Click the Use Voting Buttons command. 4. Select the desired option. 5. If selecting Custom Delete Approve/Reject from the Use voting buttons: box. 7. Type your own choices separated by a semi-colon ( ; ), eg. Tom;Sally;Jim 8. Click Close. 9. Complete the message as necessary. 10. Click Send. RESPONDING TO A VOTING MESSAGE Messages that include voting buttons must be opened in a message window (ie. double click the message) in order to cast a vote. When you respond to a vote, a reply is sent to the message owner s Inbox indicating your response, and your name and response are entered into the message owner s Tracking page on the sent message. Tip Once you respond to a vote, the envelope icon next to the message in the Inbox includes a reply arrow. You can see how and when you voted in the Reading Pane or open the message and look in the Info Bar. You can also change your vote by voting again, which sends another reply to the message owner and changes your vote on their Tracking WWP Training Page 9

10 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools page. You can include a message when casting a vote by selecting the Edit response before sending option from the Microsoft Outlook warning box. Tip Procedures 1. Double-click to open the message containing voting buttons. 2. On the Ribbon, click the Vote command. 3. Select the desired voting option. 4. Select a response option (ie. send with or without accompanying text). 5. Click OK. 6. Close the message window. TRACKING VOTES When a person responds to a vote, a reply is sent to the message owner s Inbox indicating the voter s response. A reply message contains the selected response in the Subject field. The vote can also be seen in the Reading Pane or by opening the message and looking in the Info Bar. A list of all the people to whom the voting message was sent appear in the Tracking page of the sent . The Tracking page will only appear in the sent message when the first response is received. You will know when this happens because the sent s icon changes to. As votes are received from other people to whom the voting message was sent, responses are automatically added to the tracking list. The Info Bar at the top of the Tracking page displays the totals for each response. WWP Training Page 10

11 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools NB The Tracking page will not appear in the original voting message until the first vote is received. Voting results will then be updated automatically as each reply is received. Procedures 1. Select the Sent Items folder. 2. Double-click to open a message sent with voting buttons; look for the icon next to the message. 3. Select the Tracking command on the Ribbon in the Show group. 4. To return to the message text, click the Message command in the Show group. 5. Close the message window when finished. SETTING MESSAGE TRACKING OPTIONS You can use the tracking options in the Mail pane of Outlook Options to set preferences for how Outlook uses and manages the tracking tools described above. WWP Training Page 11

12 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools Settings are as follows: Option Outlook Options > Mail pane > Tracking section Description Select to add delivery and/or read receipts to ALL new messages that you send. NB The success of this setting will depend on the type of server and application being used by the recipient. By default, Outlook warns you if a received contains a read receipt. Use this option to specify a different action. De-select if you do not want Outlook to automatically update upon receipt of responses, the Tracking page of appointments to which you have invited people, and/or the Tracking page of messages send with voting buttons. To update the pages, you have to double-click the and open it in its own window. Deselect if you do not want Outlook to automatically update upon receipt of responses, the Tracking page of messages sent with delivery or read receipts. To update the page, you have to double-click the and open it in its own window. WWP Training Page 12

13 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools Automatically updates the Tracking page(s) for responses received from messages sent with receipt requests or voting buttons, and moves them to the Deleted Items folder if they have no accompanying text. After updating the Tracking page for responses received from messages sent with receipt requests, moves them to the selected folder. Procedures 1. Select the File tab. 2. Click the Options command. 3. Select Mail at the left. 4. Scroll down the right-hand pane to the Tracking section. 5. Select the desired options. 6. Click OK. SETTING OTHER MESSAGE OPTIONS You can use the Options tab in the message window to add additional functionality to and change the styles of an message. On the Options tab, related commands are in groups as follows: The Themes group allows you to change the style set (fonts, colours and special effects) that Outlook is currently using for new messages that you create. Themes are common to all Office 2010 applications so a consistent, corporate style can be maintained across all the documents, s, spreadsheets and presentations that you create on your computer. The Show Fields group gives you the option of adding additional lines to your message header, viz. BCC and From. BCC (blind carbon (or courtesy) copy) allows you to send a message to an addressee(s) but keep it hidden from addressee(s) in the To and CC boxes. Although a message can be sent BCC using the address book, by adding the BC field, you can type it directly into the message header. The From field is used in cases where another user has given you delegate permissions to send an on their behalf (see Setting Up Delegate Permissions on page 63). Permission uses IRM technology to protect the message from unauthorised access. Consult your local IT department if this is required. WWP Training Page 13

