MS Outlook Software Tips

TIP #1: RECALL A MESSAGE YOU SENT (Versions 2000 and above)

Included in all editions of the new Office 2000, Outlook 2000 allows you to recall an email message that you sent to another user of Outlook. This feature works only if the receiver hasn't yet opened the message you're trying to recall. To recall a sent message, open the SENT ITEMS FOLDER, then open the message that you want to recall. Next, select Actions/Recall This Message from the Menu Bar. From the Recall This Message dialog box, you can choose to simply delete unread copies of the message, or you can replace unread copies of the message with a brand new message. You can also request to be notified whether the message recall was successful. Once you've selected the options you want, click Ok, and Outlook attempts to recall the message you selected.

TIP #2: NAVIGATING DATE NAVIGATOR (Versions 2000 and above)

The date navigator is the small calendar on the top right corner of the calendar views. When you click on the navigator it will change the days shown in the main view pane. Here's some quick ways to jump around to what you want.

TIP #3: OPEN INBOX/OUTBOX (SHORTCUT) (Versions 2000 and above)

Jumping to the Outlook Inbox or Outbox is a shortcut away:

TIP #4: ADD ACTIVITIES TO CONTACT FOLDER, ASSIGN WEB PAGE TO FOLDER (Versions 2000 and above)

Remember that Outlook date fields are smart. Any place that a date is called for you can use "the first Monday in August" or "next Tuesday" or...

In Outlook 2000 - 2003, the Activities tab has a drop down of specific sets of activities that you can search for. You can add your own to this list. Just go to the CONTACTS FOLDER, right click on the word CONTACTS n the FOLDER BAR and pick PROPERTIES. Go to the tab called ACTIVITIES and hit NEW ( or Copy one of the existing names) and adjust where to look. If you have a huge .pst, you may want a search that only looks in the standard folders:

Also, in Outlook 2000 & 2002, you can assign a web page to any folder so that you can display that page whenever you are in the folder and you pick SHOW FOLDER HOME PAGE from the VIEW MENU (and toggle it off in the same place). For example, one reader suggested assigning 555-1212.com to the CONTACT FOLDER. To make the assignment, go to the folder properties (as in tip 2) and go to the tab called HOME PAGE and type in the URL remembering to include the heading http://.

TIP #5: USING A WORD SIGNATURE IN MAIL MESSAGE (Versions 2000 and above)

To insert a signature into a message when using Microsoft Word as your email editor, you can:

Note: Signatures that are created with the 'WORD' mail editor are stored as 'AUTOTEXT' as part of the normal.dot file in Word as regular global Word autotext entries are.

TIP #6: SHORTCUT TO 'CREATE', 'REPLY', AND 'FORWARD' MESSAGES (Versions 2000 and above)

TIP #7: SHORTCUT TO 'RESEND' AND 'RECALL' OR 'DRAG' MESSAGES (Versions 2000 and above)

TIP #9: DRAGGING ITEMS FROM YOUR INBOX TO YOUR CALENDAR (Versions 2000 and above)

How would you like to quickly enter a meeting or an appointment from your email into your calendar without having to switch back to your calendar and retyping it?

Note: You will need to set the time, Outlook automatically schedules appointments in half-hour increments.

TIP #10: ADD ENTRIES ON MULTIPLE CALENDARS AT ONCE (available in 2000 & 2002)

If you want to have entries or appointments from your calendar on multiple calendars, you can do the following:

TIP #11 - DRAG A WEB LINK INTO OUTLOOK (Versions 2000 and above)

Quickly DRAG & DROP a Web page shortcut into an Outlook mail message

Using Internet Explorer and Outlook, you can easily send the shortcut by dragging and dropping the shortcut

If your new mail message is behind other windows, drag the shortcut to the Outlook mail message's button on the taskbar, or hold for a moment. The mail message window will pop up and you can then drag the shortcut into your message.

