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Outlook 2007 Agenda

  1. Quick Parts
  2. Distribution Lists
  3. Organizing with Categories
  4. Using Rules to organize emails
  5. Run Rules now
  6. Deleting rules
  7. Create appointments from tasks or emails
  8. Add and Deleting Holidays in Calendar
  9. Preview attachments
  10. Using advanced search

Outlook 2007

Reusing Outlook Text and Images

This new functionality allows you to reuse text and images just about anywhere in Outlook except Notes. (Includes online tutorial)

What are Outlook Quick Parts

Microsoft defines Quick Parts as a gallery of “building blocks”. Building blocks are a new concept in Office 2007 that allows you to reuse document elements. This functionality replaces the Word AutoText feature from previous versions, but is more versatile.

In Outlook 2007, these Quick Parts elements can be either text snippets or images. The text can even include formatting. These building blocks are saved to the default email template file called NormalEmail.dotm.

One caveat is you need to have installed Outlook 2007 and Word 2007 to take advantage of this feature.

Uses for Quick Parts

For a moment, consider the email you send. How often do you include the same bits and pieces? In my case, I have several emails accounts that separate personal and professional correspondence. Some snippets I routinely use include:

  • Directions
  • Web logo
  • Map
  • Chain letter / Urban legend advisory
  • Link policy
  • Review policy

Email items you routinely send might include:

  • Return policy
  • Cancellation policy
  • Privacy policy
  • Awards
  • Multiple signatures
  • Answers to frequently asked questions
  • Promotions

How to Create a Building Block in Outlook

The steps for creating a Quick Part building block are the same for Email, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks. Technically, it doesn’t matter where in Outlook you create the item. The saved block can be inserted into just about any Outlook item. Since you’re more apt to use email, I’ll use it for the instructions.

1. Open Outlook 2007.

2. From the File menu select New | Mail Message.

3. In the text area of the message, type the text you’d like to use as your boilerplate text.

4. Apply any formatting to your text.

5. Highlight the text passage.

6. Click the Insert tab on the ribbon

7. Click Quick Parts from the Text group.

8. Select Save Selection to Quick Part gallery…


9. Provide a name your Building Block in the Create New Building Block dialog.

Tip: Pay close attention to the Name: field. You want to choose a good descriptive name you can leverage.

10. Add other info such as a Category and a Description.

11. Click OK.

Reusing Quick Parts

There are two ways to insert these reusable elements in Outlook. The conventional way is to click Insert, Quick Parts and then click the desired building block from the preview list. Call me lazy, but that’s too much work for me. I prefer to use the method similar to how AutoText worked in Word.

If you name your building blocks efficiently, you can type the first few letters of the building block name and press F3. As example, I type “log” and press F3 and my logo appears. This works since I don’t have any other entries that start with “log”.

Another nice feature is you can use them in many areas of Outlook. You’re not restricted to using Quick Parts to just email. For example, I can use the same building block called “directions” in an email or an Outlook meeting request. The only place I’ve found where I can’t use them is Outlook Notes.

Since these building blocks are saved to your template, you could distribute them to others. I’ve not tried this, but Microsoft has more info on this subject on their site.

The Importance of Organization

If you plan to create many boilerplate entries in Quick Parts, I would create a paper hierarchy first. For example, if you do product support, think about ways you can structure and name the text snippets. Perhaps, you want to create categories for main areas.

Also, keep in mind how Outlook sorts the Quick Parts preview list. It first sorts by Category and then by Name. This structure makes it easier when viewing the snippet previews.

Another factor to consider is the building block name. If you have many text blocks try to use a naming convention that is easy for you to remember. For example, if many of the emails you get concern forms, try to create a structure around their names or number. As example,

  • wrf = water rebate form
  • pvf = planning variance form
  • css= customer satisfaction survey
  • f262 = account application form

Although using the word ‘form” at the beginning of the building block name might be a good convention, it does have a downfall. For example, if you used “form-water-rebate” and “form-planning-variance”, Outlook would want you to type at least “form-“ before a unique entry was found. Fortunately, you can rename building blocks by right-clicking a building block and choosing either Edit Properties… or Organize and Delete… from the menu.


Once you have your naming convention down, when you need to insert a specific form snippet, type the first part of the block name and press F3. Your boilerplate text can also include hyperlinks if you need to direct users to a website or network drive.