14 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools The Tracking group is used to notify you that the message has been delivered and read. In addition, you can choose an option to include voting buttons in the message (see page 8). In the More Options group you can save the message to a specific location after it has been sent (Save Sent Item), specify a future date/time on which you want to send the message (Delay Delivery), or have replies to the message delivered to recipients other than yourself (Direct Replies to). Even more options are available from the Properties dialog box that can be opened by clicking the dialog launcher button in the bottom right of either the Tracking or More Options group. Dialog launcher buttons Message Properties dialog box The Properties dialog box contains an option for adding message sensitivity. Tip These options all add additional text in the message Info Bar, eg.. Each of these sensitivity settings is advisory only. Recipients can take any action on the message that they want, such as forwarding a confidential message to another person. Procedures 1. Create a new message. 2. Click the Options tab on the Ribbon. 3. Choose settings as required. WWP Training Page 14

15 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools 4. Complete the message as normal. 5. Click Send. RECALLING A MESSAGE Outlook allows you to recall messages under certain circumstances. You can recall or replace a sent message only if the recipient is using Microsoft Exchange server, has not read the message or, moved it to a folder other than the Inbox. If the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient option is enabled in the Recall This Message dialog box, you will receive notification informing you whether the message recall succeeds or fails. The notification will appear in your Inbox as a message with the subject Message Recall Success or Message Recall Failure. Message recall is useful after you click Send and then realise that you forgot to attach a file, include information in the message, or want to revise what was originally sent. To replace a message, you must select the Delete unread copies and replace with a new message option in the Recall This Message dialog box and then select OK. Outlook then opens a new Message window so that you can compose a new message. If you do not send a replacement message, the original message is still recalled. NB: You can t recall messages sent to addresses outside your organisation. The success or failure of a recall depends on the settings the recipient has in Outlook. If you requested an to tell you if the recall succeeds or fails, there is no way to know how long it might take for this message to arrive as there are many variables in this process. There also settings on the Exchange server itself that affects how recall works. For further information, see Appendix B on page 159. Procedures 1. Select the Sent Items folder. 2. Double-click the message you want to recall. 3. Click the Actions command in the Move group of the Ribbon. 4. Click Recall This Message Select the desired options. WWP Training Page 15

16 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools 6. Click OK. 7. Close the message. RESENDING A MESSAGE Sometimes a recipient s mail server may be unobtainable and your message will never be received by the recipient(s). On other occasions you may wish to send the message same message again but with alterations. Rather than retyping the message, forwarding back on to the person or copying and pasting the old one into a new one, you can resend the original. Procedures 1. Open the Sent Items folder. 2. Double-click the message you want to resend. 3. Select the Actions ribbon. 4. In the Actions group, click Other Actions. 5. Click Resend This Message. 6. Edit the message, if necessary. 7. Click Send. USING THEMES (STATIONERY) Themes are available in Outlook so that you can easily personalise HTML-formatted messages. These include backgrounds and patterns and offer a set of unified design elements such as fonts, bullets, colours, and effects. You can choose from a predefined list of Outlook Themes and stationery. NB. This procedure works only if you use HTML as your message format. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab. In the Compose in this message format list, click HTML. WWP Training Page 16

17 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools Procedures Apply a Theme to all new messages 1. Select the File tab. 2. Click Options. 3. Select Mail at the left. 4. Click the Stationery and Fonts button. 5. Click the Theme button under: Theme or stationery for new HTML message. 6. Under Choose a Theme: click a Theme to preview it. 7. When you have found one that you like, click OK. 8. Click OK. 9. Click OK. When you create new messages, they will automatically use the Theme chosen. Tip As a shortcut, you can choose or change a Theme from an open message. Select the Message tab, click Signature in the Include group, click Signatures select the Personal Stationery tab, and then click Theme. Apply a Theme to a single message (as a one-off) 1. In the main Outlook window, click New Items in the New group. 2. Point to Using. 3. Click More Stationery. WWP Training Page 17