TIP #12 - GETTING TIME TO SHOW ON CALENDAR VIEWS (Versions 2000 and above)

You may have noticed that sometimes the TIME may not show on CALENDAR VIEWS - this is because of the screen resolution - if there's not enough room, it will show the appointment, etc. but not the time,

TIP #13 - CHECK TO SEE FOR WHICH MAIL SERVER YOU ARE CONFIGURED (Versions 2000 and above)

If you had highlighted ‘Microsoft Exchange Server’, at the ‘General’ tab, it will have the server name

TIP #14 - NEED TO SEARCH FOR EMAIL ID'S FOR PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET? (Versions 2000 and above)

Your Technical contact can set up an LDAP (Light Directory Access Protocol) Server setting on your machine OR in Outlook 2002/2003, you can turn on the Web toolbar and type in the URL of the Penn State LDAP or PH search site.

You can then search for email ID's of people on the Internet (this LDAP configuration uses 'bigfoot')

TIP #15 - FILE EXTENSIONS (All Versions)

FILE-NAME EXTENSIONS – What are they?

Did you ever get an attachment with a filename extension that you don’t know? You can get information about the file extension by visiting the following Website and click on the first letter of the file extension (e.g., click on E if the file extension is .exe – it will give you a list of all the filename extensions that begin with ‘e’!!
http://webopedia.internet.com/quick_ref/fileextensions.html

TIP # 16 - CHANGING THE DEFAULT 'GLOBAL ADDRESS LIST' TO YOUR CONTACTS LIST (OR ANOTHER ADDRESS BOOK) - (Versions 2000 and above)

You can change the ‘default’ Global Address List to look first to your Contacts list instead - this is the list that automatically pulls up when you click the TO: button in a new message window to select addresses.

To change the 'default' Global Address List when you click the TO: button in a new message in Outlook 2000, do the following:

TIP # 17 - YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE FROM YOUR EUDORA ADDRESS BOOK/NICKNAME LIST INTO A NEW DISTRIBUTION LIST IN OUTLOOK (Versions 2000 and above)

TIP #18 - CHANGE THE FONT SETTING IN THE PREVIEW PANE (Versions 2000 and above)

If you want to change the font setting in the Preview Pane (This will only work for plain text messages [NOT HTML or Rich Text format] that you receive), you can do the following:

- NOTE: at this point, if you’re using Outlook 2000, you’ll need to uncheck the ‘Microsoft Word email editor’ if you have it set – then you can check it after your font is set
- You don’t need to uncheck this in Outlook 2002 or Outlook 2003.

Tip #19 - OUTLOOK CONTACTS NOT SHOWING UP AS A DATA SOURCE WHEN MERGING WITH MS WORD (Version 2002 Only)

If you find that MS Word will not see your Outlook 2002 Contacts as a data source during a merge AND you have the Corel Suite (version 9) running on your PC, you can:

Tip #20 - SEND A MESSAGE TO MANY PEOPLE WITHOUT ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEARING IN THE TO: BOX (All Versions)

It’s easy to avoid a long list of email addresses in the TO: box by doing the following:

The only thing the recipients of the email will ‘see’ in the TO: area is ‘Recipient List Suppressed’ not the email address entries for every person on the distribution list.

Tip #21 - ADD A SHORTCUT TO THE OUTLOOK BAR TO OPEN SOMEONE ELSE'S CALENDAR (Versions up to Outlook 2002)

Tip #22 - QUICK WAY TO CHANGE THE LIST THAT OUTLOOK REFERENCES FIRST FOR CHECKING EMAILS WHILE YOU'RE IN A NEW MAIL MESSAGE

Example: If you want Outlook to look to your Contacts list names before it looks to the Global Address List email addresses*

To specify the address provider in a message (without permanently changing the default order of the list to check), follow these steps:

Tip #23 - NO REMINDER FOR FLAGGED MESSAGES THAT HAVE A PAST DUE DATE/TIME (Versions 2000/2002)

In Outlook, you can quickly flag a message for follow-up and you receive a reminder at a set time. When the recipient receives a message with a flag, a comment on the purpose of the flag appears at the top of the message. If you set a due date and time, this also appears. When the date and time is due, you receive a reminder.

Although, if you move the message to another folder other than your Inbox, the due date and time will pass without a reminder. If you move the past due message back into your delivery Inbox folder, the reminder immediately opens a reminder notice.

