Outlook 2007 Tips, Tricks, and Tools

Overview Main Screen Navigation Pane View Pane Reading Pane To–Do Bar Create a New Message Contacts Create a Signature Calendar Changing Calendar View Scheduling New Appointments Scheduling New Appointment Meetings Inviting Attendees View Attendees of a Created Meeting

Overview Changing into an Appointment Recurring Appointments Sharing Calendars Sharing Calendars cont… Sharing Calendar Permissions Scheduling Assistant Scheduling Assistant cont… Distribution List Out of Office Assistant Outlook Web Access Help Menu Questions & Concerns

Main Screen The main screen is divided into 4 windows: the navigation pane, the view pane and the reading pane and the To-Do Bar.

Navigation Pane The navigation pane has section buttons on it: Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Folder List and Shortcuts. You can also customize the navigation pane by using the Configure Buttons option on the lower right section of the pane. You can click on the double-arrow buttons on the navigation pane to minimize the entire pane to a single bar or to just minimize a section of the navigation pane.

View Pane The view pane displays the actual items (messages, appointments, contacts, etc.) On the top of the view pane is the Arranged by feature that can be used for grouping and sorting. After you have selected an arrangement, your folder view changes based on that arrangement.

Reading Pane The reading pane allows you to view the messages without having to double-click and open the messages. The reading pane displays to the right of the screen by default but can be displayed on the bottom of the screen or turned off completely by going to View – Reading Pane.

To – Do Bar The To – Do Bar enables you to see your next three appointments and view all items flagged for follow-up. The quick flag functionality is a way to flag an item as a reminder or follow-up. You can click the quick flag column to instantly flag an item for today. Right click the quick flag column and choose from any of the available flags or create a custom flag. You can turn it on and off via the Standard Toolbar: View -> To-Do Bar -> Off.

Create A New Message To send an message, click on the New button at the top left-hand corner in the Standard Toolbar.

Contacts Your contacts are listed under the Contacts Tab in the Outlook Menu (bottom left). You can change the default View by clicking on a Current View option: Business Cards, Address Cards, etc.

Creating A Signature You can create a signature so that it automatically appears on the bottom of all out-going messages. To create a signature, click on Tools – Options – Mail Format – Signatures…New...type in a name for this signature, choose how to create your signature, click Next, and type in your desired signature. Click Finish and OK when done. The last signature that you create will be set as the default signature as shown under Signature for new messages.

Calendar The calendar provides scheduling features in Outlook. You can create personal appointments and events, meetings, check other people’s schedules, and have access to other people’s calendars.

Changing Calendar View You can decide how many days that you want to see on the calendar by choosing the buttons across the top of the screen: Day, Week (Show Work Week or Show Full Week) or Month.

Scheduling New Appointments There are several common ways to open the New Appointment request window: (Here are a few) Double click the date and time you wish to schedule an appointment. Press the New button at the top left and select “Appointment” (only works if you have the Calendar view active).

Scheduling New Appt. Meetings There are several common ways to open the New Meeting request window: (Here are a few) Press the New button at the top left and select “Meeting Request” (only works if you have the Calendar view active). Click on the “Invite Attendees” button in an Appointment to change it to a Meeting Request.

Inviting Attendees To invite individuals to your meeting : Click the To button to display the attendees and resources dialog box. Select the attendees you want to invite to your meeting. These are three categories of recipients for a meeting request. Required –Those individuals who must attend the meeting. Optional – Those individuals who don’t need to attend the meeting but should be notified of the meeting. Resources – Objects such as conference rooms, projects, and white boards.

View Attendees Of A Created Meeting Open the appt in your calendar and click on the Scheduling tab. If you are the meeting organizer, open the appt and click on the Tracking tab. This will show you who has responded to your meeting request.

Changing into an Appt. Drag and drop the into the Calendar folder and then edit anything that needs to be modified such as: date, time, etc. Drag and drop to calendar folder and make necessary changes…don’t forget to click save once the window is displayed!

Recurring Appointments In a new or opened meeting or appointment, click on the Recurrence button. Be sure to note the “Range of Recurrence” options at the bottom of the window.

Sharing Calendars Sharing is a two ‐ stage process in Outlook. The owner must grant you the right to see their stuff and determine the permissions you will have. You then must open the shared resource. To share your calendar, click on the link in the Navigation Pane labeled “Share My Calendar …”. You can then select people with whom to share your calendar and select the level of permission you wish to give them. Note: Do not use the Delegates feature under Tools and Options to give rights to your calendar. This is not the appropriate way to share a calendar.

Sharing Calendars cont… For , calendar, contacts, tasks and notes, click on the File menu, select Open and choose “Other User’s Folder”. Here you will be able to choose which folders to open and use. For all but , you can also click on the Navigation Pane bar for the resource you wish to share and then click on the link labeled “Open Shared …”. Dialog box to enter the user’s calendar you want to see.

Sharing Calendar (Permissions) In order to set permissions for the viewee of your calendar, right-click on your calendar, (located under My Calendars) navigate down to Change Sharing Permissions within the Calendar Properties Dialog box. In the Permission Level drop down menu select the permission you want the viewee to have. Once in the Calendar Properties Dialog box go to the Permission Level drop down menu and select the permission you want the viewee to have.

Scheduling Assistant The scheduling assistant enables you to see whether your attendees are free during a proposed meeting time. The Suggested Times List displays when the majority of your attendees are available. Good Time slots = white Fair Time slots = pale blue Poor Time slots = dark blue

Scheduling Assistant cont… When creating appointments using Outlook or your windows mobile device, be sure to determine whether your appointment status is busy, free, or tentative. Busy Status: When the scheduling assistant checks your appointment availability it will determine that block of time as occupied. ( Represented by a solid blue line) Free Status: When the scheduling assistant checks your appointment availability it will determine that block of time as available/negotiable. (Represented by a solid white space) Tentative: When the scheduling assistant checks your appointment availability it will determine that block of time as indefinite. (Represented by a blue and white striped line)

Distribution List You can create a Distribution List by: 1. Open the Contacts folder by clicking on the Contacts banner in the Navigation Pane. 2. Click the Office button and choose New Distribution List to display the window. 3. Type the name for your distribution list in the name text box. 4. To add members to your distribution list from and existing Contacts folder of Global Address list, click Select Members to display the dialog box.

Outlook Web Access If your address is: then you would login as jdoe.

Help Menu The Help menu covers topics related to Outlook If you aren’t sure where to begin your quest for help, take advantage of the search capabilities in the Help window. You can either select the Help tab or type in the search box labeled “Type a question for help”(located at the top right of your Outlook window.) The Help window will appear and you can choose one of the links displayed in the Help windows such as , Calendar and Scheduling, or Contacts.

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