18 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools 4. Under Choose a Theme: select the theme or stationery that you want. 5. Click OK. 6. Compose and send your message as normal. NB. Stationery or themes cannot be applied for replies. Stop using a Theme for all new messages 1. Select the File tab. 2. Click Options. 3. Select Mail at the left. 4. Click the Stationery and Fonts button. 5. Click the Theme button under: Theme or stationery for new HTML message. 6. Under Choose a Theme: select No Theme. 7. Click OK. 8. Click OK. 9. Click OK. Tip As a shortcut, you can stop using a Theme for all new messages from an open message. Select the Message tab, click Signature in the Include group, click Signatures select the Personal Stationery tab, and then click Theme. WORKING WITH TEMPLATES If you frequently send the same message, schedule meetings with the same people or create the same task two or three times a month, you can save time by saving templates. So, if you send the same report to the same people every week, you can save that message as a template. Saving a Template WWP Training Page 18

19 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools The template can contain the names of the recipients, a subject, standard body text and even attachments, pictures and charts that you regularly send. You then open the template when you need it, update it and send it. That way you can save time, reduce repetitive work and lessen the chance of errors. Templates can also save time when you enter frequently used information anywhere in Outlook. For example, you can create an invitation template for a meeting that is regularly held with the same set of colleagues. The meeting appointment can contain the names of the attendees, the subject of the meeting, a location and reminder and additional text, graphics and charts in the body of the message. Each time you open the template to use it, all you need do is change the date and time of the meeting and the message request is ready to be sent. Choose Form command used to open a template Templates work best for items that are similar but that you need to change slightly or customise when you use them. You can share templates with co-workers by saving them to a shared location on your network. Colleagues can then open them by navigating them to via an Explorer window or from the Choose Form command in Outlook. Procedure Create an template 1. Start a new message. 2. Add the recipient(s), subject, body text and any other information or attachment that Outlook allows you to insert. 3. Click the message File tab. 4. Click Save As. 5. Enter a different name (if required) for the template in the Name: box. 6. Select Outlook Template (*.oft) in the Save as Type: drop down list. 7. Click Save. 8. Close the message; there is no need to save it. To open a template 1. Select the Home tab. WWP Training Page 19

20 Lesson 1 Advanced Messaging Tools 2. Click the New Item command. 3. Point at More Items. 4. Select Choose Form in the side menu. 5. Click the Look in: drop down list. 6. Select User Templates in File System. 7. Select the required template in the list box. 8. Click Open. 9. Make any changes necessary to the template. 10. Click Send. Delete an template 1. Start a new message. 2. Click Save As. 3. Select Outlook Template (*.oft) in the Save as Type: drop down list. This will open your default templates folder. 4. Right-click the template you want to delete. 5. Select Delete. 6. Click Cancel. 7. Close the message without saving it. Tip Templates for other Outlook items (eg. appointment, contacts and tasks) are created, opened and deleted in a similar way to the procedures above. WWP Training Page 20

21 LESSON 2 MANAGING AND ORGANISING THE MAILBOX In this lesson, you will learn how to: Use Mailbox Clean Up View and clean up conversations Use conditional formatting Use different colours when replying to and forwarding messages Archive messages Setting Auto Archive properties Manage Outlook data files WWP Training Page 21