Tip #24 - CONFIGURE OUTLOOK FOR PSU LDAP (All Versions)

To set up MS Outlook to use PSU LDAP to look up email address for members of the Penn State Community, you can follow these steps:

*In Outlook 2003, you can turn on the Web toolbar (right click toolbar background and select Web - toolbar appears - move toolbar if necessary). Using the Web toolbar, in the address line area, type the URL (the Penn State LDAP URL to their search site is - www.psu.edu/ldap

Also available in Outlook 2002 & 2003, you can quickly find messages over a specified size (such as over 500 Kilobytes) for clean-up by selecting the Tools menu, and then choose Mailbox Cleanup. You can have it quickly find All files over a certain size you specify or by how old the messages are (for example, over 90 days old, etc.).

Tip #26 - Send a Message with a Link to a Public Folder (versions 2000 and above)

You can quickly send an email message containing a link to a public folder (provided you use MS Exchange Server and have access to the public folder). Right click on the public folder within Outlook, and select 'Send Link to This Folder'. A new message will appear with a link to the public folder appearing in the body of the message. Send this message and the recipient will only have to double click this link to open the public folder (provided they have security access to this folder).

Tip #27 - Set a Message to be Sent at a Later Date and/or Time (versions 2000 and above)

You can delay the delivery of an email message by doing the following:

Create your email message
Click ‘Options’
The dialog box named ‘Message Options’ appears.
Under ‘Delivery options’ select the ‘Do not deliver before’ box and click the delivery date and time you prefer.
Close and continue sending the email message. Your email will be delivered as you requested.

Tip #28 - Copy Email Addresses from an Existing Distribution List and Paste these into a New Distribution List (versions 2000 and above)

You may want to create a new distribution list (for example, "Committee Members") that contains the email addresses included in an existing distribution list (for example, "Committee Leaders") and then add additional email addresses in the new distribution list. In our example, we would add email addresses of Committee Members that are not Committee Leaders. Here's how you can save yourself from retyping email addresses in the new list:

Click on Contacts and from the File menu, select New and then select New Distribution List.
Enter a Name for the new distribution list in the Name text box (such as Committee Members).
Click on the 'Select Members' button.
In the 'Show names from the:' drop-down list, choose Contacts (under 'Outlook Address Book' section) and highlight the distribution list name containing the email addresses you want to copy (such as Committee Leaders) and click 'Ok'.
The name of the distribution list will appear in your new distribution list window (in our example, this name is Committee Leaders). To view the email addresses included in this original distribution list, double click on it to open the list (do not add or remove email addresses from the original distribution list as this will add/remove email addresses from this list rather than the new list). Close the original distribution list.
In the new distribution list window (in our example, Committee Members), you can add email addresses. In our example, we would add email addresses of committee members that are not committee leaders.
Save and close when finished.

Tip #29 - Copy & Paste Email Addresses from an existing email address list (from a Word, Excel, Access file or Eudora distribution list) and Paste the addresses into a New Outlook Distribution List (versions 2000 and above)

You may want to use email addresses that are already typed in a file or an existing Eudora list. You can copy and paste the addresses into a distribution list in Outlook without retyping the email addresses.

When you create a new distribution list (for example, "Ad Hoc Committee") you can copy & paste the addresses from your existing list.

In our example below, we would add email addresses of Ad Hoc Committee Members from an existing list of email address in a Word document. Here's how you can save yourself from retyping email addresses in the new list:

Locate your existing list of email addresses (open up your Word document, Excel spreadsheet, Access Query/Table, or Eudora distribution list, etc.), highlight the list of email addresses, and perform a copy (CTRL/c, or from the menu, EDIT/Copy, or click [COPY] button on toolbar)
Go into Outlook, and click on Contacts - create a NEW distribution list (from the FILE menu, select New and then select New Distribution List)
Enter a Name for the new distribution list in the Name text box (such as Ad Hoc Committee).
Click on the 'Select Members' button to open the window to select addresses
In the blank area on the right side of the window, right mouse click on blank background, and select 'Paste'
<Your email addresses should appear>
Click [OK] to exit the window
<your addresses should be listed and included in the distribution list>
<Add any additional addresses to your list, if any>
Save and close when finished.

NOTE: In Outlook 2003 - the functions would be the same, except when 'pasting' the addresses, right mouse click in the 'Members' line at bottom of window, select 'Paste'.

Tip #30 - Backup Outlook .pst File (Versions 2000 and above)

Your MS Outlook .pst file contains your e-mail, calendar information, and contacts. The Personal Folders Backup download (link provided below) creates backup copies of your .PST files at regular intervals, in Outlook 2000 and later versions, making it easy to keep all of your Outlook folders safely backed up.

TRY OUTLOOK PERSONAL FOLDERS ‘BACKUP TOOL’

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=2219933

Tip # 31 - GO MOBILE – Check out Microsoft Website for Info on Mobile Computing

Want to know how Microsoft Outlook works with the Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition, and the new Windows Smartphone?

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=429429

Tip #32 - Work with Public Folders Offline (Versions 2002 and above)

Make sure you have Offline Folders enabled. From the Tools menu choose Services and select MS Exchange Server and Advanced. Select Offline Folder File Settings and make sure Offline Use is enabled.

Copy the Public folder you want to work with offline to your Favorites folder.
Within your Favorites folder, right click on the Public Folder that was copied to this location and choose Properties. Select the Synchronization tab and a dialog box will appear.
In this dialog box, select 'When Offline or Online' and click Ok.
Select the folder, select the Tools menu and click Synchronize and select 'This Folder'.

Your folder will now be configured for offline use.

Tip #33 - Keyboard Shortcuts to Navigate Folders (Versions 2002 and above)

Press CTRL+Y and press the first character of a folder's name and keep pressing this character until you get to the correct folder.
Use the right arrow key (or plus sign) to expand or collapse folder trees.
Press the Home key to move to the top of the list. Press the End key to move to the bottom of the list.
Once on a particular folder, press the enter key to open the folder.
In Outlook 2003, press Alt+F1 to quickly close or display the Navigation pane.

TIP #34: OUTLOOK 2003 -- DELETE Email Address Entries on the AutoComplete list in a New Message (Version 2003)

When you create a new mail message, there may be times when the AutoComplete listing has incorrect email addresses. If you inadvertently sent an email using an incorrect email address, that address will appear on the AutoComplete listing.

You can DELETE email address entries from the AutoComplete list quickly:

Use your UP or DOWN Arrows to select the name on the AutoComplete list,

Then touch DELETE key on keyboard

TIP #35: Display the Contacts List in Last Name, First Name Order When Composing a New Mail Message (Versions 2002 and above)

When you create a new mail message and place your cursor in the To or CC fields, your contacts list will appear with first names appearing first. You can change this to display last names first followed by first names. Here's how:

When you receive incoming mail, an audio alert can be heard. You can change this audio alert to any .wav file. Here's how:

In Outlook 2002 (and higher), you have the ability to see the size of your mailbox and to find large files that you may want to delete and clean up your mailboxes

Example: If you would perform a ‘Find’ to identify items older than a certain date, a window appears with your ‘search’ results

An option for searching using PSU LDAP is to turn on the Web toolbar and in the 'Address' line, type in the URL www.psu.edu/ldap

Web toolbar not on?? To turn the Web toolbar on (if it isn't already):

Right click the toolbar background
Select Web
<the Web toolbar appears>
NOTE: You may want to move your Web toolbar since it could be sharing a row with your other toolbar. If you haven't turned this toolbar on before, the Web toolbar most times shares a row with your other toolbar buttons, which can be cumbersome.
To move the toolbar:
Simply point to the left side of the Web toolbar until you see the four-sided arrow
Then drag with your mouse to move it below your other toolbars
In the Address area of the toolbar (the white area where you can input a URL), type the URL www.psu.edu/ldap/ <the page will appear for you to input your search criteria>
When you've found the email address, click it to create a new mail message
<to leave LDAP screen, simply touch on InBox or any other folder or component within Outlook when finished>

Tip #39 - Clear the ‘AutoComplete’ in Messages when Email Address Errors Appear (All Versions)

You can clear ‘auto complete’ in mail message fields if you’ve accidentally entered an incorrect address or changed a distribution list and the useless address still continues to appear in the AutoComplete listing.

