January 2006 / Microsoft Outlook Tips and Tricks

Outlook-Specific Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are sets of keystrokes that when pressed simultaneously perform a predefined command. While there are many keyboard shortcuts that work universally throughout the Office application suite, the following are Outlook-specific. They all require you to hold down a specific series of keys.

Ctrl+Shift+M: Open a new e-mail message
Ctrl+Shift+C: Create a new contact
Ctrl+Shift+Q: Open a new meeting request
Ctrl+Shift+I: Switch to the Inbox
Ctrl+Shift+O: Switch to the Outbox
Ctrl+Shift+B: Switch to the Address Book
Ctrl+R: Reply to a message
Ctrl+Shift+R: Reply to all
Ctrl+M or F5: Check for new messages

Customize Your Startup
Did you know that you can have Outlook automatically open to your inbox, calendar, or a favorite folder upon startup? To customize your Outlook startup screen: 

• Select Tools from the toolbar, then Options
• In the Options window, select the Other tab, then click the Advanced Options button
• Browse the Startup in this folder options and select where you would like Outlook to start with each new session. Press OK when finished

The Reading Pane
The Reading Pane is an embedded window in your Inbox that shows the content of a selected mail message. For users who are looking to save some time and not have their mail open in pop-up windows, the Reading Pane is the perfect solution. From your Inbox:

• Select View from the toolbar, then Reading Pane
• You can choose the have the pane appear to the right of your inbox, below your inbox, or not at all.

Creating Folders
Folders are a great way to organize your e-mail and keep your inbox from getting cluttered. From your Inbox:

• Select File from the toolbar, then New, then Folder (or use the Ctrl+Shift+E keyboard shortcut)
• The Create New Folder window will appear. Name your folder, select from the drop-down menu what it will contain, and then choose where you would like it to be placed
• To move mail from your inbox to your new folder, simply left click and drag the message from your inbox to the folder in the Folder List

Un-Deleting E-mail
Have you ever deleted mail from your Deleted Items folder only to wish afterwards that you could get it back? In most cases, you can restore your deleted e-mails.

• In the Folder List, click on Deleted Items
• Select Tools from the toolbar, then Recover Deleted Items
• Click the item you want to recover. To select multiple items, hold down the CTRL key while choosing
• When you’re done, select Recover Selected Items

The items will be returned to your Deleted Items folder. Note that some items may no longer be recoverable because your system administrator has limited the amount of time that deleted items can be stored on the server.

Outlook Mailing Tips 

Adding BCC to All New E-mails
Outlook, by default, does not include a BCC address line when you create a new e-mail. To make the BCC line appear on each new message, follow these easy steps: 

• Create a new mail message
• In the message window, select View from the toolbar, then BCC

If the BCC option does not appear when you select View from a new message, this means that Microsoft Word is your default e-mail editor. If this is case: 

• In the message window, select the Down Arrow next to the Options menu
• Select BCC

Now when you create a new message, the BCC field will automatically appear.

Disable E-mail Address AutoComplete
When you compose mail with Outlook 2003, whenever you start typing names in the To, CC, or BCC fields, Outlook will try to automatically complete the name based off of names or e-mail addresses to whom you have previously sent mail. While some people like this feature in that it saves them time, others find it to be an annoyance or even a possible business risk in the instance where the wrong person's name is automatically entered and the sender fails to notice. Here is how to disable the AutoComplete feature: 

• Select Tools from the toolbar, then Options
• In the Preferences tab, click the E-mail Options button
• When the E-mail Options window appears, select the Advanced Email Options button
• Uncheck Suggest Names While Completing To, CC, and BCC Fields. Press OK when finished

Auto-Proofread Emails Before Sending
The following option will force spellchecking to occur before you send out composed messages: 

• Select Tools from the toolbar, then Options
• Select the Spelling tab and check Always Check Spelling Before Sending

Requesting Receipts
Outlook features tracking options that allow you to make sure important message have reached their destinations and have been read.  

To request a receipt for an individual message:

• In the message window, select the Options button
• In the window that appears, check which receipt options you would like the message sent with: Request a Delivery Receipt for This Message or Request a Read Receipt for this Message

To request receipts for all messages:

• (while not in a message window) Select Tools from the toolbar, then Options
• In the Preferences tab, click the E-mail Options button
• When the E-mail Options window appears, select the Tracking Options button
• In the Tracking Options window, check the "Read receipt" and/or "Delivery receipt" checkboxes as desired. Press OK when finished

Outlook Contact Management Tips

New Contacts from Incoming E-mail
A quick and easy way to add someone to your contact list is through e-mail you’ve received with their name attached to it (be it in either the From, To, or CC fields). To create a contact from an e-mail: 

• Open the message and Right Click on name you want to add to your contact list
• Select Add to Outlook Contacts
• Fill in any additional information about the contact. When you’re finished, select Save and Close

Distribution Lists
Outlook allows you to create distribution lists for conveniently sending messages to a group of people. To create a list: 

• From the Contacts view,  select File from the toolbar, then New, then Distribution List (or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+Shift+L)
• Enter a name for the group and click Select Members to add contacts to the list
• Save and Close when you are done

To send a message to your distribution list, simply type the list’s name into the To: field of a new message. To hide the email addresses of everyone in the list, enter the list name into the BCC field.

 

Outlook Calendar Tips 

Display Non-Consecutive Days
Sometimes it's useful to see several nonconsecutive days at a glance in your Outlook calendar. To view nonconsecutive dates: 

• Make sure your calendar is displaying a single day (not work week or month)
• In the Date Navigator (the small calendar that displays the current month), click the first date you want to view
• While holding down the CTRL key, click any other dates you want to view. (To remove a date, click it again.) You can display up to 14 nonconsecutive days.

Customize Your Calendar Workday
By default, Outlook’s calendar highlights 8am to 5pm in its Daily View as your work day. Obviously not all work days fall into that time range, so here’s an easy way to change customize it to fit your schedule: 

• Select Tools from the toolbar, then Options
• In the Preferences tab, select the Calendar Options button
• Next to Start Time and End Time, select the times closest to your normal workday from the drop-down menus. Press OK when finished

Add Religious or Country-Specific Holidays to Your Calendar
If you would like your Outlook calendar to display religious or country-specific holidays, follow these simple steps: 

• Select Tools from the toolbar, then Options
• In the Preferences tab, select the Calendar Options button
• Click the Add Holidays button. In the window that appears, check the boxes representing the holidays you wish to add to your calendar. Press OK when finished

These are just a few simple tips that will help the everyday Outlook user increase their productivity and understanding of the program. If you would like information on more in-depth Outlook or Microsoft Office training, Contact Me. In next month's Tech Brief we'll continue our Office tips and tricks series with a look at Microsoft PowerPoint.