22 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox USING MAILBOX CLEAN UP There is no one single way of keeping your Outlook mailbox free of clutter and below your storage limit. Techniques include: deleting junk and old mail on a regular basis; emptying the Deleted Item folder regularly; moving items to Personal Folders (if used); saving messages outside of Outlook to your file system; saving attachments to your file system and removing them from the s; effective use of archiving tools and add-ins (eg. Enterprise Vault). It is not just the Inbox (as many people think) that takes up space in your mailbox but ALL your folders. Appointments, tasks and contacts take up little space and it is your s that generally cause the problems, especially if there are many with large attachments. In addition to keeping your storage levels low (and thus preventing the dreaded Your mailbox is full... arriving), there are also technical benefits to having a tidy mailbox such as faster loading of Outlook and less clutter in your Search results. Outlook comes with tools that can help you identify problem areas with mailbox size, and narrow down the options to help resolve the issues. One of them is Mailbox Cleanup. Mailbox Cleanup helps you identify items in your mailbox that are taking up large amounts of space or that may no longer needed. It is then left to you to take action, if necessary, to deal with the results. Procedure 1. Select the File tab. 2. Click Info. 3. Click Cleanup Tools. WWP Training Page 22

23 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox 4. Click Mailbox Cleanup Click the View Mailbox Size... button to see a list of your folders and how much storage they are taking up. 6. Click Close when finished. 7. Select the Find items older than <x> days option and click Find... to identify items that could possibly be deleted. 8. Select the Find items lager than <x> kilobytes option and click Find... to identify large items that could possibly be deleted or have their attachments removed. 9. Click AutoArchive to execute a rule allowing Outlook to automatically move items according to their AutoArchive settings (see page 34) into the Archive folder (if used). 10. Click Empty to discard all items in the Deleted Items folder. 11. Click Close when finished. Tip If your organisation is using Exchange Server, you may be able to recover items for a period of time after they have been emptied from your deleted items folder. Select the Deleted Items folder, select the Folders tab and click the Recover Deleted Items command (if available) in the Clean Up group. VIEWING AND CLEANING UP CONVERSATIONS s that share the same subject are commonly referred to as a Conversation or Thread. This occurs when someone starts the conversation by sending a message to another person; that person then replies back to the sender; the originator then replies to the WWP Training Page 23

24 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox reply and also forwards it to another person, starting a branch to the conversation. The recipients all reply back to the originator and thus, a Conversation about a common subject is created. Conversations are common on internet bulletin boards, forums and newsgroups, where a person raises an issue or question and others reply to it. Traditionally, conversations are shown indented, with the original message at the top and subsequent responses (and branches) indented below. In Outlook 2010, the Show as Conversation option shows your items grouped by message subject or "thread." The group can be expanded to show the sequence of s sorted by date/time in a descending order. The message with the large orange circle at the left is the latest message in the thread and hence, the one containing the full thread. When you click this circle, a tree is displayed showing related messages. You can change how Outlook displays the conversation using the Conversation Settings command. Conversation commands on the Ribbon All replies from recipients in descending date order. Replies from you back to the recipients in descending date order. Your original message Viewing Conversations from Sent Items (default view) Original message Replies back from recipients (indented) Replies to replies from recipients Viewing Conversation from Sent Items (indented view) You can reduce the size of a conversation with the Clean Up Folder command in the Folder tab. Any redundant messages, which means messages that aren t unread, flagged, WWP Training Page 24

25 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox categorised or the newest message in a branch of the conversation, are moved to the Deleted Items folder. Procedures 1. Select the mail folder for which you want to view conversations. 2. Select the View tab. 3. Click the Show as Conversations check box. 4. Select whether you want to show conversations for just the open folder or all mail folders. 5. Click the Expand arrow to the left of the message subject that you want to see the conservation for. 6. Click the arrow again to view the next level in the conversation (ie. replies to replies). 7. Keep clicking the Expand arrow until it points down, meaning there are no further levels to view. 8. To revert the view to NOT showing as conversations, untick the Show as Conversations check box. To remove redundant messages: 1. Select the Folder tab. 2. Click the Clean Up Folder command in the Clean Up group. 3. Click Clean Up Folder in the warning message. If there are no messages in the conversation to delete, a message will appear to inform you. WWP Training Page 25

