When Outlook is installed on your system an icon should be created on your desktop and on the quick launch bar located to the right of the Start button. Instructor: Robin Wood
http://webmail.walnut-creek.org
When you log into your computer use the username and password indicated on the memo you recieved and be sure to login to cofwc server (last option in the login screen). If you do not login to the cofwc server you will not be able to access Outlook.
Once you have logged into your computer you have also logged into Outlook. If you share a workstation with another user be sure to log off after you read your email. Alternatively, people who share computers may want to consider using the Web mail client @ http://webmail.walnut-creek.org
Quick Start Cards, and frequently asked questions @ http://ranger.walnut-creek.org
Outlook 2003 is Microsoft's email, scheduling, and contact management program -- it is what is called a Personal Information Manager or PIM program. In addition to sending and receiving email messages, users can schedule appointments and organize their calendars, create task or to do lists, post notes (like yellow stickies) and manage contacts.
Click Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Start > Email
When Outlook is installed on your system an icon should be created on your desktop and on the quick launch bar located to the right of the Start button.
The Navigation Pane is really the heart of Outlook. This pane allows the user to access different Outlook features. The Navigation Pane helps you to find information quickly.
In the lower half of the Navigation Pane are buttons that allow the user to switch between different Outlook views.
Mail - Access the user's inbox, mail folders, send and read email, and organize mail
Calendar - Schedule appointments for yourself or a group
Contacts - Keep track of names, addresses, telephone numbers, web addresses, and other important contact details - Note: These are contacts are typically outside of City Staff Members
Tasks - A to-do list. Reminders can be set to notify you when important tasks are due
Notes - The yellow stickies of Outlook
Folder List - View all folders in Outlook including mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes. This view is primarily for people who used older versions of Outlook and preferred the older interface
Shortcuts - Create shortcuts to favorite folders or features
Navigation Pane Commands - Allows you to further customize how the Outlook Navigation Pane is displayed
If you prefer shortcut keys you can use the following to navigate through the different Outlook views.
As you click each of the buttons in the Navigation Pane you will notice that the entire Outlook display changes. The standard toolbar at the top of the interface changes to display icons that are associated with that feature. For example, when you click the Mail button the standard toolbar displays the most popular mail commands like create a new mail message, print a message, send and receive mail, find mail, display the address book, find contacts, and help.
After clicking Mail the top of the Navigation Pane displays the user's mail folders. First the Favorite or most frequently used folders and then all folders. Clicking the Inbox will display the user's mail in the Inbox Pane and the selected message will display on the far right-hand side of the screen. Also note that the standard menu will change to display more commonly used mail features.
Some of the features on toolbars will be grayed out or unavailable. When an option is gray or unavailable it means that you must perform a task before you can access the feature. For example, in order to reply to a message you must have an actual message selected in the Inbox pane. When you select a message the standard toolbar will change again and the user will be able to access all icons and features.
These toolbars are called dynamic. They are dynamic because they change depending on the item you have selected. This can be confusing to the new user because the menus are constantly changing. Once you get the hang of using Outlook you will find the dynamic menus very helpful because the most commonly used tasks for a particular feature are always available.
In the Navigation Pane click the Mail button. To check to see if you have new email on the server click the Send/Receive button 
in the standard toolbar. Notice that the Send/Receive button has a drop down arrow 
. Drop down arrows indicate that there are additional options available for a button. For example clicking the Send/Receive drop down arrow allows you to change the Send/Receive settings (set the email to automatically send and receive every 5 minutes) or send mail without receiving incoming mail.
When you click Send/Receive the Send/Receive Progress screen will appear. This screen will close automatically when the process is complete. If Outlook cannot connect to the email server for some reason errors will be reported on this screen.
When there are unread messages in the user's inbox the Inbox folder in the navigation pane will be bold and the number of new messages will appear to the right of the folder in blue.
You'll notice that there are two inbox sections, they are shortcuts to the same location so you can click either inbox folder to read your mail. The Favorite Folders are the most commonly used email folders and are essentially duplicates of the folders in the All Mail Folders section. When you click the Inbox folder in the Navigation pane the Inbox pane will appear.