Solution: Simply right click on the email address and touch [DEL] key

Tip #40 - Send a Distribution List to Someone (All Versions)

You can send a distribution list to someone else by following these steps:

2. If MS Word is your e-mail editor (Tools menu, Options, Mail Format tab and check to see if the "Use MS Word as your email editor" check box is checked), select Contacts, find the distribution list, and drag it into the message body. Then Send the message.

3. If MS Outlook is your e-mail editor (Tools menu, Options, Mail Format tab and the "Use MS Word as you email editor" check box is unchecked), select the Insert menu, and click Item. In the Look in list, select the folder that contains the distribution list (Contacts folder by default). Select the distribution list that you want to send and click Ok. Then Send the message.

Note: If the distribution list that you are sending contains members from a Global Address List, make sure that the person you are sending the list to also uses this same Global Address List.

Tip #41 - Creating a New Toolbar and Naming Quick Flags (Version 2003)

You can add a label to Quick Flags to help keep track of color coded flags. Simply add your Quick Flag to a toolbar and then label the flag. This may help you remember what each flag color means.

1. In Outlook, right-click on any toolbar, and then click Customize.
2. On the Toolbars tab, click New, and provide a name for the toolbar. Then, you can drag the toolbar to the location your desire.
3. In the Customize dialog box, on the Commands tab, under Categories, click Actions, and then drag a flag to the new toolbar.
4. Right-click on the flag, and then choose Image and Text.
5. Right-click on the flag again, and in the Name box, type the name for the flag.
6. Repeat these steps for any additional flags.
7. After you have added all of the flags you want on the toolbar, click Close in the Customize dialog box.
8. To mark your messages with a flag, click the message in the message list, and then click the flag button on the toolbar you created.
Note: When you switch to Calendar, Contacts, or Tasks, the Quick Flag toolbar is empty because flagging does not apply to these areas.

Tip #42 - Do NOT Copy your .pst file to a Read-Only CD (All Versions)

If you plan to archive your e-mail messages, personal folders, etc. to another media, please remember to NOT store your Outlook .pst file (a data file that stores your messages and other items on your computer) to a read-only CD. This is not supported in MS Outlook.

In January, 2005, Microsoft released a Junk E-mail filtering update for Outlook 2003. This update provides a more current definition of which e-mail messages should be considered Junk. The update is available at:

Have you ever sent a Message and later find that it is still sitting in the Outbox mailbox? The most common cause of this problem is that you have opened the message while it was still in the Outbox. To send the message that is "stuck" in the Outbox, simply open it again, save any changes that you may have made to the message, and click the Send button. If the message still does not go but stays in the Outbox, copy the contents and paste into a new message. Send the identical, new message and delete the original, stuck message from the Outbox.

Tip #46 - Set MS Outlook to Initially Look to your Personal Contacts List Rather than the Global Address List (Versions 2002 and higher)

If you are using the College of Engineering's E-Mail server, the Global Address List will initially appear when you click on the To button in a New Mail Message. If you would rather see your Personal Contacts List, you can configure Outlook to show this list first by completing the following steps:

4. In the "Show this address list first:" drop-down list, choose Contacts under the Outlook Address Book category.

7. Click on the Mail button to return to Mail and click the New button to create a new message. Click To and Outlook will show names from your personal, address book first.

Tip #47 - How to Remove the Prompt to Merge Changes when Opening MS Word Attachments (Versions 2002 and higher)

When you send an email message to yourself with a MS Word document as an attachment, you may be prompted to merge the changes from the attached document into the original document. You will receive this prompt if 'Add properties to attachments to enable Reply with Changes' is selected in Advance E-mail Options. If you receive this prompt to merge changes, you can do any of the following:

Tip #48 - What To Do if a Public (Calendar) Folder Doesn't Show Up in the "Other Calendars" Area After It's Created (Versions 2003 and higher)

If a PUBLIC (Calendar) Folder doesn’t show up in the ‘Other Calendars’ area after it’s created, follow these steps:

1. Go to the FOLDER LIST (GO/Folder List) so that you can access the Public Folders.
2. Double click PUBLIC FOLDERS to expand folders, and double click the FAVORITES folder to expand the folder.
3. Select the folder that doesn’t show up, right click on the folder and select ‘Add to Other Calendars’ .