26 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Preferences for how Outlook deals with cleaning up conversations can be found by clicking the Settings button in the message or, selecting Outlook Options (File tab) and opening the Mail pane. USING CONDITIONAL FORMATTING You can create conditional formatting rules that change the font formatting of items that meet specific criteria. For example, you can create a new conditional formatting rule for the Inbox that displays the headers of all items including the word Project in the subject or message body in a blue font. You can also modify built-in rules. For example, change the Unread messages rule so that unread messages are displayed in a bold, red font. Conditional formatting is not unique to s and the Inbox; it can be used in all Outlook folders. In the case of the Calendar, conditional formatting colours the entire appointment area; in the case of the Tasks folder, conditional formatting colours the font. Conditional formatting rules apply only to the current view. If, for example, you have created a conditional formatting rule in Calendar view that format all appointments containing the word Team in blue and you then change the view to List, the conditional formatting will not display. You can modify an existing conditional format rule for a view or create a new rule. Default Conditional Formatting dialog box for mail folders Default Conditional Formatting dialog box for Calendar view WWP Training Page 26

27 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Setting a conditional formatting condition Setting a conditional formatting font You can delete a rule in the conditional formatting dialog box by selecting the rule and then clicking the Delete button. You can modify a rule in the conditional formatting dialog box by selecting the rule and then clicking the Font... or Condition... button. Conditional formatting rules are executed from top down in the Rules for this view: list. This means that you may have to click the Move Up or Move Down buttons to raise or lower their priority. You cannot give a custom rule higher priority that a built-in one. Procedures 1. Select the folder for which you want to create conditional formatting. 2. Select the View tab. 3. If necessary, click the Change View command in the Views group to apply the required view. 4. Click the View Settings command in the View group. 5. Click Conditional Formatting Click Add. 7. Type a name for the rule. 8. Click Font Select the desired font options. 10. Click OK. 11. Click Condition Select the desired options. 13. Click OK to close the Filter dialog box. 14. Click OK to close the Conditional Formatting dialog box. 15. Click OK to close the Advanced View Settings: dialog box. WWP Training Page 27

28 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox USING DIFFERENT TEXT COLOURS WHEN REPLYING AND FORWARDING MESSAGES Outlook can pick a new colour for your text each time you reply to or forward the same message. This can make it easier to distinguish what you wrote from other people s text. Procedure 1. Select the File tab. 2. Click Options. 3. Select Mail at the left. 4. Click the Stationery and Fonts button. 5. Tick the Pick a new color when replying or forwarding check box in the Replying and forwarding messages section. 6. Click OK. 7. Click OK. ARCHIVING MESSAGES An efficient way to reduce the size of your mailbox is to regularly archive older items. This means moving them to separate location on your computer system where space is not at such a premium as it is for the mailbox, but at the same time, allowing the same ease of use and functionality as the messages had in their mailbox folders. There are several ways of doing this: Saving messages in Outlook Message Format (.msg). Moving messages into Personal Folders also known as Outlook Data Files (.pst). Moving messages into folders on a Document Management System (eg. Livelink or Documentum) WWP Training Page 28

29 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Making use of third-party "Add-Ins" such as Symantec Enterprise Vault to automatically archive messages. Using the latest Exchange Server 2010 Personal Archive feature. If you work in a large organisation, you may have access to as many as four of the abovementioned methods. In a small company, you will probably only have the options of saving in Outlook Message Format or moving to a Personal Folders. It is these two latter methods that will be discussed in this topic. Seek information and support locally from your IT department with third-party Document Management and automatic archiving systems or, Exchange Server 2010 Personal Archive (if used). Saving a message in an Outlook Message Format simply requires you to open the message in its own window (double click it) and use the Save As command to store it in a folder on one of your drives; in the same way as you would save a Word or Excel file. The original message in Outlook can then be deleted. Saving in Outlook Message Format By saving messages like this into a shared drive, you can ensure important messages are easily made available to other users. Opening a saved message, however, needs to be done by launching an Explorer window, navigating to the message location and double clicking the file. Outlook Messages in a folder Personal Folders (if you have any) appear at the bottom of your list of Mail folders or the Folder List in the Navigation Pane. Each set of personal folders are created from an Outlook Data File (often referred to as a.pst file). In Outlook 2010, Outlook Data Files are stored (by default) in a subfolder named Outlook Files in your (My) Documents folder (Windows XP and Vista) or Document Library (Windows 7). It is recommended that they are left in this location for convenience of use and backup purposes. WWP Training Page 29

