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Smart & Easy Software Tips, Tricks & Techniques
January 2005 - Volume 2, Issue 2
Publisher: Dawn Bjork Buzbee mailto:Dawn@SoftwarePro.com
The Software Pro (tm), Microsoft Certified Office Expert
http://www.SoftwarePro.com
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IN THIS ISSUE - Organizing E-Mail with Outlook-Part 2
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In the second of this series, explore these tips to organize
e-mail in Microsoft Outlook:
1. Turn off Personalized Menus and Toolbars in Outlook
2. Streamline with Categories
3. Filter with Rules
4. Apply Categories to Current Messages
5. Display Messages by Category
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1. Turn off Personalized Menus and Toolbars in Outlook
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Thanks to the readers who wrote to tell me that they weren't
able to find the Tools > Organize command to apply color coding
in Outlook [ see January 2005 - Issue 1;
http://www.SoftwarePro.com/archives.htm ].
First, you can color code e-mail messages in Outlook 2000,
2002, and 2003. If you don't see it, the Organize command might
be hidden due to a terrible "feature" called Personalized Menus
and Toolbars which limits your initial view to select toolbar
buttons and menu commands.
I recommend that you turn off this option in all Microsoft
Office programs. The steps are the same for all, but Outlook
requires an additional first step:
1) Create a new Outlook message.
2) Choose Tools > Customize, and click on the Options tab.
3) For the section, Personalized Menus and Toolbars,
check/select the options "Show Formatting and Standard toolbars
on two rows" and "Always show full menus." Note: in Outlook
2000, you will need to UNcheck each of these options (the
descriptions are a bit different too).
4) Pick Close and also close your new message without saving.
5) Now, try Tools > Organize.
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2. Streamline with Categories
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Categories help to organize active messages in your Inbox. To
group related messages with categories:
1) Edit > Categories > Master Category List.
2) Add new categories to describe groupings for your business
or personal e-mail.
3) OK twice to save and exit out of Categories.
Categories can be applied to e-mail, calendar entries, tasks,
and other Outlook items. Your list of categories won't be in
effect until you apply a category to a message or filter
incoming messages to a specific category. Then, to organize
your e-mail by category, create a view that groups by category
(described below).
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3. Filter with Rules
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Rules are instructions or filters that automatically
categorize messages based on conditions that you set. As new
messages are received in Microsoft Outlook, right-click on the
message and left-click on the command "Create Rule."
(In Outlook 2000, choose Tools > Rules Wizard..., and pick New
to create a rule).
Pick specific conditions, such as the sender e-mail address,
and assign to an existing category, such as "Clients." New,
incoming messages will be assigned a category based on the new
rule.
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4. Apply Categories to Current Messages
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Categories can also be assigned to existing messages:
1) Just right-click on any message, left-click on
Categories...
2) Assign a category by checking one or more of
the choices in your list.
3) OK to apply.
Groups of messages can be more quickly categorized by sorting
and selecting first, and then by following the steps above.
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5. Displaying Messages by Category
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To more easily organize messages, customize the View of your
Inbox. For instance, you can add or re-order displayed fields
such as sender, date, subject, size, and more.
To view messages grouped by category
(Microsoft Office Outlook 2003):
1) View > Arrange by > Categories
To view messages grouped by category
(Microsoft Outlook 2002 and 2000):
1) View > Current View... > Group By...
2) Customize Current View...
3) Choose Group items by and pick Categories from the list.
4) OK twice to apply.
Now your Inbox is organized by useful categories which
make it easier to focus on your most important messages.
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I'm going to take a break from Microsoft Outlook tips for now
but we'll look at creating and using folders and other e-mail
tips in future e-zine issues.
Find more Outlook tips and tricks at
http://www.SoftwarePro.com/tips/outlook.htm
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Please pass this along to others who may appreciate it!
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Dawn Bjork Buzbee
The Software Pro (tm)
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Englewood, CO 80155-5319 USA
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