[The calendar should then show up in the Other Calendars area in CALENDAR]

To add holidays to a public and/or shared calendar in MS Outlook, you must first add the holidays to your Personal Calendar and then Move these to the public/shared calendar. Here's how:

1. Open your personal calendar: Click the Calendar button in the Navigation pane. Under the "My Calendars" section of the Navigation pane, check the Calendar check box.

2. Add the holidays: Select the Tools menu, choose Options, select the Preferences tab, click the Calendar Options button, click the Add Holidays button, check the United States check box and click Ok. When prompted to install the Holidays, click Ok and click Ok again at the message box that appears letting you know the installation was successful. Click Ok to close the Calendar Options dialog box and click Ok to close the Options dialog box.

3. View your Calendar By Category: From the View menu, choose Arrange By, choose Current View, and then choose By Category.

4. Select the Holiday Category: Since we only want to copy holidays, collapse the Holiday category by clicking on the minus/collapse tool

for the Holidays Category only and make sure the Holiday category is selected (outlined in blue).

5. Move the Holidays to the Public/Shared Calendar: With the Holidays category selected, select the Edit menu and choose Move to Folder and browse to the public/shared calendar.

6. Return to Date, Week, Month View with AutoPreview: Select the public/shared calendar or your personal calendar and from the View menu, choose Arrange By, choose Current View, and then choose Date, Week, Month View with AutoPreview.

Tip #50 - Create a Rule to Auto-Reply to Only PSU Addresses when Out of the Office (Versions 2000 and higher)

MS Outlook comes with an easy to use "Out of Office", Auto-Reply utility (found under the Tools menu, Out of Office Assistant). However, if you use this utility to set Outlook to automatically reply to incoming messages, it will do just that, automatically reply to ALL incoming messages, including SPAM and Junk E-mail messages. If you reply to SPAM messages, the "Spammer" will know they hit a "live" e-mail address and consequently, send more messages. To keep this from happening, you can follow the instructions outlined below to create a rule that auto-replies only to incoming e-mail messages containing "psu" or "engr" in the sender field. The steps include the following:

Tip #51 - Sort Your Contacts by E-mail Address (Versions 2000 and higher)

If you want to sort your Outlook address book by email address so you can easily find the name attached to a particular address, you need to create a special ‘view’:

Here’s how:

Tip #52 - Tips to Help Make Sure Your E-mail Gets Read (All Versions)

Here are some helpful tips to help make sure your e-mail messages get read:

Tip #53 - What to do if You Can't See Your Contacts in a New Mail Message? (All Versions)

What can you do if you don't see your contacts when you click on the To: button to create a New Message?

Tip #54 - From Where Do "Spammers" Get Your E-Mail Address? (All Versions)

A "Dictionary Attack" is a common method for spammers to use in an attempt to obtain e-mail addresses. When using this method, spammers use programs that try many combinations of email addresses, with the goal of identifying valid e-mail addresses to "spam". Once an email system accepts a message, the e-mail address is identified as valid. Large e-mail systems/providers protect themselves from dictionary attacks, blocking computers that attempt to send many messages. However, sometimes it is hard for these systems to differentiate these systems from legitimate, high-volume mailings such as e-mail newsletters.

Tip #55 - Can "Spammers" Get My E-Mail Address From the BCC Field? (All Versions)

No they cannot. This is because the list of email addresses is stripped out by the sending SMTP server before e-mail is sent to addresses contained in a BCC (blind carbon copy) field.

Tip #56 -Phishing Spreads to Include Not Only Banks (All Versions)

Phishing attempts (e-mails attempting to trick you into visiting a link provided within an e-mail message and prompting you to enter sensitive information so it can be used for criminal purposes) are no longer limited to the banking industry. Recently, phishing attempts have spread to include messages posing as coming from the following:

If you are not sure of the validity of the source of an email, contact your e-mail service provider. Do NOT click on the link provided in the e-mail message.

Tip #57 - What To Do If a Disruption in Your Online Connection Occurs (All Versions)

Tip #58 - Create a Public Calendar to Share with Everyone (Versions 2003 and higher)