30 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox In Outlook 2010 your personal folders will have a meaningful name such as Archive, store, Cabinets, etc. This is based on the name given to the Outlook Data File when it was created. Older versions of Outlook tended showed them as the vaguer and more anonymous Personal Folders (unless they had been renamed in their advanced properties). A set of Personal Folders in the Folder List By default, a new set of Personal Folders contain just a Deleted Items folder and Search Folders. You add additional folders to the Personal Folders in the same way as you do to your mailbox. You can then click and drag items from your mailbox (eg. Inbox, Sent Items, etc.) into the Personal Folders. Think of your Personal Folders as a second mailbox with extra space for storing Outlook items. Outlook will create automatically a special set of Personal Folders named Archive when you first make use of its archiving tools. The Outlook Data File thus created is given the name Archive and like other sets of Personal Folders that you may have, appears at the bottom of your Mail folder list or the Folder List of the Navigation Pane. Outlook s archiving tools work by moving messages older than a certain age into the Archive personal folders. You can manually archive items or, you can enable Outlook s AutoArchive feature. Manual archiving provides flexibility and allows you to specify exactly which folders are included in the archive. If AutoArchive is enabled, the following message will automatically appear every fourteen days, a minute or two after launching Outlook. Auto-Archive message By clicking yes to the above message, Outlook will automatically move items from certain folders (using their AutoArchive settings) into the Archive personal folders. To view and work with your archived items, open the Archive personal folders and use as normal. Default AutoArchive settings for folders are as follows: WWP Training Page 30

31 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Folder Inbox, Drafts, Junk Mail, Outbox, RSS Feeds, Notes and custom folders Sent Items, Deleted Items, Calendar, Tasks, and Journal Contacts Setting No Auto-archiving Items older than 6 months Auto-Archiving not available Archive Folders If you cannot find the Archive and AutoArchive commands as mentioned above and you are working in a corporate environment, they could have been disabled by your administrator as a Group Policy. Not all IT departments like the use of Outlook Data Files because it decentralises storage of data and can cause difficulties if the data file becomes corrupted or lost. Another reason for the commands to go missing is when you have an Exchange 2010 account and Personal Archive has been enabled for you on the server. In this case, Outlook will automatically disable the standard Outlook archiving options and archive according to corporate policies set on the Exchange server. NB. Because there are many alternatives, options and local policies for archiving Outlook items, you are advised to consult your own IT department. Procedure Saving messages outside of Outlook 1. Open a message that you want to file outside of Outlook (double click it); it can be in any folder (eg, Inbox, Sent Items, custom). 2. Select the File tab. 3. Select Save As. 4. Navigate to the location on your computer system where you want to save the message (eg. My Documents or Documents Library). WWP Training Page 31

32 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox 5. Enter a name for the file or leave the default subject name. 6. Ensure Outlook Message Format shows in the Save as Type: box. If not select it from the drop list. 7. Click Save. Creating a new Outlook Data File (.pst) to make a set of Personal Folder 1. Select the Home tab. 2. Click the New Items command in the New group. 3. Point at More Items. 4. Click Outlook Data File. 5. Enter a name for the data file, eg. Old Store. 6. Click OK. 7. Add additional folders as required. 8. Move (click and drag) messages to the new folders. Manually archiving messages 1. Select the File tab. 2. Select Info. 3. Click the Cleanup Tools button. 4. Click Archive. 5. Select the required option at the top of the dialog box. For more information about AutoArchive settings, see the next topic in this lesson on page Select the folder you wish to manually archive. 7. Select or type a date in the Archive items older than: drop down box. 8. Leave other setting as they are, but see the topic Managing Outlook Data Files on page Click OK. 10. Archiving may take just a few seconds or minutes depending on the number of items in the folder being archived. An indicator will appear in the Status Bar showing progress. WWP Training Page 32

