Microsoft

Office 2007

Getting Started With Outlook 2007

Anjal Smidt Computing Services

Table of Contents THE NEW LOOK OF OUTLOOK ...........................................................................................................................1 CUSTOMIZING OUTLOOK ....................................................................................................................................2 NAVIGATION PANE ....................................................................................................................................................2 TO-DO BAR ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 GETTING ORGANIZED WITH OUTLOOK 2007 ................................................................................................ 3 CATEGORIES ..............................................................................................................................................................3 FLAGS ........................................................................................................................................................................5 QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR ..........................................................................................................................................6 OUTLOOK ITEMS .....................................................................................................................................................6 MAIL .........................................................................................................................................................................6 CALENDAR ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Appointments and Meetings .................................................................................................................................8 The Ribbon ...........................................................................................................................................................8 CONTACTS .................................................................................................................................................................9 The Ribbon ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Business Card .................................................................................................................................................... 10 DISTRIBUTION LISTS ................................................................................................................................................ 11 TASKS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12

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The New Look of Outlook The main view of Outlook hasn’t changed that much. Unlike the other applications in Office 2007, the main window of Outlook still has its menus and toolbars. The Navigation Pane introduced in Outlook 2003 is still present. However, we now have a new section of the main view called the To-Do Bar.

The To-Do Bar isn’t the only change in Outlook 2007. Individual items in Outlook, such as mail messages, have the new features of the other Office 2007 applications, including the Office Button and the Ribbon. Menus only exist for the main folder views in Outlook. Therefore the File menu is no longer present in individual items, such as contacts and appointments. The Office Button replaces the File menu, just like the other Office 2007 applications. The Quick Access offers one-click access to frequently used commands. The Ribbon, which replaced all of the toolbars and menus, makes commands and options readily available.

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Customizing Outlook Navigation Pane The Navigation Pane looks exactly like it did in Outlook 2003. However, it can now be customized. For example, you can minimize the Navigation Pane so it is still accessible, but is out of the way so you can see more of the main window.

Various sections of the Navigation Pane were more of a hindrance than a help to many users. For example, many users did not like the Favorite Folders section and wanted to get rid of it altogether. While you still can’t completely eliminate the different sections of the Pane, you can minimize them.

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To-Do Bar As with the Navigation Pane, the To-Do Bar can be minimized so it sits on the side of the window, out of the way. However, unlike the Navigation Pane, you can close the To-Do Bar completely by clicking the “X” in the top corner. A right mouse click on the top of the To-Do Bar allows you to customize what items will be available on the To-Do Bar.

Getting Organized w ith Outlook 2007 Categories You could add categories to all of the items in Outlook 2003, but how to assign them wasn’t very clear. Also, those categories were words and not easily visible, unless you used labels (which were only available in the Calendar). Categories now converge the older category tools with the color coding of the Labels feature. There are a large number of categories with associated colors to choose from.

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And if you don’t like what is available, you can rename some of the existing ones, or even create your own.

If there is a category you use more than any other for messages, you can set it as a Quick Click item.

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Flags Flags have become more simple and easy to use. Like the categories, you can choose a Flag or create your own. Since the “red” flag was most commonly used, Outlook 2007 uses only shades of red with Follow Up time options.

You can set a default Flag by assigning a Quick Click.

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Quick Access Toolbar The Quick Access Toolbar is present in each new Outlook item. The wonderful thing is each different item window can have its own customized Quick Access bar.

Mail message

Calendar item

Contact

Distribution List

Task To add commands, right-click the icon and choose “Add to Quick Access Toolbar.” Right-click an icon on the Quick Access Toolbar to remove it.

Outlook Items Each new Outlook item has its own set of Ribbon tabs, and the Mail and Calendar views have changed.

Mail As shown before, the Mail view has a different look with more features. Mail items are different as well. The menus have been replaced with specialized Ribbon tabs. The Message Tab contains most of the items that had been on the toolbar of messages in previous versions of Outlook.

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In the older versions of Outlook, you could insert items, such as appointments, file attachments and signatures. Now these items are not buried in the Insert menu – they are easily located on the Ribbon. You can also add various graphical objects to your message.

The Options Button was located on a toolbar, and mail formats and header options were in various menus. Now you can easily open and close the Bcc and From fields, set delivery options, create voting options, and even have any replies delivered to another email address.

Using Word as the email editor in previous versions of Outlook caused headaches. Outlook now uses its own editor, so all the formatting features that had been available using Word are available in Outlook (including spell-check).

Calendar The Calendar window has been improved to make your schedule easier to see. Tasks are now located at the bottom of the calendar on its due date, instead of a long list on the side like before. For example, if you have a task due on Friday, when viewing the week you will see the task under your Friday appointments.

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Appointments and Meetings The Appointment window doesn’t look that much different, with the exception of the Ribbon.

However, you no longer need to turn the Appointment into a Meeting, or go to your Calendar, to make sure you are available for the time you are setting. As before, adding names to the schedule, or clicking “Invite Attendees, will turn the Appointment into a Meeting automatically.

The Ribbon The Appointment Ribbon offers various scheduling options, including free/busy settings, reminders and recurrences. You can now set a time zone for those invitees that aren’t local.

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The Insert and Format Tabs contain the exact same items as those in a Mail item.

Contacts The window for a Contacts item looks the same as before, but now you can add a photo of the contact and create a business card for them.

What many did not know in previous versions is you can enter and view more details in a Contact, such as their birthday or the name of their assistant.

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The Ribbon The Contact Tab allows you to switch views, create meetings and emails to the contact, add categories and flags, and even mark the contact as private if you share your Contacts folder.

The Insert and Format Tabs contain the exact same items as those in a Mail item.

Business Card The Business Card is a new feature of Outlook 2007. Business Cards are generated automatically for each Contact you create. You can even create your own Business Card by creating a Contact item for yourself.

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Editing the card is simple. For example, you can remove the label next to the phone number.

Distribution Lists While Distribution Lists are stored in your Contact folder, they are treated differently than your other Contact items. Distribution Lists are composed of many Contacts, so details for each cannot be shown. However, the data that can be stored in a Distribution List has been greatly enhanced. The default setting is to view the members of your list. As before, you can select members from your address book or create new separate entries.

The notes view allows you to add information to the Distribution List, such as files needed when working with the members of the list.

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The Insert and Format Tabs contain the exact same items as those in a Mail item, but are not active until you are in Notes view.

Tasks The main view of Task items hasn’t changed, with the exception of the Ribbon.

The Details view allows you to add further information, such as mileage and amount of time committed to the task.

The Insert and Format Tabs contain the exact same items as those in a Mail item.

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