Move Older Messages to an Archive File for Safekeeping.
Choose Tools/Options/Other.
Click the Autoarchive button.
Set the autoarchive frequency and check the box to activate autoarchiving.
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Find your Archive File Fast.
Right-click the icon for the module you want to find.
Choose properties.
Click the autoarchive tab. The name of your archive file is listed there.
Note: Outlook archive files have *.pst extensions.
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Open an Archive File.
Choose File/Open/Personal Folders File.
Pick the archive file you want to look at.
When you open a Personal Folder in Outlook, you have to open the Folder List. Just choose View/Folder List.
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Manage Personal Folders.
Once you've created Personal Folder Files in Outlook, you open them the same way you open an archive file -- choose File/Open/Personal Folders File.
Personal Folders and Archive files work the same. If you forgot where you put a personal folder file, click Start/Find and search for *.PST to locate all the personal folder files on your computer.
Unfortunately, once you find the folder file you want to see, you can't just double-click to open it. Go back to Outlook and choose File/Open/Personal Folders again to see what's in the file.
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Close Personal Folders.
There's no File/Close Personal Folder command in Outlook, so you have to go to your Folder List. Right-click the Personal Folder you want to close and choose Close. You can leave archive files and personal folders open all the time if you want, but too many open folders will make Outlook sluggish. Close all the folders you don't use to keep your performance snappy.
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Use Date Syntax Shortcuts.
Any time you need to enter a date in Outlook, take the shortcut. If you're setting an appointment for this Thursday at noon, type "thu noon" and press tab. Outlook will figure out what you mean and translate it into a normal date.
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Flag Messages.
When you're drowning in a tsunami of email, flag important messages when you don't have time to give them your attention immediately.
Right-click the message.
Choose Flag for Follow-up.
Enter a due date in the Flag dialog box. This makes a reminder pop up when you're ready to respond to the message you flagged.
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Changing Your View.
By default, Outlook used the Outlook Bar across the left hand portion of the window. In addition, the Preview option is set to automatically show the first few lines of each e-mail in the lower right section.
To change these settings:
Select View.
From here you can select Outlook Bar or the more familiar Folder List.
You can also have the Preview Pane - Which shows the first few lines in the lower right corner.
The other option is AutoPreview - This shows the first few lines right below each e-mail.
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Adding a Signature.
You can have Outlook automatically add a signature to all new e-mails as well as replies or forwards.
Go to Tools / Options.
Select Mail Format.
Click on the Signature Picker button.
Click on the New button.
Enter a name for the new signature.
Click on the Next button.
Enter in the text you want to appear in your signature.
Click on the Finish button when you are done.
If you want to have your signature used when you reply or forward e-mail, uncheck the box Don't use when replying or forwarding.
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Turning on the Spell Checker.
By default, Outlook does not spell check your e-mail. To turn this feature on:
Go to Tools / Options.
Click on the Spelling tab.
Check Always check spelling before sending.
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Automatically Emptying Deleted Mail.
By default, Outlook does not remove files from the Deleted folder when you exit the application. To do this:
Go to Tools / Options.
Click on the Other tab.
Check Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting.
When you exit Outlook, you will now be prompted if you want to empty the Deleted Folder items.
If you do not even want to be prompted and just have them automatically deleted:
Click on the Advanced Options button.
Uncheck Warn before permanently deleting items.
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Create Personal Address Book.
To create a Personal Address Book, select E-mail Accounts from the Tools menu. Select Add a new directory or address book.
Click Next.
Select Additional Address Books.
Select Personal Address Book.
In the next dialog box that appears, keep the current settings or enter your own. Click Next twice, then restart Outlook.
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Sort by Multiple Columns.
Sorting by a single column in Outlook is a simple matter of clicking on the column head. Sorting by multiple columns, however, is not so obvious. But it's actually quite easy. First, sort by the first criterion, such as From, by clicking on the column head. Then hold the Shift key down as you click on a second heading, such as Received. Your messages will be sorted primarily by sender, and all the messages from each sender will be ordered chronologically. You can even add additional columns to sort by. Outlook will sort your messages by each additional criterion within the earlier criteria to give you a multicolumn sort.
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Open, Dismiss, or Snooze Multiple Reminders at the Same Time.
Your reminders are listed in the Reminders window, which is accessible from the View menu. From there you can open, dismiss, or "snooze" multiple reminders with a single click.
To work with multiple reminders:
Select the first reminder.
Hold down CTRL.
Select any additional reminders.
Click Open Item, Dismiss, or Snooze.
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Quarantine E-Mail Messages from Unknown Sources.
First, create a new folder in your Inbox to hold any mail sent by an unknown source.
In the Folder list, right-click Inbox and click New Folder. (If your Folder list is not visible, click Folder List on the View menu). Type a name for the folder, such as Unknown Sender, and click OK.
Next, create a new rule with the Rules Wizard:
On the Tools menu, click Rules Wizard.
Click New, and then click Start from a blank rule.
Click Check messages when they arrive, and click Next.
In the Which condition(s) do you want to check? box, select the on this machine only check box.
Click Next.
In the What do you want to do with the message box, click move it to the specified folder.
In the Rule description box, click specified, click the folder you created (such as Unknown Sender), and then click OK.
Click Next.
In the Add any exceptions box, select the except if sender is in specified Address Book checkbox.
In the Rule description box, click specified.
In the Add Address List dialog box, choose Outlook Address Book, click Add, and then click Next.
Type the name of your rule, click Finish, and then click OK.
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Save Multiple Attachments Simultaneously.
Click Save Attachments on the File menu.
When the Save All Attachments dialog box opens, click OK.
Then select the folder where you want to save the files, and click OK.
Note: When you use this shortcut, you must save all the files to the same folder. To save each attachment to a different folder, you will need to save them individually.
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Share Calendar/Inbox/Sent Items.
You will need to grant other users permission to access folders such as your Inbox, Calendar, and Sent Items. To do this:
Right-click the folder that you wish to share.
Select Properties.
Select the Permissions tab.
Click the Add button.
From the Name list, select the person you wish to have access.
Click the Add button.
Click OK.
From the Permission Level drop-down list, select the level of access you wish the person to have.
Click Apply.
Click OK.
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Out of Office Autoreply.
On the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.
In the Out of Office Assistant dialog box, click I am currently Out of the Office.
In the AutoReply only once to each sender with the following text box, type the message that you want to send while you are out of the office.
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View Calendar of Another User.
On the File menu, point to Open, and then click Other User's Folder.
In the Name box, type the name of the person who owns the folder.
From the drop down list select Calendar and then click OK.
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Replying to Spam E-mail.
Avoid replying to the sender with REMOVE in the subject line Messages you receive may include instructions (such as to reply with REMOVE in the subject line) on how to remove yourself from future mailings from the individual or organization. Unfortunately, many senders include these instructions in order to try to confirm that they've reached a working e-mail address, not to remove you from mailings. Unless you are unsubscribing from a mail distribution list that you signed up for or you know the message sender, the best practice is to discard these messages without responding. Some messages contain a phone number to call, but many contain no information on how to stop future mailings. Often if you reply to these messages, you find that the return address or phone number is invalid or is that of someone other than the real sender.
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