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Summary: In this fifth in a series of articles covering my new computer's setup, we continue by making adjustments to Microsoft Outlook. Part V in the series How should I set up my computer? (parts I, II, III and IV). So far, I've connected my new computer safely to the internet, updated software, tweaked some of Windows XP's controls and behaviors, and started installing software including Microsoft Office 2003. I spend a significant chunk of my on-line life in Microsoft Outlook. Like much of my time, this article will focus on Outlook, and how I tweak it to my liking. • The first time you start Microsoft Outlook, you're forced to step through a wizard that is designed to help you set up your email accounts. As you might imagine, I skip that, but we want to run it anyway. Work your way through the wizard, but don't set up any email accounts just yet. Exit the wizard and exit Outlook. Now that we've run Outlook, you'll find that there's a new entry in your control panel: Mail. That's why we ran Outlook only to exit it immediately. Profiles I make extensive use of Outlook Profiles. Profiles are nothing more that separate configurations of Outlook. I use one at home that includes all my email accounts (I have at least five), I use another when I'm traveling that only includes some of those accounts, and I use yet another when my wife and I are traveling together so that we can check her email as well. In Control Panel, Mail, select Show Profiles. I don't want a profile called "default", so I copy the default profile to one with a name I choose and then delete the default profile. I also select "Prompt for a profile to be used" at this time, so I can choose which profile I want to use each time I start Outlook. I then click Properties to begin customizing the profile. Default Data File Setting up your own default data file and getting your email delivered to it instead of the one Outlook has already set up for you can be a bit of a challenge. I take these steps:
Now we can finally fire up Outlook. Why is it all about me? This series of articles discusses in some detail how I set up my machine. That implies I'm setting things to maximize how I use my computer in my own ways. That may not be right for you. My intent is that you use these articles as a guide - a road map of sorts to show you the things that you might want to change, lead you into areas you didn't realize could be customized, or show you how to customize things where it's not at all obvious how. Your settings will almost certainly vary from mine. I've found that Email, for example, is a particularly personal experience. E-mail Accounts In Tools, E-mail Accounts..., View or change existing e-mail accounts, I add email accounts. One by one. All five of them. Besides the normal information (my display name, email name, server names, account name and password), I also select More Settings... and change the name displayed to be my email name. Later when I'm presented with a list of accounts to select from, it's obvious which one I mean. At this point I also set the security options required by my outgoing mail server. After all that, on the main account creation page, I also run a test just to make sure that the account is working properly. Address Books Setting up your contacts to be used as an address book for Outlook seems unnecessarily complex as well. Viewing the Folder List, right click on Contacts and select properties. Click on the Outlook Address Book tab, and make sure that Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book is checked. Now, back in the Tools menu, select E-mail Accounts..., View or change existing directories or address books. Double click on Outlook Address Book and delete the first one - I believe it's a remnant from the default data file we removed earlier. Customizing Menus & More I'm not a big fan of personalized or auto-hide menus, so I right click the menu bar in some unused area and select Customize. In the Options tab I select Always show full menus. Since I've configured for multiple accounts, in the Commands tab I drag a different Send/Receive item to the toolbar that includes a drop-down that allows me to select a specific account to act on. A also drag off the default Send/Receive button and add a "Move to Folder" icon. I also like to customize the Navigation Pane. At the bottom right of the navigation pane is a Configure Buttons menu that also includes Navigation Pane Options. I deselect a few things, but leave the things I use enabled: Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Notes and Folder List. I also drag the divider at the bottom of the navigation pane down as far as it will go, leaving only a row of icons at the bottom. At this point I also spend a few minutes and remove everything from Favorite Folders and then drag over a few icons that really are my favorites. Options - Lots of Options At long last, we head off into the Tools, Options dialog. On the Preferences tab, hit the Junk Email button. Now, I turn this option off completely, because I have some good spam filtering upstream - I see get only a small percentage of the SPAM that is headed my way. That having been said, I've found Outlook 2003's junk mail filter to be excellent, and suggest at least the Low setting. If you select High, be sure to scan your junk mail folder periodically for false positives. Still on the Preferences tab, in Email Options:
