Outlook Hints and Tips
Please note the information contained in these notes refers to using Outlook 2003.
To view and/or print the Outlook hints and tips in pdf form click here
Creating Data Files
If you retain large numbers of emails you may find it beneficial to create individual Data Files for individual folders within Outlook rather than simply creating additional folders in your Personal folders where you Inbox is stored. This will result in smaller and more manageable file sizes for your .pst files (.pst is the file extension given to your Outlook files on your computer) in which you emails are stored. Some examples of file sizes are given below to assist in understanding how having all this data in one .pst file may cause instability in your Outlook application.
It is also worth understanding that it is beneficial to keep all your .pst files in one place on your hard drive. When you create an additional Data File your PC will automatically direct you to save it with your other .pst files.
For further guidance consult the information supplied by Microsoft by following this link where you will be provided with clear guidance as follows:
Create a .pst file while Outlook is running
loadTOCNode(2, 'moreinformation'); To create a .pst file while Outlook is running, follow these steps:
1. |
On the File menu, point to New, and then click Outlook Data File. |
2. |
In the Types of storage area, click Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) to create a new Outlook 2003 .pst file. Click Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst) to create a new Outlook .pst file that is compatible with earlier versions of Outlook. |
3. |
Click OK. |
4. |
Use the default Outlook folder location, or you can locate a different folder location. |
5. |
In the File name box, type a name for the new .pst file, or you can use the default name. Click OK. |
6. |
In the Name box, type a title for the .pst file, or you can use the default title of Personal Folders. The title that you enter in the Name box is the name that is used on the Outlook 2003 All Mail Folders list, and it is applied to any shortcuts that are made for the .pst file on the Outlook Bar. You can also select an encryption setting and a password for the .pst file. After you select the settings that you want, click OK. |
7. |
The new .pst file is added to the Outlook 2003 All Mail Folders list. To view the Folder List, click Folder List on the Go menu. |
CREATING A NEW FOLDER IN CONTACTS
You can organise your contacts by using different folders to retain information in a pertinent way for your needs.
1. Create a folder in Contacts by clicking on File, New, Folder
2. Name your new Contacts folder and click OK
3. To use your new folder:
Click on the folder to highlight and open it:
To put contact information into your new folder, EITHER
Click on the new Contact icon and enter the details:
OR
Go into another contacts folder and select a contact you wish to place in your new folder and left click and drag the contact into your new folder.
Creating a Database from your Contacts Folder
If you wish to do so you can use the information in your Contacts to use for a variety of things, including Mailmerge.
To create your database you will need to export the data from your Contacts folder into an Excel spreadsheet, a CSV file or an Access format. To do this:
1. In Contacts select file and Import/Export
2. Follow the steps in the Import/Export Wizard. First select Export to a File and click on Next.
3. Select the Application of your preference to use for your database and click Next
4. Select the Contacts folder you wish to export from and click Next:
5. Name the file you wish to export to and click on Browse to select the folder you will keep the information in.
6. Either select a folder or create one to save your file and click on OK.
7. Click on Finish and your data will be exported.
Tip: You should have AutoRecover set on all your Microsoft® Office applications so that you lose the minimum amount of work in a file if your PC or application ‘falls over’. To set your AutoRecover in Word:
1. Select Tools from your top menu bar and click on Options
2. Select the Save tab and tick the AutoRecover box and set the number of minutes using the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the number of minutes between saves.
USING YOUR DATA FOR MAILMERGE
If you are using the Micrsoft Office 2003 package you can only use the mailmerge option from Word. You can also use this option from Microsoft® Office 2000.
To use the data you have exported from your contacts first open the Excel spreadsheet and check that the data has all the information you need and that names are spelt correctly. If you are intending to use the database for an email mailshot then ensure that you have all the email addresses on the database. Once you have done this copy the database to your My Data Sources folder.
If you intend to use the database for a postal mailshot then you will need to ensure that all the address information is correctly presented and that street names and cities and postal codes appear in the correct columns as well as inserting a new column for initials. It will make your life easier if you re-name the columns for the addresses with something simple that you can add easily to your document. Once you have done this copy the database to your My Data Sources folder.
Please remember that you can add a variety of information to your database if you want that to appear in the merged documents. An example would be using this to produce recurring quarterly invoices of individual value. As long as the data is correctly entered this will appear on the merged documents.
If you are going to create a new document open a new Word document and name and save the file to the correct folder, this will help you find the document in the future and will help you identify the content of the document in the event you need to autorecover the file.