Clicking an email message in the Inbox pane will display the message in the preview pane to the right.
The Inbox displays all of your received and sent messages. It is displayed any time you click the Mail button in the Navigation Pane.
Click a message to view the message in the Preview Pane.
Double click a message to open it in a new window.
Use the Up and Down arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate through your messages quickly.
Sort your messages by clicking the titles as indicated in red in the Inbox image above.
Press the Delete key on your keyboard to delete the selected message.
Right-click a message to access a context sensitive menu with more options.
By default Outlook automatically displays a preview of the selected message on the right-hand side of the screen. You may want to turn off this preview or reposition it to the bottom of the screen. To adjust views from the menu click View > Reading Pane > Bottom or Off. If you turn off the Reading Pane you will have to double click an email message to read it.
Composing an Email Message - Customizing The Mail Message Screen To create a new email message click the New Mail icon 
on the Standard toolbar.
Notice that the New icon has a drop down menu. Clicking this menu will allow you to select the type of new object you want to create. The New icon is dynamic; depending on the view that you are currently working in (Mail, Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, Notes) the new icon will create different objects. For example, when you are in mail view the New icon 
will create a New email message, when you are in Calendar view the New icon 
will create a New Appointment, when you are in Tasks view the New icon 
will create a New Task, when you are in Contacts view the New icon 
will create a new contact, and finally when you are in Notes view the New icon 
. will create a new note.
Let's say you're in Calendar view and you quickly need to send a new email message you can click the drop down arrow next to new and select Mail Message from the menu. You'll notice in the image to the right that you can create additional new items like folders, meeting requests, distribution lists, journal entries, and shortcuts.
After you click the New Mail icon a new blank email message will appear. Alternatively, you can press CTRL+N on your keyboard to create a new email message
In the To: field type the recipient's email address. If you want to send this message to multiple recipients a semicolon (;) separates each address. If the person that you want to contact is a staff member of the City of Walnut Creek you should be able to type their first and last name into the To: field and have their email address automatically populate from the global address book. You can also click the To: button 
to bring up the global address book for staff members. The address book icon 
will also let you access staff email addresses. Frequent contact will automatically populate after you have sent them one email.
Pressing the Tab key on your keyboard will move you to the CC: field. If a red line appears under the person's name it means that the Outlook address book cannot find an exact match. Right click the name and select the correct person's name from the list.
The CC: field is used to send a "Carbon Copy" to additional recipients. Note: If you want to add a BCC field or "Blind Carbon Copy" to your email message from the menu click View > Bcc Field. The BCC field is used when you want to send a copy of a message to someone without the original recipient knowing about the copy. This field is commonly used when you want to send a message to a large group of people without publicizing their email addresses. Using the BCC field helps to prevent spam when you know that your original message may be forwarded to others because addresses in the BCC field are never visible to the recipients.
Pressing the Tab key again will move your cursor to the Subject field. Make your subject clear, concise, and meaningful. "Hello", "It's me", and "help", are not appropriate subjects; they're too vague. Remember that people are busy and often scan subject lines to help to prioritize how they respond to email. By using a meaningful subject line you're ensuring that your message will be read and responded to in a timely manner. Also with today's spam filters it's very important to use meaningful subject lines; subjects like "Hello", "It's me", and "help" and more likely to get caught in spam filters and never read.
Pressing the Tab key again will move your cursor into the body of the message. Here you type your actual message. Avoid the use of "Internet Speak" 2=to, U=you, etc. in formal business communications. Your messages should be spell checked and free of typographical errors. Do not use ALL CAPS as it's considered shouting and difficult to read and do not use all lowercase letters; capitalize at the beginning of each sentence. Email formatting options are described below.
Once you have composed your email message, run spell check by clicking Tools > Spelling. Proofread your message for errors.
Click the Send button 
to send your message.
Above the To: field you should see a toolbar that starts with a Send button.