On the Mail Setup tab, hit the Send/Receive... button. I turn off "Schedule an automatic send/receive". I prefer to not be interrupted by incoming email, but rather retrieve it on my terms and schedule. On the Mail Format tab:
On the Spelling tab I uncheck "Correct two initial caps, and uncheck capitalize the first letter of sentences. The later is because when editing plain text messages, the editor seems to think that each new line is a sentence. On the Other tab, under Person Names I turn off the "Person Names Smart Tag". Then I select the Advanced Options button, and set "Startup in this folder" to be "Inbox", and turn of the always annoying "When selecting text automatically select entire word". A Few Last Tweaks We're almost done. A couple of additional tweaks that are in other areas of the program. Create a message, and while that is up, click on the View menu, and select BCC field. Now that will display by default. Lastly, as I view various folders, I turn the Preview Pane off, or set it to display below the message list rather than to the right. Done That's it. Well, not really. I continue to customize Outlook with things like new folders, new rules and the like as my email needs change over time. It's long list, but as I said, given the amount of time I spend in Outlook, it makes a lot of sense to invest in making it as easy for me to work the way I want to. Next in the series: a frenzy of application installation. The Setting Up Series: Related:
Article 966 | Posted January 2, 2005 |
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Recently changed from Outlook 2000 to Outlook 2003 and I have 2 questions-
Posted by: Buddy at February 12, 2007 10:17 AM1. I don't have MS word 2003 - can I use MS word 2000 as my email editor and how to set up?
2. I have 3 email accounts and have used the Wizard rules to try and direct mail to corresponding accounts, however most seem to go to my main email account. Are there tricks to set up distribution thru the 'rules'?
Thanks, Buddy
I recently moved to a new computer using the MS Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. The problem I'm having in Outlook is that is doesn't "see" my contacts in the "to, cc, bcc" fields. The contacts are there when I veiw the contacts folder but the "show names from the:" (in the "To, etc) menu is empty. I have nothing to choose from. How do I get my contacts to show up in that menu?
Posted by: Nighthawk at February 19, 2007 5:32 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
By using them. Outlook builds the auto-complete list over time based on
email addresses you've entered. It's actually unrelated to Contacts. It
not obvious at all, and as you've experienced, somewhat frustrating.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo Notenboom at February 19, 2007 10:50 AMikmn2YmkNhBs4pQ6lqS0JO0=
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I am trying to copy my Outlook data, personal folders to a new laptop. I can't find my Outlook application. I can't find Local Settings. I can't find Applications. I am using XP Home and can't seem to make much sense of those directions I find on the internet.
Thanks,
Jim
Posted by: Jim Daggett at September 25, 2007 10:53 AMI am using Outlook 2003, can I format the text in "mark my comments with" field as bold and italic.
Posted by: SZ at February 28, 2008 4:33 PMTask 'mail.cpand.com - Sending' reported error (0x800CCC0D) : 'Unable to find the e-mail server. Please verify the server information in your account properties.'
i tried setting up outlook 2003 to use as my mailing account and the above message apears when sending a message.
what is my next step
Posted by: James Welsh at March 9, 2008 6:35 AMI HAVE NOTEBOOK MODEL : Dell M1210 and Vista window home primumn
Posted by: Farhad Ghanizadeh at March 24, 2008 8:26 AMbut can send mail and recently i couldn't download my mail.please help me to solve this problem.
I set up travel itineries/meetings etc for our company executives - Once I input the details in the calendar, how can I send it as one batch file to those concerned for just that trip schedule, rather than many single emailed entries - We do not wish to syncronise calendars. Thx
Posted by: CB at April 28, 2008 1:52 AMHave recently changed from Outlook Express to Outlook. Can I customise the view so that I automatically get my list of contacts appearing below my folder list on the left-hand-side? (Like I used to with Outlook Express). Thanks.
Posted by: Miriam at July 22, 2008 5:17 AMI have 2 email accounts. One account I want to download messages off my server (standard setup), the other I only want to see which messages are on my Exchange server.
Posted by: Neil at October 2, 2008 8:56 AMCan this be done??