Tips and Tricks : Outlook 2000

Use Outlook to Track Long-Distance Calls

At my job, I must keep track of my long-distance telephone calls and then bill clients for the cost of those calls. I have found the Phone Call feature in my Outlook Journal to be the best way to gather this information.

To track your calls in the Journal:

1. Go the Contacts folder and double-click the contact you are going to call.
2. On the Actions menu, click New Journal Entry for Contact .
3. When you begin the call, click the Start Timer button. While you're talking, you can record notes from your call in the space provided in the Journal Entry.
4. When you're done, click Pause Timer and save your entry.

Now, when I need to submit my calls to accounting, I just print out the list of phone calls from my Journal or copy and paste the list of calls into an Office document.

To view a list of all the phone calls in your journal:

1. Go to your Journal folder.
2. From the View menu, choose Current View , and then click Phone Calls .

Editor's Note:  In Outlook 2000, you can also use the new Contact Activity Tracking feature to get a list of all the phone calls, e-mails, or meetings related to a contact.

To view all the Journal items related to a contact:

1. Open the contact you want to view.
2. Click the Activities tab.
3. In the Show list, click Journal .
   

Schedule E-mail Responses in Your Outlook Calendar

If you receive an e-mail message in Outlook and you don't have time to respond to it immediately, you can easily add it to your calendar and schedule a block of time when you will be able to reply.

To turn an e-mail message into an item on your calendar:

1. Drag the message from your Inbox onto the Calendar icon on the Outlook Bar or onto your Calendar folder. This will create a new appointment item.
2. Enter the date and time you want to reply and specify any additional options you want. (The body of the e-mail message is automatically added to the appointment.)
3. Click Save and Close to add the appointment to your calendar.

Outlook will automatically notify you when it is time to respond to that e-mail.

Editor's Note: You can drag items between all Outlook folders: Inbox, Tasks, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and so on. For more options, right-click before you drag.

Forward an Outlook Contact to Someone Else

If you have contacts stored in Outlook that you'd like to send to other people, it couldn't be easier. Just go to your Contacts folder, right-click on the contact you want to send, and then click Forward . A brand-new e-mail message will be created with that contact included as an attachment. Just enter the e-mail address of the people you want to forward it to and click Send .

When the recipients receive the contact, all they have to do is to drag the attachment onto either the Contacts icon in the Outlook Shortcuts bar or onto the Contacts folder in the folder list; it will be added automatically to their contacts list.

Too Much Love? Outlook Can Automatically Delete Unwanted E-mail

The Outlook Rules Wizard paid off for me during the recent influx of unwanted ILOVEYOU messages. With the Rules Wizard, I have been automatically deleting any e-mail messages I receive with the following keywords in the Subject box: "ILOVEYOU," "I LOVE YOU," and "FWD: JOKE." Now they don't clog up my Inbox, and I can't open them up accidentally.

To use the Rules Wizard to automatically delete any e-mail with the subject "ILOVEYOU":

1. Click Inbox . Then, on the Tools menu, click Rules Wizard .
2. Click New .
3. Click check messages when they arrive , and then click Next .
4. Select the check box next to with specific word in the subject .
5. In the text area below, click the blue, underlined phrase specific words .
6. Here you can specify which words Outlook should look out for. For example, in the Add New text box, enter ILOVEYOU and then click Add . Repeat for any additional terms you want to check for. When you're done, click OK and then click Next .
7. Select delete it .
8. Click Finish .

To apply the rule to e-mail already in your Inbox, click Run Now . In the Select rules to run list , select the check box next to the rule you just created, and click Run Now . This will delete all e-mail in your inbox with the subject "ILOVEYOU." When the process is complete, click OK .

Now, anytime you get e-mail with the subject "ILOVEYOU," Outlook will automatically move it to your Deleted Items folder. The e-mail will still be available in your Deleted Items until you empty the folder.

Editor's Note: This tip will not protect you from all types of e-mail-borne viruses. To guard against viral attacks that travel in e-mail attachments, Microsoft strongly recommends that you download the Outlook E-mail Security Update from the Office Download Center. Users should review the documentation before installing.

Sent an Embarrassing E-mail? Retrieve It

Have you ever accidentally sent an e-mail you wish you could "unsend"? Well, maybe you can.

If you use Microsoft Exchange Server as your e-mail server, and the recipient uses Outlook, you can recall the message before the person has a chance to read it.

To recall a message after you've sent it:

1. Open your Sent Items folder.
2. Double-click the message you want recalled.
3. On the Actions menu, click Recall This Message .
4. To recall the message, click Delete unread copies of this message . To replace the message with another one, click Delete unread copies and replace with a new message , click OK , and then type a new message.
5. To be notified about the success of the recall or replacement for each recipient, select the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient check box.
6. Click OK .

