Notes from the Help Desk…

Get used to dragging things around in Outlook.

For example, if you drag an e-mail message to the Contacts button, Outlook will create a new contact for the sender, with Name and E-mail fields already filled in.  The body of the e-mail message will appear in the Notes field.

If you drag a Contact to the Mail button, Outlook will create a new e-mail message to that Contact.  Very cool!

Drag a Contact to the Calendar button, and Outlook will create a Meeting Invitation ready to be sent to that person.

Drag a Contact to the Tasks button, and Outlook will create a Task Request addressed to that contact.

If you find yourself repeating the same searches in Outlook, you can create a custom search, save it, and execute it again by simply re-opening the saved search.

Here’s how:

1. Open the Advanced Find dialog box (Control+Shift+F, or click the Find button, then selection Advanced Find… from the Options menu.)
2. Enter your search options (for example, all mail with the word “password” in the message body).
3. When the search is finished, select File | Save Search…
   Name the search something you’ll recognize later, such as “messageswithpassword.”
   (You might want to create a folder in My Documents called “Outlook Searches.”
4. Click OK, and close the Advanced Find dialog
5. Open Advanced Find again.
6. Select File | Open Search…
7. Select your saved search, and click OK. Outlook will repeat the search.

If you find that it takes too long to switch from one email message to another, try turning off the Outlook “feature” that displays a Name Smart Tag in the message header and checks the user’s Instant (Windows) Messenger status.

To do so:

1. Select Tools | Options.
2. Click the Other tab.
3. Remove the check from Enable the Person Names Smart Tag. (The Display Messenger Status in the From fieldoption will automatically be disabled if the Names Smart Tag is not available.)

To view the next 4 days in your Outlook calendar, press ALT+4.

To view the next 8 days, press ALT+8.

And so on…

If you receive several attachments in one e-mail message, there’s an easy way to save them all at once.

1. With the e-mail message open or selected, select File | Save Attachments…



2. Select All Attachments…
3. Outlook will display a dialog box with a list of the attachments:



4. Click OK.
5. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the files.
6. Click OK.

The Outlook Calendar lets you view any number of consecutive days by simply dragging across the days in the Date Navigator (the small calendar that shows the current month). For example, if you wanted to check your schedule for the first two weeks in December, you would switch the Date Navigator to December and drag across the first two weeks.

But suppose you need to check your schedule for every Friday in December? It’s easy, if you hold down the CTRL key while you select the individual dates in the Date Navigator. Outlook will display your schedule for only the selected dates in the main window. To remove a date, keep the CTRL key held down, and click it again.

Microsoft Outlook includes electronic sticky notes that are great for jotting down miscellaneous information. I use these for reminders, usernames and passwords, CD’s I want to buy, Check Engine error codes, and other crucial information that you can’t afford to lose, but don’t know where else to put.

However, the coolest way I have found to use an Outlook sticky note is to drag it to your desktop. Even when Outlook is closed, you can double-click the note, and read it or edit it at any time. (When you drag it to your desktop, Outlook saves it as a separate file.)

To create a note in Outlook:

1. Select File | New | Note.
2. Type the text of the note.
3. To close the note, click the × in the upper-right corner of the note.

To drag a note to your desktop:

• Make sure you can see the note in Outlook. (The note does not have to be open.)
• Resize Outlook so you can see the desktop in part of your screen.
• Drag the note from Outlook to the desktop. (Outlook will copy the note.)
• Close Outlook and double-click the note to read it or edit it.

When you are done with the note, drag it to the Recycle Bin.

To add a password to Outlook 2003:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Select File | Data File Management.
3. Select Personal Folders from the Name column.
4. Click the Settings button.
5. Click Change Password…
6. The following dialog box will appear:

7. If you don’t have an old password, leave that field blank.
8. Type the password you want in New Password.
9. Type it again in Verify Password.
10. Click OK.
11. Click OK again.
12. Click Close.
13. Close Outlook.
14. Open Outlook again, and it should prompt you for your password.

Now all you have to do is remember your password!