There are now a variety of options available to you but these notes simply apply to a newly created document. If you intend to use a template or a previously used document you will see the options for doing so as the process unfolds.
For a newly created document, type the words you want to use, then:
1. Select Tools from the main menu bar and select Letters and Mailings and then Mail Merge.
2. You then follow the process of selecting whether you want to send letters or emails, use the current document or another one, the recipients from your database by clicking on the Browse option and choosing your database, choosing whether or not to add information from your database into the document, who you wish to exclude from a mailmerge document and the opportunity to include a subject line in an email mailmerge.
The individual steps for each part of the process are detailed below and you move from one step to the next by clicking on the blue text at the bottom of the mailmerge process that appears on your screen when you select mailmerge from the Tools menu.
1. Select either email or letters from the mailmerge process in Step 1 by clicking on the whichever one you need. In this example E-mail messages is selected.
2. In step 2 you select the document you wish to use. As outlined earlier in this example we are using the current document.
3. In Step 3 you select the recipients of your email message. Click on Browse to select the database you want in My Data Sources. Once you have done this you will be presented with the opportunity to change the database you are using and to edit the list of recipients. If you choose Select a Different List you will be presented with the options captured in your My Data Sources folder and you can choose another database from there. If you wish to edit the list click on Edit recipient list and you will see the contents of your database. A fictional database is used here as an example.
To edit the list of people who will receive an email from you click on their name to remove the tick from the box.
4. Step 4 allows you to personalise your message by selecting from More Items.
In the example message below you will see that additional fields have been added to personalise your message.
Hi «FirstName»
I am writing to introduce our product to you. In your rôle as a busy «JobTitle» our product can be of invaluable etc. …………………
If you were producing a postal mailmerge then you would need to remember to include all the relevant information AND get the line spacing correctly aligned on your letterhead. Please remember that you need to put spacing between the fields. The finished product may look something like this:
Our Ref: DDD/AAA 10002
25 December 2008
«Title» «Initial» «LastName»
«JobTitle»
«Company»
«Add_1»
«Add_2»
«Add_3»
«City»
«County»
«Post_Code»
Dear «Title» «LastName»
I am writing to introduce our product to you. In your rôle as a busy «JobTitle» our product can be of invaluable etc. …………………
5. Step 5 allows you to preview your message prior to sending to ensure that the fields accurately reflect the information you wish them to contain. In this example you will see that the First Name and Job Title have now been included
To check each individual email is correct simply click on the right hand set of arrows to go through each email in the merged file.
Similarly, for postal mailshots your document will now reflect the correct information on the individual letters to be printed.
6. Step 6 is the final element of the process. For email mailshots you should select Electronic Mail and then complete the Subject Line.
For postal mailshots this is the point at which you can either Edit individual letters where, for example, you can remove excess lines in the address fields. By selecting this option you will facilitate Microsoft Word creating a separate file of the merged letters that you can save if you wish to do so and you can print from this file. Please note that if your document has two pages and you are printing onto pre-printed letterhead paper you should print all the first pages first and then all the second pages on either plain or continuation paper.
If you are satisfied that editing is not required on any of the letters you are sending then you can simply select Print and print direct.
BUSINESS CONTACT MANAGER
Microsoft Business Contact Manager information can be found on the Microsoft website here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/contactmanager/FX101674171033.aspx
Business Contact Manager comes as part of the Microsoft Office Professional 2003 suite and can be a useful tool.
USING CALENDAR TO SET UP APPOINTMENTS
As well as being a useful tool for keeping track of your appointments you can use Calendar to invite others to a meeting. To do this:
1. Select a date and time and open the appointment on your calendar, enter all the relevant information and any message you wish to include.
2. Click on the Scheduling tab, then click on Add Others and select the person you are sending the message to from your Outlook Contacts list. At this point you can identify if their attendance is required or optional. Click on Send.
3. The person receiving the invitation has the option to Accept or Decline and they can also send a message as part of their response. If they Accept then the appointment will be retained in their Calendar. An example of what they will see in their Inbox is given below:
Any further information required in relation to the topics covered can be found by using the Help facility in Word or visiting Microsoft’s support pages either for Microsoft Office at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/results.aspx?qu=Office+2003
or by using the Crabby Lady help pages at
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/FX101727101033.aspx
or using their free on-line training facility at:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/default.aspx
Q and A Session
1. What does HTML stand for?
A. Web sites on the internet are stored or presented as documents which web browsers can interpret. These document files are designed using a specific tagging language. See this link for further information.