This toolbar actually contains two toolbars. The More Buttons icon 
indicates the end of the Standard toolbar; if you click the down arrow additional buttons will appear. The Move toolbar icon 
indicates the beginning of a new toolbar, in this case the Formatting toolbar, and can be used to move a toolbar to a new location. I prefer to have my toolbars display in their entirety on two rows. Right click the toolbar and select Customize from the menu. Click the Options tab if necessary and click Show Standard and Formatting toolbars on two rows and click Close.
Now all available icons will be visible. This will make composing and formatting mail messages easier. The first row of tools is called the Standard toolbar and the second row is the Formatting toolbar, just like Word and all other Microsoft software programs.
Hovering your mouse pointer over the Move toolbar icon will display the move pointer 
. Holding down the left mouse button when this pointer displays will allow you to move the toolbar to the desired location. Dragging the toolbar will "float" it anywhere you want it on the screen. Double clicking on the title bar of the toolbar will dock it back into it's home position.
If for some reason your toolbars are not displaying you can turn them on by clicking View > Toolbars and clicking the desired toolbar. A checkmark display to the left of a toolbar that is currently on.
The Formatting toolbar can be used to format your email messages much like the formatting toolbar in Microsoft Word.
| Icon | Function |
|---|---|
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Font - Adjusts the font used in the email message. Select the text and click the Font Face drop down arrow to select a different font. Note: Some email recipients will only display their messages in plain text so they may not be able to see fancy formatting features that you add to your message. Also, if the user does not have the font that you used installed on their system the default font, Arial, will be used. |
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Font Size - Increases or decreases the size of the font used in the email message. Select the text before you adjust the font size. |
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Font Color - Changes the color of the font used in the email message. Select the text before you adjust the font size. |
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Bold, Italic, Underline - Apply bold, italics, or underline to selected text. |
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Left, Center, Right Align - Adjust the alignment of a paragraph of text. Left is the default; center and right align can also be applied to a paragraph. |
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Bullets - Apply Bullets to text
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Numbers -
Apply Numbers to text
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Decrease and Increase Indent - Indenting is used of offset text. Increasing  the indent causes the paragraph to move in .5". Decreasing  the indent removes the .5" indent. |
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Insert Horizontal Line - Inserts a horizontal line into the email message. |
Remember, for most of these commands you must select the text prior to applying the formatting.
The Standard toolbar is used to perform common tasks related to the entire email message.
| Icon | Function |
|---|---|
|
Send - Send the email message |
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Save - Save the message as a draft for later editing |
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Print - Print the message |
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Cut - Move text to a new location |
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Copy - Copy text to another location |
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Paste - Used in conjunction with Cut or Copy. You first must select the text, then select Cut to move or Copy to copy, then click in the new location and click Paste |
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Signature - Adds your personalized signature to the end of your email message. Your signature should include your name, organization name, contact info, etc. |
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Attach - Attach documents to your email message. Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Graphic, and PDF files are just a few of the types of files you can attach |
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Address Book - Opens the Outlook Address Book so you can add contact from your address book to the To:, CC:, and BCC: Fields |
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Check Names - "Before you send a message, Microsoft Outlook automatically checks the names you type in the To, Cc, and Bcc boxes (To, Cc, and Bcc boxes: A message is sent to the recipients in the To box. Recipients in the Cc (carbon copy) and Bcc (blind carbon copy) boxes also get the message; however, the names of the recipients in the Bcc box aren't visible to other recipients.) against the names in the Address Book and against those contact folders that you've specified as Outlook Address Books. If an exact match is found, the name is underlined. If multiple matches are found, a red, wavy line appears under the name. Right-click the name to see the matches." From MS Outlook Help System |
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Permissions - Allows you to specify who can read and access email messages |
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Importance: High - Sets the priority of the message to high. Please only set the message to high priority if it really is something that needs immediate attention. Many people set all of their outgoing messages to high priority which is not appropriate |
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Importance: Low- Sets the priority of the message to low |
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Follow-up - Allows you to flag a message for follow-up. Reminders can be set to pop up on your computer on a certain date |
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Create Rules - Create rules to help you to organize and follow-up on your email. You can setup rules to play certain sounds when a message is received from your supervisor, have messages from certain people or with specific words in the subject line be placed automatically into a folder, or display alerts. The Advanced Options allows you to get very specific about how Outlook handles your email. Rules are frequently created when users go on vacation. Rules and Alerts can also be accessed from the main Outlook window by clicking Tools > Rules and Alerts.