Crisis averted. :)

Did You Get the E-Mail Message I Sent? I Can Find Out

With the Read Receipt feature in Outlook, you can track if and when someone has read an e-mail message you've sent. So, instead of wondering, "Has he read my e-mail yet?", you can know for sure. Here's how:

1. Before you send your message, on the View menu, click Options .
2. Select the Request a read receipt for this message check box and click Close .

To automatically track all e-mail that you send:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options .
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options , and then click Tracking Options .
3. Select the Request a read receipt for all messages I send check box and click OK .

Now as soon as the recipient opens an e-mail message you've sent, Outlook automatically sends a message back notifying you that it's been read. Or if the recipient deleted the message without reading it, you'll know that too.

Editor's Note: If your recipient's e-mail server does not support this feature, you will not be able to track if the message was read. Microsoft Exchange Server is one server that does provide full message tracking capabilities.

Are You Spying on Me?

I like to know if people have requested read receipts on e-mail messages they've sent me. Here's how you can customize your Outlook Inbox so you can see at a glance which messages have read receipts attached:

1. Open your Outlook Inbox, and on the View menu, point to Toolbars and click Advanced to show the Advanced toolbar.
2. On the Advanced toolbar, click Field Chooser .
3. In the Field Chooser drop-down box, select All Mail Fields .
4. Scroll down until you see Receipt Requested .
5. Click Receipt Requested and drag it onto the column heading in your Inbox. The double red arrows indicate where the column will be placed when you release the mouse.
6. Close the Field Chooser box.

Now you'll see a new column in your Inbox with the label Receipt Requested that will have a Yes in it when the message has a read receipt request attached or a No if it does not.

Add Contacts Quickly in Outlook 2000

If you receive an e-mail message from a person whom you want to add to your Outlook contact list, here's a quick way to do it:

1. Open the e-mail message that contains the name you want to add to your contact list.
2. In the From box, right-click the name you want to make into a contact, and then click Add to Contacts on the Shortcut menu.

This creates a new contact with that person's name and e-mail address already filled in. You can also fill in any additional information you have about that person, such as a phone or fax number, and then save it in your Contacts folder for easy access.

Send an Office Document Without Opening Outlook

Ever need to get that important Word document to your boss in a hurry? Here's how you can do it without even opening Outlook.

1. On the File menu, point to Send To , and then click Mail Recipient (as Attachment) .
2. Fill in the Receipts , Subject , and message boxes and click Send .

Or if you have Word 2000:

1. On the Standard toolbar, click E-mail .
2. In the To and Cc boxes, enter the recipient names separated by semicolons.
3. By default, the name of the document appears in the Subject box. If you want, you can type your own subject name.
4. Click Send a Copy .

Using this tip is a lot easier than going into Outlook, creating a new message, and browsing for the attachment on your hard drive.

Editor's Note: This tip also works in Excel and PowerPoint.

Give E-Mail a Fresh Look in Outlook

If you use HTML as your new message format in Outlook 2000, you can use stationery to change the background and fonts used in the message.

First, make sure you are using HTML as your default message format. To do this:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Mail Format tab.
2. In the Send in this message format list, select HTML , and click OK .

Now, whenever you want to use stationery to give your e-mail a custom look:

1. Click Inbox .
2. On the Actions menu, point to New Mail Message Using , and then click More Stationery .
3. In the Select a Stationery box, select the one you want to use and click OK .
   

Create a Meeting Request with a Contact in Outlook

To quickly schedule a meeting with an Outlook contact or members of a distribution list:

1. Open your Contacts folder, and drag a contact or distribution list onto the Calendar icon on your Outlook Shortcuts bar. This will automatically create a new meeting request addressed to the person or group.
2. Enter start and end times for your meeting, and select any other options you want. Then click Send .

Editor's Note: You can also drag contacts into your Inbox to create new messages addressed to them or into your Tasks folder to assign them a task.

Forward Outlook Contacts to Others

Here's a quick way to send one of your colleagues or friends a contact from your Contacts folder:

1. In your Contacts folder, right-click the contact you want to send, and then choose Forward from the shortcut menu. Outlook will automatically create a new message with that contact included as an attachment.
2. Enter the recipient's address. Then fill in any other information you want, and click Send .

When your e-mail message arrives, the recipient simply drags the attached contact to the Contacts icon on the Outlook Shortcuts bar and the contact will be added to that person's Contacts list.

Drag Addresses Between To, Cc, and Bcc Fields in Outlook

When composing or replying to an e-mail message in Outlook, you can easily rearrange the names of the people receiving the message by dragging their e-mail addresses between the To, Cc, and Bcc address fields. Just select the name or names you want to move and drag them into the destination field.