What’s Missing

As much as I like Quick Parts, I thought editing a building block would be easier. Unless I’m mistaken, you make your changes and save this new entry with an existing name. I was hoping there was a way to edit the existing text through the Properties dialog or Building Block Organizer.

The other item I wish was easier is sharing Quick Parts among the different Office applications. For example, I wish I could save a quick Part called “disclaimer” and have it as a shared item available for use in Outlook, Excel or Power Point.

Even with these limitations, I am pleased with Outlook Quick Parts. It does allow you to reuse text snippets and images with ease. I think it will also make the Outlook purists happy to know I’m not abusing the signature feature anymore.

Please feel free to contact me at

1.Building Outlook Distribution Lists

One Microsoft Outlook feature that people don't use as often as they could is distribution lists. Part of this may be because people don't know how to create them. I think another group doesn't understand how much easier they can make regular correspondence whether it is to 4 friends or 40 business associates. (Includes online tutorial)

If you watch your email habits, you'll probably see that there are certain groups of people you send email to regularly. Perhaps, it's a weekly project status report. Or, it could be a family newsletter with snapshots of the kids. The content routinely changes, but the recipients stay the same. These types of situations are great for using distribution lists.

Benefits of Distribution Lists

There are several benefits to using distribution lists in Outlook. The first is that it cuts the time it takes to address your emails. Rather than adding a dozen contacts, you add the name of the list. You might think of the list as an internal alias list as the recipient won't know a list is involved.

The other benefit is consistency. Once you have the list properly set up, you don't have to worry inadvertently leaving someone off. How many times have you seen someone get upset because they were not listed on an email? It wasn't intentional, but just an oversight.

Creating the Outlook Distribution List

To create the list,

1. From the New menu, select Distribution List.

2. In the Untitled " Distribution List panel, click Select Members?to add people in your Contacts folder. You can click Add New..to add other email addresses.

3. In the Select Members dialog, select the contact to add. You can press the Ctrl key and click on each one.

4. Click the Members > button to add your contacts.

5. Click OK to accept the entries. You'll return to the Untitled " Distribution List panel.

6. Type a name for your list in the Name: text box.

7. Click the Notes tab and add some descriptive text about the list.

8. Click the Save and Close button.

Your list entry now shows in your Contacts folder. If you look to the right of the title you should see an icon with two heads. This indicates the item is a distribution list. You can click the entry and see which contacts are in your list.

What the Recipient Sees

You can use the distribution list just like any other contact entry when sending email. The name can be assigned to the To:, Cc: or Bcc fields. The important thing to remember is that the distribution name is internal. The name does not display when the recipients get their email.

As you see in the online demo, I created a distribution list called "clients". Although I see the name "clients" when I compose the email, the recipients will see the full listing of all the names in the distribution list. From their perspective, they don't even know I have a list.

Some people think that the recipients see the distribution list name. This can be an issue if you have a list that is private. Using my "clients" example, I would not want the other recipients to see who else is on the list. In this case, I would add the list to the Bcc field. In this case, the recipient only sees his or her name.

Organizing with Outlook Categories

When people start using Outlook, they often enter in countless pieces of information. Sometimes this is a brain drain of items floating around in their head. Other times, it's a focused list of items. This is a good start and many executive coaches and consultants tell you to enter the information first and then classify. One easy way to classify information is to use Microsoft Outlook categories.

Categories tend to be overlooked by many Outlook users. Perhaps, a better way to think of categories is as labels that help you find, sort, filter or classify items. After all, we tend to classify information anyway whether it's grabbing the New York Times Business section or giving that complicated coffee drink order at Starbucks.

Classification also provides a host of actions relating to finding and organizing your data. A category can be attached to any object in Outlook such as an email, calendar events, tasks or notes. Moreover, Outlook allows you to create your own categories so you're not locked into someone else's classification system.

Advantages of Outlook Categories

Although you can use Outlook folders to organize information, categories offer many advantages.

1. You're not dependant on location.

In many companies, employees are allowed to have personal and business information in Outlook. Yet, some system administrators may allow only one Contact folder rather than a work contact folder and a personal contacts folder. You can get around this limitation with categories. As example, you can designate "John Burton's" contact record as "personal".

2. You can assign many categories to an item.

Chances are your friends are multi-dimensional so besides assigning a "personal" category, you might assign John Burton another category called "Golf" or "Prospect". Outlook doesn't care how many categories you assign to an item.