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Options - Message options allow you to set importance, sensitivity, and security. This dialog box also allows you to track your messages and request a delivery or read receipt. You can also set delivery times and response options
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Font Size - Quickly increase and decrease selected font size |
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Help - Displays the Outlook help pane |
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Add or Remove Buttons from the Toolbar - You may not need all of the buttons displayed on a toolbar. Using this drop down arrow you can turn on and off certain buttons to meet your needs
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With a mail message open click the Insert File icon . In the Insert File dialog box navigate to the file that you want to attach. Click the file once and click Insert.
After you click Insert your message will display on the screen and you will see a field below the subject line with the attached file name.
You can attach additional files by clicking the Attach button. Attachment Options may not be available on the CWC servers.
With the email message selected click the Reply or the Reply to All button 
on the Standard toolbar. The Reply button will reply to the original sender only, the Reply to All button will reply to the sender and all other recipients.
A new window will open. The To and Subject fields will be completed. Your cursor should be positioned in the body of the message and you can start typing your reply.
Once you have composed your reply, format as necessary, run spell check by clicking Tools > Spelling. Proofread your message for errors.
Click the Send button to send your message.
You can create a signature from within an email message by clicking the Signature icon and selecting More... When prompted to create a Signature click Yes. You can also create a signature from the Outlook main menu by clicking Tools > Options > Mail Format > Signatures > New.
Give your signature a name and click Next.
Type your contact information as desired. The Font button can be used to change the font and the Paragraph button can be used to adjust the alignment of the signature.
After typing in your signature as desired, click Finish and OK.
When you return to the Mail Options you can set your new signature as the default for new messages and for replies and forwards if desired. Click Ok when you're done.
By default new email messages are placed in your inbox. There may be messages that you want to save for follow-up or keep while you're working on a specific project. Instead of keeping all of your messages in the inbox you can create folders to organize your messages.
You can create new folders several ways. First from the main Outlook menu click the File > New > Folder.
The Create New Folder dialog box will display. Type the desired name of the folder. By default the Folder contains field will be set to Mail and Post Items, but you can change this to Calendar, Contact, Journal, Note, or Task items. For example you may want to organize your contacts by department or project team. You must select where you want to place the new folder by clicking the arrow 
to the left of the Personal folders. This will display all of the folders in Outlook, you can either store your new mail folder under the Inbox or under the Personal Folders, by clicking either folder to select it and clicking OK.
Once the new folder has been created you can move mail items into the folder by dragging and dropping them from the Inbox.
Click the Inbox and select the message or messages you want to move (you can select multiple messages by holding down the CTRL key while you click each message with your mouse. With the messages selected, drag them to the new folder. You can see this process in action by watching this Flash Movie on Moving Messages.
Vacation rules are much easier in Outlook. In a nutshell you are either in the Office or Out of the Office. You turn the rule on when you leave and off when you return.
In Mail view click Tools > Out of Office Assistant.
Tools > Options > Spelling > Check "Always check spelling before sending"
From the Navigation Pane click the Contacts icon
Your contacts from GroupWise should be imported into Outlook.
To create a new contact click the New Contact icon
The New Contact form will display. Complete the form as needed. Note: There are additional fields that you can complete on the Details tab.
When prompted complete the Location Information and click OK twice.
After you finish completing the New Contact form click the Save and Close icon 
.
You can edit a contact at any time by double clicking the contact. If you right-click the contact a menu will appear allowing you to send the contact a new message, appointment, task, and meeting request. You can also print the contact information from this menu.
From the Navigation Pane click the Calendar icon .
When you switch to Calendar view the Navigation Pane will display a calendar for the current month and the next so that you can easily access any day of the month by simply clicking a day. By default Outlook will display Day view showing only appointments for the selected or current day. You can switch views by clicking the Work Week, Week, or Month icons in the Standard toolbar.