Editor's Note: If you have errant semicolons in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, you can remove all them by pressing ALT+K.

Double-Click to Create a New Message in Outlook

Here's a fast way to create a new e-mail message in Outlook: Double-click a blank area of the Inbox and a new message will automatically open up.

Editor's Note: This tip also works in the blank areas of the Contacts, Tasks, and Notes folders.

Map the Address of an Outlook Contact

This is a very cool, little-known Outlook trick. Outlook can automatically map the address of one of your Outlook contacts by looking it up on the Expedia.com Maps Web site.

To see a map of a contact's address:

1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
2. Click Contacts on the Outlook Shortcuts bar.
3. Double-click the contact whose address you want to locate.
4. Under the address button, click the down arrow, and then click the type of address you want to find on a map- Business , Home , or Other .
5. On the Actions menu, click Display Map of Address . Your Web browser will open up and display a map of the contact's address using the Expedia.com Maps Web site.

Editor's Note: On the Expedia.com Maps Web site, you might need to first specify additional information in order to display the map. If the Web site can't display a map for the address, verify that you have entered the address correctly.

Delay Delivery of an Outlook Message

If you are responsible for sending out information on a regular schedule, here is a way to do that even if you have to be out of the office.

To delay delivery of a message:

1. In Outlook, create a new message.
2. On the File menu, click Properties .
3. On the General tab, click Send Options .
4. Click the Microsoft Exchange Server tab.
5. Under Send This Item , select In , type a number, and select a time interval from the drop-down menu. For example, if you want the message sent in two days, type 2 and select days from the list.
6. Click OK twice.
7. Click Send to place the message in your Outbox for processing.

Editor's Note: This procedure only applies if you've installed Outlook with the Corporate Workgroup/Other option. To determine your installation type, on the Help menu, click About Microsoft Outlook . You will see "Corporate" in the About Microsoft Outlook dialog box if you have the Corporate Workgroup installation.

Change Your Calendar Display in Outlook

You can use the mouse to customize the number of days displayed in the Day/Week/Month view of the Outlook Calendar. Instead of displaying the Calendar in one of the standard views (Day, Work Week, Week, or Month), you can use the mouse to display two days at a time, or 20.

To change your Calendar display:

1. Click the Calendar icon.
2. If you are not already in Day/Week/Month view, on the View menu, point to Current View , and then click Day/Week/Month .
3. In Date Navigator (the small calendar next to the appointment area), drag to select the dates you want to display.
   

Recover Deleted Items in Outlook

Have you ever deleted mail from your Deleted Items folder and then wanted to retrieve it? In most cases, you can with Outlook 2000.

To recover deleted items:

1. In the Folder list, click Deleted Items .
2. On the Tools menu, click Recover Deleted Items .
3. Click the item you want to recover. To select multiple items, click the first item, and then hold down CTRL and click additional items.
4. Click the Recover Selected Items button.

The items will be returned to your Deleted Items folder, and then you can move them to other folders.

However, some items may no longer be recoverable if your system administrator has limited the amount of time that deleted items can be stored on the server. Also, if you have Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 or later, your administrator will need to enable this feature.

Editor's Note: This procedure only works if you've installed Outlook with the Corporate Workgroup/Other option. To determine your installation type, on the Help menu, click About Microsoft Outlook . You will see "Corporate" in the About Microsoft Outlook dialog box if you have the Corporate Workgroup installation.

Create an Outlook Message Signature Using FrontPage

You can spruce up your Outlook 2000 message signature using Microsoft FrontPage® 2000 (or your default HTML editor).

To create a message signature using HTML:

1. In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Mail Format tab.
2. Under Message format , select HTML from the Send in this message format drop-down menu. Then click the Signature Picker button.
3. In the Signature Picker dialog box, click New .
4. In the Enter a name for your new signature box, enter a name.
5. Under Choose how to create your signature , select Start with a blank signature , and then click Next .
6. Click the Advanced Edit button. Outlook will then launch FrontPage 2000 (or your default HTML editor), and you can take full advantage of the features in the editor to create your signature. You can embed graphics, add hyperlinks, or even animate your signature using DHTML.
7. When you have finished creating your signature, save your changes and exit FrontPage.
8. Click OK twice.
   

Organize Outlook Messages By Sender

To quickly and easily organize the messages in your Outlook Inbox according to who sent them, on the View menu, point to Current View , and then click By Sender . Now, your messages display in a list grouped by sender.

Type Dates in Plain English Using AutoDate

When setting a due date for a task or follow-up flag in Outlook, there have traditionally been two ways to enter it into the date field: Type in the date (attempting to format it exactly as Outlook expects it), or select the date from a small pop-up calendar. But there's an easier way.