33 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox 11. If you are archiving for the first time, Outlook will create an Outlook Data File named Archive and once archiving is complete, you will find Archive as a set of personal folders near the bottom of your Navigation Pane (you may have to expand them). If, for example, you have archived your Inbox, Outlook will have created a personal folder named Inbox and moved into it the messages older than you defined in the Archive dialog box. 12. If, however, you have archived before, Outlook will add folders (if necessary) and move old messages to the existing Archive folders. AutoArchiving messages 1. Check that AutoArchive is enabled as follows: 2. Select the File tab. 3. Click Options. 4. Select Advanced at the left. 5. Click the AutoArchive settings button at the right. 6. Tick the Run AutoArchive every <x> days check box. 7. Click OK. 8. Click OK. 9. After 14 days when the: Would you like to AutoArchive your old items now? message appears, click Yes. 10. Archiving may take just a few seconds or minutes depending on the number of items in the folders being archived. An indicator will appear in the Status Bar showing progress. 11. If you are AutoArchiving your messages for the first time, Outlook will create an Outlook Data File named Archive and once archiving is complete, you will find WWP Training Page 33

34 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Archive as a set of personal folders near the bottom of your Navigation Pane (you may have to expand them). 12. In the Archive you will find matching names for the folders that have had items archived. Inside them Outlook will have moved messages as defined in the AutoArchive settings (see next topic). 13. If, however, you have archived before, Outlook will add new folders (if necessary) and move old messages to the existing Archive folders. SETTING GLOBAL AND FOLDER AUTOARCHIVE PROPERTIES Once the AutoArchive feature has been enabled, Outlook will carry out the necessary moving of old messages every 14 days according to the settings in the AutoArchive dialog box (see the AutoArchiving messages procedure on page 33 for how to enable this). One of these global settings, however, is misleading because it implies that ALL folders will have items older than 6 months moved to the Archive. In reality, there is another setting on each folder separately that over-rides this. You access this setting by right-clicking a folder in the Folder List, selecting Properties and opening the AutoArchive tab. Inbox AutoArchive settings WWP Training Page 34

35 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox The table on page 31 describes what the folder level time periods are. You will notice that the Inbox, which for the majority of people gathers the most messages, is not included in the process! At the folder level, therefore, you can determine which items are to be archived, how they are to be archived (AutoArchive can delete old messages instead of moving them) and what length of time they must have been in the folder in order to be archived, either using the 6- month global setting or specifying another option. Contact folders cannot be AutoArchived. Procedure To change global AutoArchive settings 1. Select the File tab. 2. Click Options. 3. Select Advanced at the left. 4. Click the AutoArchive settings button at the right. 5. If necessary, tick the Run AutoArchive every <x> days check box to enable AutoArchive. 6. Select/deselect or change settings as desired. 7. Click OK. 8. Click OK. To change an individual folder s AutoArchive settings 1. Right click a folder that you want to check or modify the AutoArchive settings for. 2. Select Properties. 3. Select the AutoArchive tab. 4. If you wish the folder to be AutoArchived according to the global setting as specified in the AutoArchive dialog box, select the Archive items in this folder using the default settings option and then click OK. 5. If you wish to specify a different option, click the Archive this folder using these settings option. WWP Training Page 35

36 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox 6. Select whether you want the old items moved to the default Archive Data File (recommended); a different data file (you would have to create it first.); or have them permanently deleted. 7. Click OK. MANAGING OUTLOOK DATA FILES As discussed in previous topics, Outlook data files are used to create Personal Folders to store Outlook items off the system folders (eg. Inbox and Sent Items) and thus, free up space in the mailbox. An Outlook data files can be created manually or, automatically when you make use of Outlook s archiving features for the first time. An Outlook data file, therefore, may after a time store hundreds of s in dozens of folders. Outlook Data Files are not files, therefore, items that you want to risk losing or accidentally deleting! In Outlook 2010, the default location for Outlook Data Files - whether you create one manually or automatically by archiving - is the Outlook Files folder in your (My) Documents (Windows XP and Vista) or your Document Library (Windows 7). Outlook Files folder (Windows Vista) Depending on how your computer system has been configured, this location may not be backed up and hence, your data files risks being unrecoverable if they corrupt or are accidentally deleted. There can are also be issues accessing files in this location if you are logging on at a different computer or working remotely. You are advised therefore, to seek advice from you IT department on the best and safest location for storing your data files. WWP Training Page 36

37 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Data files will grow in size over time. The author of this book has personal experience of an Outlook data file that was over 2Gb in size. Outlook can compress (Compact) data files and bring their size down to a less space-consuming size. Compressing a data file If you have to save your Outlook data files is a shared location, it becomes possible for other people with access to the same shared location to add your data file(s) to their own Outlook installation and hence, gain access to all your stored messages and other items. In cases like this, Outlook gives you the option of protecting the data file so that it can t be added or opened without a password. Password protecting a data file Procedure Making a backup copy of an Outlook Data File 1. Right-click the Windows Start button. 2. Select Explore. 3. Navigate to your (My_ Documents/Documents folder/library. 4. Open the Outlook Files folder. 5. Right click the data file you want to make a copy of. 6. Select Copy. 7. Navigate to an alternative location to store the copy; this can be another folder, drive, USB memory stick or CD/DVD writer. WWP Training Page 37

38 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox 8. Right click a blank area in the new location. 9. Select Paste. 10. Close the Explorer window. Compacting an Outlook Data File 1. In Outlook, right click the name of the data file that you want to compress in the Navigation Pane. 2. Select Data File Properties. 3. Click the Advanced button. 4. Click Compact Now. 5. Click Close. Password protecting an Outlook Data File 1. In Outlook, right click the name of the data file that you want to compress in the Navigation Pane. 2. Select Data File Properties. 3. Click the Advanced button. 4. Click Change Password. 5. If there is currently no password for the data file, leave the Old password: box empty. If the data file currently has a password, type it in. 6. Click in the New password: box. 7. Type a password for the data file. 8. Click in the Verify password: box. 9. Re-type the password. 10. Tick the Save this password in your password list check box if you wish Outlook to remember the password so that you don t have to enter it each time you launch Outlook. 11. Click OK. 12. Click OK. 13. Click OK. WWP Training Page 38

39 Lesson 2 Managing and Organising the Mailbox Opening an existing Outlook Data File 1. Select the Home tab. 2. Click the New Items command in the New group. 3. Point at More Items. 4. Click Outlook Data File. 5. Navigate to the location (drive/folder) where the data file is stored. 6. Select the data file in the list box. 7. Click OK. The data file is added at the bottom of the folder list in the Navigation Pane and you can expand it to work with the personal folders stored within. WWP Training Page 39

40 LESSON 3 USING CROSS-COMPONENT TOOLS In this lesson, you will learn how to: Use categories Manage categories Use Instant Search Use advanced search tools Create search folders Import & Export Data WWP Training Page 40

41 Lesson 3 Using Cross-Component Tools USING CATEGORIES Colour adds visibility and organisation to your Outlook items. Colour categories can be assigned to almost all items in Outlook, which enables you to quickly identify them and associate them with related items. For example, categorise with the same colour all the s and appointments about a particular project that you are working on. You can assign more than one colour category to messages, or use Quick Click to assign a preferred colour to messages. The Quick Click colour is assigned to an item when you click the Categories column for the item in your Inbox or other table view. By default this is red but you can set this colour to one of your choice. Categorised s in Compact View Categorised s in tabular (list view Categories tasks Categorised appointments Categorised items also show the category colour in the information bar when opened in their own window (double-click). WWP Training Page 41

42 Lesson 3 Using Cross-Component Tools Category colour in an appointment info bar Double categorised information bar (in Reading Pane) A colour category must be in the colour category list before you can assign it. If a colour category is not listed, you can create a new colour category (see page 44) and assign it to an item for the first time. You can also choose from several default colour categories and rename them to be more meaningful to you. You can access the categories list by right clicking an item and selecting Categorize from the shortcut menu. Shortcut menu and default categories list Procedure To assign a colour category to a closed message 1. Right-click in the information viewer, the message you wish to categorise. 2. Point to Categorize Click a colour category. To assign a colour category to an open message 1. Select the Message tab. 2. In the Tags group, click Categorize. 3. Click a colour category. WWP Training Page 42