Notice that the standard toolbar has also changed. The toolbar now displays icons that allow the user to create new appointments, print the calendar, delete appointments, change the calendar coloring, view group schedules, and change the overall view of the calendar.
| Icon | Function |
|---|---|
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New Appointment Icon - Creates a new appointment. Alternatively you can double click a time slot on the calendar to create a new appointment |
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Delete Appointment Icon - Deletes the selected appointment |
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Calendar Coloring - Color code appointments |
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View Group Schedules - |
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Today View - Views today's appointments |
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Day View - Shows a single day of the month |
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Work Week View - Displays Monday-Friday |
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Week View - Displays Monday-Sunday |
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Month View - Displays the Entire Month |
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Find - Turns on and off the Find bar |
Click the Work Week view icon to see your upcoming appointments for the selected week. Work Week is typically the most popular view. 7 Week will display the entire week including the weekends.
Click Month view to see the entire month's appointments.
Note: Color coding of appointments helps you to differentiate between different types of appointments including: Important, Personal, Business, Must Attend, Vacation, Travel Required, Needs preparation, Birthday, Anniversary, and Phone Call. Color coding is assigned when you create a new appointment using the Label option.
Clicking View > Reading Pane > Bottom allows you to quickly see your appointment details without having to open the actual appointment. Click the appointment you want to view and the details will display at the bottom of the window. You cannot edit appointment details in the reading pane.
Click the New Appointment icon .
Adding a label will help you to decern different types of meetings. Labels color code each meeting making it easier for you to tell what type of meeting you need to attend.
Alternatively, you can double click the desired appointment time to create a new appointment, click once on the desired appointment time and start typing to create an appointment (pressing Enter inserts the appointment into your calendar), or select the appoint time range and start typing.
The Recurrence icon 
allows you to set the frequency of the appointment. This is handy when you have an appointment that occurs weekly, monthly, or yearly. When you schedule a recurring appointment you will be able to edit the series or just a single occurrence.
A recurring appointment will display a special icon to the left of the appointment information.
You can invite others to your meeting by clicking the Invite Attendees icon 
in a regular appointment or click the drop down arrow when you're creating a new appointment and select New Meeting Request (CTRL+Shift+Q). A To box will appear above the Subject field. Type the email address of the person you want to invite or click the To button to select from a list of recipients. If you use the To button you can set whether the meeting is required, optional, and other advanced options. When you schedule a meeting with multiple people it's important to check their availability using the Scheduling tab which is discussed next.
Note: All users must be on the same Exchange server in order to use the Scheduling function in Outlook. This means that all meeting participants must work for the same organization.
If you would like to check the availability of the meeting attendees, click the Scheduling Tab 
. This dialog box allows you to check the schedules of people within your network (the City of Walnut Creek). This performs the same function as a Busy Search in GroupWise.
If you are inviting others to your meeting, click the Send icon 
. If the appointment is only for yourself, click Save and Close 
.
If you update your appointment later you will be prompted to send an updated meeting invitation to the other attendees. Email messages are then sent to all other attendees to update them on changes to dates/times/locations of meetings.
When you receive a meeting request in your inbox you will be able to Accept, Tenative, Decline, or Propose a new time
I think it's much easier to edit appointments in Outlook. You can drag them around the calendar, resize them, or double click to open and edit them.
When you double click on an appointment that involves other people you can view the tracking tab which will display if meeting attendees have accepted or rejected the appointment time.
To delete an appointment click the appointment once and press the delete key on the keyboard. You will be asked to confirm the deletion. If you are deleting a recurring appointment you will be prompted to delete just the occurrence or the series.
Alternatively, right clicking an appointment will allow you to Open the appointment for editing, delete the appointment and perform other functions.
You can drag an appointment to a new time or date (when in week or month view). Be sure to hover your mouse over the blue edge on the right-hand side of the appointment. The move tool will appear, drag the appointment to the new time and/or date.
Selecting the Appointment and pressing CTRL+C allows you to copy the appointment. Select a different day and press CTRL+V to copy the appointment to another day. Alternatively, pressing CTRL+X allows you to move an appointment from on day to another (press CTRL+V to move to the new day).
