Presented by: Mastering Microsoft Outlook Produced by SkillPath Seminars The Smart Choice 6900 Squibb Road P.O. Box 2768 Mission, KS 66201-2768 1-800-873-7545 www.skillpath.com Mastering Microsoft Outlook Copyright SkillPath All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SkillPath claims no ownership interest in the trademarks.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Manage E-mail with Flags, Tags and Clean Up Commands...3 How to Organize E-mail Folders...8 Modify Calendar Views...10 Create Appointments...12 Schedule Meetings...14 How to Print from Outlook...16 Bonus Material...18
Manage E-mail with Flags, Tags and Clean Up Commands SkillSteps To flag a message in Outlook Home > Follow Up Managing e-mail refers to how you handle the avalanche of messages you receive each day. Do you start from the top of the list and work down? Do you hunt for the least important messages and delete them before you begin rummaging through the remainder? Is that a process? There are many ways to process your mail. The goal of your e-mail processing strategy is to be effective, to be organized and to be productive. Outlook provides a number of features to help you be more productive special shortcuts for processing your mail. Follow-up Flags Follow-Up Flags are tags you can attach to messages that create a to-do item from a message. Why would you attach a flag to a message? Flags make it easier to prioritize e-mail and identify those messages that are most urgent and important (with a bright red flag). The Outlook Follow-up Flags come in different levels of urgency. Today Tomorrow This Week Next Week No Date Custom You can attach tags to messages manually or via rules that associate flags with messages based on a condition. 3
To attach a tag manually, click the small flag on the message and select a flag. In the following screenshot, once you ve attached a Follow-up Flag to a message (1), you ll see a new to-do item in the To-Do bar area of your screen (2). The title of the to-do item will be created from the subject line of the message. Strategy: Attaching flags is equivalent to assigning priorities to a list of to-do items. If an e-mail is urgent and important, put a follow-up of Today. If it s important but less urgent, plan to follow it up Tomorrow. If it s nether important nor urgent, assign a Next Week flag. If it s urgent but not important, put a This Week flag on it. The following is an illustration of this prioritization strategy. It mirrors Dr. Stephen Covey s four quadrant time management matrix: Categories In Outlook, you can categorize messages in your inbox using the Categorize tool on the Ribbon. While you can only attach a single flag to a message, categories can be attached individually or in combinations when a message fits into more than one category. Outlook provides, by default, six color categories. SkillSteps To see the complete list of color categories Home > Categorize > All Categories 4
You can rename the default categories and you can create additional ones. SkillSteps To create or modify the default list of color categories Home > Categorize > All Categories > Rename (or New ) There are many ways to assign a category. Categories can be assigned using shortcut keys which have been configured in the Color Categories dialog box Categories can be assigned by Rules you define and which will automatically assign a category to a mailbox item Categories can be assigned using Quick Steps which are custom commands you define and use to manage the items in your mailbox A single category can be assigned with a Quick Click. When you configure a Quick Click, you determine the default category assigned when you click an item. 5
Categories are available across all the Outlook workspaces Categories can be assigned to messages, appointments, meetings, people and tasks Outlook items (messages, appointments, meetings, people, and tasks) can be grouped by Categories Outlook items (messages, appointments, meetings, people and tasks) can be filtered by Categories Clean Up Commands A third method of managing your inbox utilizes the array of commands that help you de-clutter your inbox. Delete moves the current message to the deleted items folder. Use this command when you want to remove a message from your inbox. Ignore will move the current message and all subsequent messages that are part of the same conversation to the deleted items folder. Messages that share the same subject line are considered part of a thread, a conversation. SkillTip: It s important to understand what is meant by a conversation. A conversation begins with a single message and includes all the responses (and responses to responses) that it spawns with the same subject. The following screenshot displays a conversation whose subject is, Let s Start a Conversation. SkillSteps To display messages in conversation style Mail > View > Show as Conversations 6
Clean Up provides a list of Clean Up commands that are built to remove redundant messages. Clean Up Conversation removes redundant messages from the current thread of messages Clean Up Folder removes redundant messages from all the separate conversations in the current folder Clean Up Folder & Subfolders removes redundant messages from all the separate conversations in the current folder and its subfolders In short, the Clean Up commands are tools for users with overflowing inboxes who need to get rid of the clutter created by unimportant messages and unnecessary duplicate messages. Junk provides a menu of options with which to tag Senders and Recipients as either safe or suspicious. Safe senders have their messages delivered to your inbox. Suspicious messages suspected of being junk e-mail will be blocked and diverted to your Junk e-mail folder. SkillTip: Monitor the messages in your Junk E-mail folder to determine if some of the senders should be identified as Safe Senders to prevent their messages from being diverted from your inbox to your Junk E-mail folder. 7
How to Organize E-mail Folders SkillSteps To create a new e-mail folder in Outlook Mail > Folder > New Folder When you are working in the E-mail workspace the navigation panel on the left side of the screen displays a collection of e-mail folders (containers). By default, e-mail arrives and is placed by Outlook in your Inbox folder. Outlook uses other folders to group messages. Messages that have been written, but not sent, remain in your Drafts folder Messages that are sent but awaiting transmission are stored in your Outbox Messages that are sent, are copied automatically into your Sent Items folder Messages that are received, but deemed to be junk, are stored in the Junk E-mail folder The RSS Feeds folder displays messages from Really Simple Syndication publishers to which you ve subscribed Search Folders dynamically displays messages that match search criteria While these are the default folders, you can create your own. You can use the New Folder command on the Folder tab of the Ribbon to create new folders. 8
Folder Strategies There are a number of possible folder strategies. It s important to have one, otherwise your e-mail folders will multiply and become overgrown no better than those old bulging file cabinets, relics of the 20th century. Strategy #1: Have your e-mail folders mirror your document library structure to make message storage consistent with document storage. Strategy #2: Have only one e-mail folder, name it Processed Mail, and use Search folders to group messages based on your categories rather than needing to organize messages by foldering them yourself. In this way, all your mail is processed and then stored in a single folder named Processed Mail. Your messages are automatically grouped by the built-in search criteria you define when you create a Search folder. Here s an example: 9
Modify Calendar Views While storing appointments and meetings on your calendar, you can change the way those commitments are displayed. Meetings and appointments can be displayed as a simple list or they can be displayed on a calendar. SkillSteps To change a calendar view in Outlook Calendar > View > Change View There are a number of built-in Calendar views in Outlook, you can see their names on the View tab of the Ribbon. When you are in a list view of the Calendar, you can arrange the list in a number of ways: By Categories By Start Date By Recurrence By Location When you are in a calendar view or a Calendar, you can display events in five different arrangements: Day Work Week Week Month Schedule 10
The Weather Bar In the Calendar workspace, you can view a Weather Bar below the Ribbon. You can customize the city whose weather is displayed and configure multiple locations. SkillSteps To modify Weather Bar options File > Options > Calendar > Weather Customizing List and Calendar Views To customize a list view or calendar view, click View Settings. Depending on the view you had been in list or calendar, you ll see different options. 11
Create Appointments To Microsoft Outlook, an appointment is not the same thing as a meeting. An appointment is an event which does not track attendees. It s just a time commitment. Examples of appointments: Each morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. you are planning to process e-mail Each day from 11 a.m. to noon you are planning to return phone calls A dentist appointment is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. A meeting is a type of appointment for which you send out invitations and track responses. Examples of meetings: In two weeks you re hosting a conference call with three co-workers Next Friday you re hosting a kickoff meeting for the new project with your team SkillSteps To create a new appointment Calendar > Home > New Appointment When you select New Appointment you ll be able to define: Subject Location Start Time End Time The default start date and time will display the currently selected date (and time) in your calendar. (You can change it by typing or choosing a different date and time.) SkillTip: Did you know Outlook enables you to type descriptive dates like next Friday or two weeks from today, instead of typing an actual date? 12
SkillTip: If you are scheduling a meeting or appointment in a time zone different from your current computer time zone, make sure you display and use the time zone fields by clicking Time Zone in the Appointment tab of the Ribbon. Other Appointment Settings Using the Appointment tab, you can set a reminder alert for your appointment, and determine how the appointment will be shown to others when they use the Scheduling Assistant to view your availability. 13
Schedule Meetings SkillSteps To schedule a new meeting in Outlook Calendar > Home > New Meeting The Meeting Invitation Dialog box will provide a To field that enables you to send meeting invitations to the other invitees. The Scheduling Assistant button on the Ribbon enables you to find out the availability of others invited to your meeting. SkillTip: The Scheduling Assistant is only as accurate as the calendars to which you are connecting. If others fail to update their calendars with appointments and meetings, the Scheduling Assistant will be unaware of those co-workers true schedules. Not good! 14
When an invitee receives your invitation and processes the message, they will be able to respond by choosing: Accept Tentative Decline Propose New Time Respond If an invitee accepts the invitation, their calendar will be updated. When an invitee sends a response, the inviter will receive a confirmation message as shown in the following screenshot. 15
How to Print from Outlook SkillSteps To print from the calendar workspace in Outlook Calendar > File > Print Backstage you ll be able to preview one of six layouts: Daily Style Weekly Agenda Style Weekly Calendar Style Monthly Style Tri-fold Style Calendar Details Style SkillSteps To customize the range of calendar dates to print Calendar > File > Print > Print Options > Print Range 16
In order to magnify the preview screen text, you can use the magnify pointer which appears on the screen in Print Preview when you hover your mouse over the preview region of the screen. 17
BONUS MATERIAL Keyboard Shortcuts For lovers of shortcuts, here is an Outlook keyboard shortcuts checklist. How many do you know? h F1 Help h F3 Find a message or other item h F4 Find and Replace h F7 Check Spelling h F9 Check for new messages h F11 Find a contact h Esc Cancel/Clear search results h Ctrl + 1 Switch to Mail h Ctrl + 2 Switch to Calendar h Ctrl + 3 Switch to People h Ctrl + 4 Switch to Tasks h Ctrl + 5 Switch to Notes h Ctrl + 6 Switch to Folder List in Folder Pane h Ctrl + 7 Switch to Shortcuts h Ctrl + D Delete an item h Ctrl + E Find a message or other item h Ctrl + F Forward a Message h Ctrl + K Insert a hyperlink into a message h Ctrl + N Create something new (message in Mail, appointment in Calendar, e.g.) h Ctrl + P Print h Ctrl + Q Mark message as Read h Ctrl + R Reply to a Message h Ctrl + U Mark message as Unread h Ctrl + Z Undo h Ctrl + Enter Send h Ctrl + Shift + A Create an appointment h Ctrl + Shift + B Open the Address Book h Ctrl + Shift + C Create a contact h Ctrl + Shift + E Create a folder h Ctrl + Shift + F Use Advanced Find h Ctrl + Shift + G Open the Flag for Follow Up dialog box to assign a flag h Ctrl + Shift + I Switch to the Inbox 18
h Ctrl + Shift + K Create a task h Ctrl + Shift + L Create a contact group h Ctrl + Shift + M Create a message h Ctrl + Shift + N Create a note h Ctrl + Shift + O Switch to the Outbox h Ctrl + Shift + P Create a Search Folder h Ctrl + Shift + P Display the Font dialog box (when editing a message) h Ctrl + Shift + Q Create a meeting request h Ctrl + Shift + X Create a fax Drag and Drop Shortcuts In Outlook you can often drag a message or a contact onto a calendar or another area of the screen with the right mouse button and find useful choices. If you drag a message with the right mouse button to one of the workspace names (Calendar, e.g.) on the Navigation bar, you ll see a contextual menu of specialized commands. 19
When Outlook Is Slow Here are a number of advanced tactics people use to speed up Microsoft Outlook. If Outlook is slow, consider these ideas. 1. Keep your computer up to date with the latest patches and fixes published by Microsoft using Windows Update 2. Archive your inbox. Split your data into years by grouping and moving old Mailbox items to a personal storage table (.pst) file. 3. Configure your mailbox to use Cached Exchange Mode which stores a local copy of messages locally on your computer 4. Compact your PST file 5. Reduce Published and Shared Calendars. Use SharePoint calendars. 6. Disable Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 7. Disable Add-ins 20
How to Use Basic E-mail Functions SkillSteps To work with e-mail in the Mail workspace Mail > Home The basic e-mail functions are: New E-mail Delete Reply Forward You ll find each of these on the Home tab of the Ribbon when you are working in the Mail workspace of Outlook. Once you ve written a new message or begun to reply or forward an existing message, Outlook will add the Send button beside your new message. The Reading Pane Commands In Outlook, the Send, Reply, Reply All, and Forward commands (that were once available only on the Ribbon) are now displayed in the Reading Pane area of the screen. If you are displaying a Reading Pane for your e-mail, you ll find Reply, Reply All and Forward are clickable there. Using these choices is called using an Inline Reply. Moreover, if you select Reply, you ll be able to write and send your reply from the Reading Pane, rather than needing to open your reply in a separate window. Notice there is a Pop Out command above the Send button. With Pop Out, you can switch to a full editing window. 21
How to Navigate Outlook Help SkillSteps To display the Help window in Outlook Press F1 or click the Help button (question mark) near the top right corner of your Outlook window. The Help window provides hyperlinks to more detailed information on What s new with Outlook, Outlook keyboard shortcuts, and other online sources of Outlook information. If you are unable to locate a hyperlink for the answer to your question, use the search box at the top of the window to find information related to your search terms. After you type a question into the search window, press Enter on the keyboard or press the magnifying glass icon beside the editing box. 22
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