With Outlook 2000, you can type a description of the date, and it will automatically convert the description to a number format. For example, if you type one week from today in a date field, Outlook displays the numbers that represent the correct month, day, and year.

You can also type in a firm date using a common format such as the following:

• March 12th
• April twenty-fifth
• Second of Nov.

Abbreviations such as "Mon." for Monday and "Aug." for August also work. You can even type in the names of most holidays that fall on the same date every year, such as Veteran's Day, Christmas, Independence Day, or even Mexico's Cinco de Mayo.

Quickly Address a Message to Contacts

Creating an e-mail message in Outlook that is addressed to multiple recipients can involve several steps: First, create a new message; next, open your Address Book ; and finally, add the recipients to the To line one a time.

Try this simple shortcut instead:

1. Click Contacts .
2. Select the contacts you want to send a message to by clicking the first contact, holding down CTRL, and then clicking additional contacts.
3. Drag the selected contacts onto the Inbox on the Outlook Shortcuts bar (or in the Folder List ).

A new message appears with the names of the contacts you selected on the To line.

This method also works when you need to send a message to only one contact.

Editor's Note: Alternatively, you can select the contacts and then click New Message to Contact on the Actions menu instead of dragging the contacts onto the Inbox .

Create a New Contact from an E-Mail Message

If you're always adding new contacts to your Outlook Contacts list, you'll appreciate this timesaving drag-and-drop tip.

1. Drag an e-mail message from the person you want to add to your contact list from your Inbox onto the Contacts icon in the Outlook Shortcuts bar (or in the Folder List ).
2. Edit or add to the contact information as necessary, and then click Save and Close .

Display Two Time Zones in Your Outlook Calendar

The ability to view two time zones at the same time is very convenient if you plan conference calls or meetings with people in another time zone.

To add another time zone to your Outlook calendar:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Preferences tab.
2. Click Calendar Options .
3. Click Time Zone .
4. Select the Show an additional time zone check box.
5. In the Label box, type a description.
6. From the Time zone drop-down menu, select the time zone you want to add.
7. If you want your computer clock to automatically make daylight saving time changes, select the Adjust for daylight saving time check box. (This option is available only in time zones that use daylight saving time.)

Now you can be sure you are choosing the appropriate times when scheduling meetings and conference calls around the world.

Editor's Note:  You can quickly switch your current time zone to the second time zone by clicking Swap Time Zones , which is located in the Time Zone dialog box. This affects all times displayed in Outlook as well as times displayed in other Microsoft Windows®-based programs.

Organize Your Outlook Contacts Using Categories

Use the Categories feature in Outlook to organize your Contacts list. For example, you can group your contacts into categories such as Family, Friends, and Business.

1. Select the contacts you want to assign to a category. To select multiple contacts, click the first contact, and then hold down CTRL and click additional contacts.
2. On the Edit menu, click Categories .
3. In the Available categories box, select the check boxes next to the categories you want.

If the category you want isn't available, you can quickly add a new category to the Master Category List. Type the category name in the Item(s) belong to these categories box, and then click Add .

You can quickly view contacts by category. On the View menu, point to Current View , and then click By Category .

View Web Sites in Outlook

If you have a Web site you frequent (for example, a vendor's site, or your company's intranet), you can access it in Outlook 2000 by specifying it as the home page for an Outlook folder.

You can create a new folder for the site or assign a home page to an existing folder.

To assign a home page to a folder:

1. Right-click the folder you want to assign the folder home page to, click Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click the Home Page tab.
2. In the Address box, type the address of the Web page you want to use as the folder home page, or click Browse to select from a list.
3. If you want to see the Web page whenever you click the folder, select the Show home page by default for this folder check box.

Now, when you select the folder, the contents of the Web page will appear in the Outlook window. You can also add a shortcut to the Web page on the Outlook Bar. On the File menu, point to New , and then click Outlook Bar Shortcut to Web Page .

Editor's Note:  If you choose not to show the home page by default, you can still view the folder's home page by clicking the folder and then clicking Show Folder Home Page on the View menu.

View Your Inbox and Calendar Simultaneously

In my job, I use both my Outlook Inbox and Calendar constantly. Instead of clicking back and forth between them, I open them side by side on my screen.

1. Quit all other programs.
2. Click Inbox on the Folder List to open it. (If the Folder List is not displayed, click Folder List on the View menu.)
3. Right-click Calendar on the Folder List, and then click Open in New Window on the shortcut menu.
4. Right-click an empty area of the Windows taskbar, and then click Tile Windows Vertically on the shortcut menu. Or resize the Calendar and Inbox so they can fit side by side on your screen.

Now you can view both easily. When you are done for the day, quit Outlook by clicking Exit on the File menu. This way, your settings are saved, and the next time you open Outlook, the windows will open side by side.