Moving your mouse pointer over the top or bottom edge of the appointment displays an arrow . Hold down your left mouse button and drag up or down to increase or decrease the length of the appointment.
You will find that it's much easier to edit appointments in Outlook than it was in GroupWise. Outlook is more intuitive when it comes to editing objects than GroupWise.
Tasks are similar to a todo list; tasks are items that you must accomplish. Click the Tasks button in the Navigation Pane to switch to Tasks view.
Creating a task is created the same way you create a new mail message or a new appointment. Click the New Task icon or double click the task list to create a new Task.
The Task dialog box looks very similar to every other new Outlook object. It contains Subject, Due & Start Date fields, Status and Priority assignments, %Complete, reminder scheduling, and detailed information about the task. After completing the Task dialog box click Save and Close.
After you create a Task you will see the new Task listed in the Tasks pane. Right click the Task pane to display an option menu that allows you to create a New Task for yourself or send a New Task Request to someone else, Arrange the Tasks by date, importance, etc., Show additional fields, and other display options.
In the Navigation Pane of the Tasks view you can adjust how you view your tasks. This allows you to see the tasks that must be completed in the next seven days, tasks that are overdue, and even tasks that have been completed.
You can keep your tasks in view while you're checking your calendar too. In Calendar view, click View > Task Pad
Holding down the Shift key on your keyboard allows you to precisely resize any pane.
Use a Distribution List to send an email to a group of people. Distribution lists are stored in your Contacts.
Click File > New > Distribution List
After you have created a Distribution list you can edit it by viewing your Contacts and double clicking the Distribution List that you want to edit. Remove and add members as needed. Click Save and Close when you're done.
I think it's a good idea to periodically backup your Outlook data. Like any program, Outlook can crash. In order to backup your Outlook data, click File > Import and Export
Select Export to a File and click Next.
Select Personal Folder File (.pst) and click Next.
Select Personal Folders, Include subfolders, and click Next.
Click the Browse button and browse to your network folder (save the PST file on your network folder for backup purposes), select Replace duplicates with items exported, and click Finish and click OK.
If Outlook crashes you can import this file by clicking File Import and Export. Select Import from another program or file and click Next. Select Personal Folder File (.pst) and click Next. Browse to the backup file and click Next. Click Finish.
The Inbox Repair tool may be able to recover lost email messages, calendar and other items. How to use the Inbox Repair Tools to recover e-mail messages in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003 may be able to help you to recover lost Outlook items.
| CTRL+N | Creates a new Mail Message |
| CTRL+Enter | Sends the Mail Message |
| CTRL+O | Opens an existing document |
| CTRL+S | Saves the current document |
| CTRL+P | Prints the current document |
| CTRL+Z | Undo!! |
| CTRL+C | Copies the current selection |
| CTRL+X | Cuts or moves the current selection |
| CTRL+V | Pastes either copied or cut text into a new location |
| F7 | Spell check |
| CTRL+A | Select All |
| F9 | Send and Receive |
| CTRL+E | Find |
| CTRL+Shift+B | Address Book |
| CTRL+D | Delete |
| CTRL+Q | Mark as Read |
| CTRL+U | Mark as Unread |
Sample Letter (Word Document Format - to use for practicing attaching documents to email messages)
Roadmap to Outlook 2003 Training - One of Microsoft's official Outlook 2003 sites. This site offers numerous tutorials which include audio.
Outlook 2003 Help and How-to - One of Microsoft's official Outlook 2003 sites. This site offers numerous tutorials.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Outlook - Keyboard shortcuts from Microsoft's Web site.
Outlook Spam Tutorial - How to deal with unwanted junk mail.
See and Share Multiple Calendars - Shared Side-by-side calendars.
Delegate Access to Calendars - How to manage other user's calendars.
Sharing Your Calendar with Microsoft Office 2003 - How to share your calendar with other users.
Life After GroupWise - From GroupWise to Outlook (PDF) - added 6/1/07
Outlook Calendar Information - added 6/1/07
I Heart Tech Outlook Tips - added 6/1/07