3. Categories allow you to mix and match data types.

Although Outlook allows you to create folders, it only allows one type of information in that folder. You can't set up a folder called Budget05 and include emails and tasks. You have to designate that folder as containing the same data object whether it's emails, contacts, notes or calendar events. In contrast, you could assign any of those items with a category called "Budget05".

4. Categories allow you to focus on your data.

Once you've assigned a category to an item, you can create special views or search folders. Search folders are a new feature to Outlook 2003, which act like virtual folders. You can get a similar result in older Outlook versions by creating category views.

Many Outlook versions have a defined current view that is based on category. Below is an example of a Task by Category view.


5. Categories allow you to customize Outlook to meet your needs.

Outlook comes predefined with a Master Category list, but you can add and delete categories. For example, I tend to use 15 categories because I synchronize with a PDA. My primary PDA is a Palm device that allows 15 categories unless I use a third party program such as Chapura'sKeySuite.

I've incorporated ideas from David Allen, Sally McGhee and Life Balance into my Outlook routine. I have a system that helps me decide what I should do next based on various factors. Sometimes, I'm restricted to what I can do based on my location such as making phone calls. Other times my decision may factor in my energy level or state of mind. As example, if I'm feeling under the weather, I might click the @Reading category and see what's next on my list. Or, if I'm in a bad mood, I stay away from any Website changes.

The nice thing about categories is that you can define your system. Some people may find my 15 categories inadequate. They may prefer to break down my @Computer category into:

Email
Online
Computer

Alternatively, they may prefer a structure like Computer_email.

Creating an Outlook Category List

Before creating and assigning categories, you should think about your structure.

  • How do you want to classify items (people, places, projects and so on) ?
  • Are you restricted to a set number of categories?
  • Do the categories need to be shared with others?

Another item to consider is whether the category should be in Outlook's Master Category list. The benefit to having an item in the Master list is that it can be used on any type of item. Some people start by typing a category name such as School in the Categories textbox for a Task and then become perplexed when they don't see that category listed when they try to assign it to a Contact. Typing category names directly in this fashion limits the category to that item type such as Tasks.

To get around this orphan category problem, I suggest people create a list of their categories and enter them using the Categories dialog. You can get to this dialog by selecting Categories from the View menu.

You may also want to use a special character to precede the category name. Some people use the @ character to show they need to be at some location such as @Home or @Office.

A related tip is preceding a category name with a non-alpha character. By default, the category list is sorted alphabetically. If you precede your category name with a special character such as a ~,!, @, +, it will appear at the top of the list.

Working around Subcategories

Outlook doesn't allow for subcategories, but you can be creative and work around this issue. As I mentioned, I restrict myself to 15 categories because of my PDA. One way I've subcategorized is by using the Subject line. For instance to get the @Computer breakout as mentioned above, I might start each of my @Computer items with a keyword and colon in the Subject line such as:

  • Email:
  • Online:
  • Research:

Although I may not get the same precision, I can easily sort within a category to achieve the desired result. Alternatively, I could create a View based on the category and then use a filter for the keyword in the Subject line.

  1. Attaching Categories to Outlook Items

Each of the data objects in Outlook allows you to assign categories although the field is in different places. Like many Outlook functions, there are multiple ways to attach categories.

Contacts and Tasks place a Categories button and textbox in the lower right.


To add a category to Notes, click the icon in the top left corner and then select Categories from the menu.

Assigning a category to emails is a little trickier. I think the easiest way is to right-click on the message and select Categories. Otherwise, you need to open the email and select Options from the View menu. A dialog will appear which has the Categories button.

Using Rules to Organize Your Email

Using Rules can help you organize your email in Outlook. Rules allow you to set actions that will be performed automatically after receiving a message that meets criteria you set. For example, Outlook can redirect messages with a certain subject line or messages containing a certain word or phrase. Or, messages from a colleague can be automatically forwarded or placed in a special folder. Outlook rules are flexible and allow you to tailor them to your needs.

  • Types of Rules
  • Creating Rules from a Message
  • Creating Rules with the Rules Wizard
  • Deleting Rules

Types of Rules

Outlook allows you to create many different types of rules to help automate and organize your email. Once set, these rules enable Outlook to automatically perform such actions as the following: