Outlook 2010 basics Microsoft Outlook 2010 is the world s leading personal information management and communications application. Outlook 2010 delivers complete e-mail, contact, calendar, and task functionality. Creating an account Before you can send or receive e-mail using Outlook 2010, you must create an account. While your network administrator or Internet Service Provider registers and configures the actual e-mail address (such as yourname@) and domain name (as in yahoo.com), you must configure Outlook 2010 to receive the messages sent to your e-mail address. To create an e-mail account in Outlook 2010, click the File tab and choose Info from the left pane (if necessary). Then, click the Add New Account button. In some cases, Outlook 2010 can configure your server settings for you, although this may work best in environments using Exchange. Manually configuring settings is a simple process nonetheless. Click the Email Account option, enter your user name (usually whatever you want), e-mail address, password, and then click Next. Outlook will attempt to create the connection for you and should be successful as long as you ve provided the correct e-mail address and password. Once you've created the account, you can create and send e-mail messages. Creating an e-mail message Select Mail in the Navigation Pane. Click the Home tab and then click New E-mail in the New group. Outlook will open a new e-mail message window with the Message tab selected. Enter the recipient s e-mail address in the To field. Should you wish to send copies of the message to additional recipients, enter their addresses in the To or Cc fields; enter separate multiple e-mail addresses with a semicolon. You can also choose to hide recipients e-mail addresses using the Bcc field. If the Bcc field isn t visible, display it by clicking the Options tab and then clicking Bcc in the Show Fields group. Provide a subject line for the e-mail message in the Subject field and type your message in the body of the e-mail. Should you maintain multiple e-mail accounts, choose the right account from the From dropdown. If the From dropdown isn t visible, click the Options tab and select From in the Show Fields group. When the message is complete, send it by clicking the Send button. Formatting an e-mail message Often, all that s required for an effective e-mail message is straightforward text. On other occasions, you may wish to send a professionally formatted message. 1
Use the Format Text tab to dress up text and improve the message s appearance. If the icons appear grayed out or disabled, most likely the message format is set to Plain Text. Change the format by selecting HTML or Rich Text in the Format group. You can change font type and size, and specify bold, italic, and underline styles. These options are in the Font group. You can also specify that text be justified left, centered, or justified right. Just highlight the appropriate passages and click the appropriate option in the Paragraph groups. Bullet and numbered list options are in the Paragraph group. Specify any required indentation using the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent in the Paragraph group. Each time you click one of these options, Outlook moves the selected text a predetermined distance, accordingly. As with so many things, a little goes a long way when formatting a message. Take care to minimize formatting. You want the text to stand out not become lost in numerous formats. Remember, too, that recipients whose e-mail format is set to Plain Text will not see formatting. Add an e-mail signature Many professionals include their title, company, street address, telephone numbers, and even Web address at the end of each e-mail they send. Don t type that information every time you send an e-mail; create an e-mail signature instead. Outlook 2010 stores such information in a signature file. Outlook can include your signature every time you send or reply to a message. Follow these steps to create an e-mail signature: 1. Click the Insert tab. 2. Choose Signatures from the Signature dropdown in the Include group. 3. In the Signatures and stationary window, select the E-mail Signature tab (the default) and click New. 4. Enter a name for the new signature and click OK. 5. Enter the text for your signature in the empty Edit Signature control. 6. Format the signature text using the formatting options. 7. In the Choose Default Signature section, choose the appropriate options to specify when to apply the signature. 8. Click OK. Junk e-mail Often, you ll receive unsolicited e-mail messages. You can help prevent some spam by being selective about who you give your e-mail address to. Don t post your e-mail address to public forums on the Internet, and be careful not to give your e-mail address to just any firm on the Web. Even if you re fastidious in safeguarding your e-mail address, it ll ultimately make its way to some less-than-honorable marketers. When it does, you ll begin receiving 2
unwanted e-mail. Reputable firms typically honor unsubscribe requests (look at the bottom of most commercial e-mail messages for accompanying unsubscribe information). Disreputable organizations, however, monitor unsubscribe requests to track which e-mail addresses remain current and then send additional spam to those addresses. Your best bet is to filter the messages you do not need to prevent future solicitation. However, in many cases, you ll be stuck with e-mail you don t want. Outlook 2010 includes a Junk E-mail filter you can leverage to eliminate unwanted messages before they even hit your Inbox. Set Junk E-mail options by clicking the Home tab and choosing Junk E-mail Options from the Junk dropdown in the Delete group. Click the Options tab and choose the most appropriate level for you: Select Low if you wish to move only the most obvious junk messages to the Junk E-mail folder. Select High to lower the threshold of what the filter considers junk. If, after selecting Low, you continue receiving large amounts of junk e-mail in your Inbox, try the High option. Just be sure that if you select High, you regularly check the Junk E-mail folder to ensure that the filter doesn t snag valid messages by mistake. You can also elect to choose the Safe Lists Only option. When you do, the filter will deliver only e-mail from people and domains you ve listed in the Safe Senders List or Safe Recipients List. There are three options at the bottom of the Junk E-mail Options tab. These options allow the following actions: Permanently delete suspected junk e-mail instead of moving it to the Junk E-mail folder. Don t check this option if you choose the High level. Disable links and other functionality in phishing messages. Warn me about suspicious domain names in e-mail addresses. Junk messages that Outlook 2010 mistakenly believes are valid will land in your Inbox. When that happens, right-click the e-mail message in the Inbox, select Junk, and choose one of the many options. Sometimes you may have the opposite problem; Outlook 2010 marks a valid e-mail message as junk and places it in the Junk E-mail folder. When this occurs, right-click the message in the Junk E-mail folder, select Junk, and choose the most appropriate setting. Automatic Download Settings Outlook 2010 maintains other security protections to prevent offensive content from appearing and malicious code from automatically running when you receive a message. You may adjust Outlook 2010 s default Automatic Picture Download Settings at any time. Click the File menu and choose Options in the left pane. Select Trust Center and click the Trust Center Settings button in the Microsoft Office Trust Center section. 3
Check the Don t Download Pictures Automatically In HTML E-mail Messages or RSS Items. Further define your needs by choosing the appropriate sub options: Permit automatic downloads from members of your Safe Sender and Safe Recipients lists. Permit automatic downloads from sites listed in your Trusted zone. Permit all RSS items to download automatically. Permit SharePoint discussion lists to download automatically. Request a warning before downloading. All of these settings are enabled by default. When messages with images arrive in your Inbox, Outlook 2010 blocks the pictures. Right-click any image link and choose Download Pictures to download all pictures for that message. Safe recipients Outlook 2010 can respond to emails with prepared messages. Use this feature to respond to many e-mail messages with the same message. Use Rules and Alerts to compose a customized message to specific e-mails you receive. First, you must create the standard response you wish to send recipients. To create the actual response template, click New and create the message you wish to send as your automatic response (leaving the To address blank). When you re done, click the File tab and choose Save As. Next, select Outlook Template from the Save As Type dropdown, provide a filename, and then click Save. Now you re ready to create the rule. Ensure Mail is selected in the Navigation Pane and click the Home tab. In the Move group, choose Manage Rules & Alerts from the Rules dropdown. Alternatively, click the File tab, choose Info, and click Rules & Alerts. Click New Rule on the E-mail Rules tab (the default). Using the wizard, you can create a rule from a template or from a blank rule. For this example, select the Apply Rule To Messages I Receive in the Start From A Blank Rule section, and click Next. There are several conditions you can choose to identify the exact messages you want to send a prepared response to, so review them all to match your needs. For example, check the checkbox for With Specific Words In The Subject Or Body. Then, click the specific Words link in the Step 2 box, enter the specific words in question, click Add, and then OK. Press Next. Check the Reply Using A Specific Template item, and then specify the template in the Step 2 window. You should find your templates in the User Templates in File System using the Look In control. After selecting the template, click Open and then Next. Apply any exceptions and click Next. Specify a name for the rule and click Finish. You can also use Outlook 2010 s rule templates to move messages, such as those from an important customer or your supervisor, to a location you specify. The combinations of rules and alerts are virtually endless, but by experimenting, you can 4
create rules that help ensure you see important messages immediately and save time by eliminating the need to respond to the same inquiry repeatedly. Out of Office Assistant Sometimes you need to notify coworkers and clients that you re not in. Perhaps you re on vacation or away for a few days at a convention or seminar. If you don t answer immediately, you don t want people to think you re ignoring them. Instead, use the Out of Office Assistant. If you re using Exchange, enable this feature by clicking the File menu, selecting Info, and then clicking the Automatic Replies button. If you re not on Exchange, configure a Rule using a template to send an automated out-of-the-office message. Managing contacts One of Outlook 2010 s most popular features is Contacts. Think of it as an electronic address book. Outlook 2010 can store a vast amount of information about clients, colleagues, family members, coworkers, suppliers, vendors, and others. Select Contacts from the Navigation Pane to access the feature. To create a new Contact, select New Contact in the New group on the Home tab. Enter the information you wish to store for and then click Save & Close. The contact will now appear in the Contacts list. Using Contacts helps eliminate typing mistakes when addressing e-mail messages, as you can click the To button in the e-mail window and select a recipient from the resulting Select Names entries (which is populated using your default Contacts file). Should you receive a vcard in an e-mail message, you can quickly drag-and-drop the card to the Contacts display button in the Navigation Pane and Outlook 2010 will automatically add the contact for you. The Contacts window lets users sort entries alphabetically, by category, by company, by location, or even by a customize view. Delete contacts by right-clicking on a contact and pressing Delete. Use Contacts to invite others to meetings. Managing Calendars Think of Outlook 2010 s Calendar as an electronic planner. Calendar stores appointments by color-coded categories. Select Calendar in the Navigation Pane to open a Calendar window. To schedule an appointment, click New Appointment in the New group on the Home tab. Alternatively, select the date in the Navigation Pane and double-click the appropriate time slot or right-click the highlighted time span and select New Appointment. Provide the appropriate information and list the attendees for the meeting or event in the resulting New Appointment dialog. 5
If Outlook 2010 is connected to an Exchange server, you can check other invitees schedules (to confirm they re free) using the Scheduling tab. Click Recurrence in the Options group to set a recurring meeting. Specify reminders in the Options group. Selecting the All Day Event checkbox automatically schedules the appointment for the entire day. Use the Show As dropdown in the Options group to specify how to define the time. When you re done, press Save and Close. Managing Tasks Outlook 2010 also offers a powerful electronic To Do list. Tasks supports creating To Do lists that help you track specific projects. To use Tasks, select Tasks from the Navigation Pane. Click New Task in the New group on the Home tab to create a new task. Enter a subject, specify start and due dates, indicate the priority, and set the status as well as any reminders and the percent of the project that s complete. You can view secondary information (including billing information, mileage data, and other details) by clicking Details in the Show group. Tasks you perform each day, week, or month can be managed by clicking Recurrence in the Recurrence group. Should you choose, you can assign tasks to others clicking Assign Task in the Manage Task group. Once you ve entered all the appropriate information, click Save & Close, and Outlook 2010 will add the task to your Task list. You can sort Tasks a number of ways. Right-click any column heading to access the sorting menu. Additional fields can be added by selecting View Settings and clicking Columns. When a Task is complete, highlight the respective Task and press Delete. Alternatively, you can edit a Task at any time by double-clicking it, making the changes you require, and pressing Save & Close. 6