Tips and tricks for outlook XP - part 1

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Be different, sign different

The new Outlook XP makes for more individualism in e-mail-you can add different signatures for Reply, Forwards and regular mails. To change your signature, go to the Tools menu, select Options and click on the Mail Format tab. Under signature, click the 'Signature for new messages' drop-down menu and click on the signature required. Repeat this for the drop-down menu for replies and forwards, and click on the signature you want to use. Confirm by clicking Ok and you are done.

Custom mailer

If you send e-mails frequently, you could automate the process of creating and addressing the message. Outlook XP allows you to add a custom toolbar button that lists the persons to whom you send e-mails often. All it needs is a single click on the Custom toolbar button to send an immediate e-mail. If you send out daily mailers with the same subject line, you can add that to the e-mail on the auto mailer list. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. In the Categories list, go to Commands > New Menu and drag it onto the toolbar. Here, right-click the New Menu button and in the Name box on the shortcut menu, type a name for the new toolbar button. Do this when the Customize window is open, otherwise you won't be able to right-click and change the name of the button added. Now choose File from the Categories tab and click on Mail Message on the right and drag it onto the newly created button.
When you move the mouse over the button, a grey box appears-drop the mail message into that box. Now right-click on the mail message added to the button on the toolbar, type a name for the mail (if required), move to Assign Hyperlink in the menu and click Open. In the window that pops up, choose E-mail Addresses from the Link-to category. Fill in the appropriate e-mail address and the subject line of the frequent mailer and you're ready to send mail.

Open, dismiss or snooze with one click

Reminders are helpful when you have too many things to occupy your time with. You could use more than one reminder at a time in Outlook XP. These reminders are listed in the Reminders window, which is accessible from the View menu. You can Open, Dismiss, or Snooze, multiple reminders with a single click. Select the first reminder and select any further reminders holding the [Ctrl] key.

Loading differently

You can change the way Outlook XP loads while opening-you can make a program run or open a specific folder when it loads instead. This can be done with command line options issued with the shortcuts used to launch Outlook. To create a new shortcut for Outlook on the desktop (for testing the various options), right-click and open the shortcut and type a space, using the spacebar, after the path in the Target text area.

These are the command line options you can use with Outlook shortcuts:
To open the My Documents folder when you start Outlook, the complete entry would be C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Outlook.exe/select C:\My Documents.
To hide the Outlook bar, you could issue the command C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe/select outlook:/folder.
To create an item with the specified file as an attachment, you could issue a command such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe /select outlook:/a path/file name.
There are more command line options that you could refer to in Outlook's Help file.

Import Schedule+ data

Outlook XP does not allow you to use Schedule+ anymore as your primary calendar. Once Outlook XP is installed on your computer, you can use the Import Export wizard to import Schedule+ data on your Outlook e-mail client. All items will be imported into the Calendar folder. To import your Schedule+ data, choose Import Export from the File menu. From the window that pops up, choose 'Import from another program or file' and click Next. In the list, click the appropriate version of Schedule+ and click Next again. Follow the simple instructions on your screen, and all your Schedule+ data will be imported.

Reclaiming attachments

Outlook XP has a special security feature that prevents you from opening or saving attachments of certain types such as .exe, .bat and even .hlp files. When you receive a prohibited file type as attachment, Outlook XP tells you so, and does not allow you to view the attachment. Though not impossible, you can reclaim attachment rights by making a minor change to the registry. From the Start menu, select Run, enter regedit, and press [Enter]. In the Registry Editor, navigate to Hkey_Current_User\software\Microsoft\Office10.0\Outlook\Security.
Click anywhere in the right pane of the Editor and select Edit/New/String Value. Type Level1Remove as the name of the string value, and press [Enter]. Right-click the Level1Remove string, and in the Value Data field, enter a list of the file extensions for the formats you want to unblock. These extensions should be separated by a semicolon-say, you want to unblock executable and help files, you should type 'exe; hlp', and click Ok.

Note that with viruses such as Melissa and I Love You around, it is wiser to keep the default Outlook XP security level to block unsafe attachments.

Linking the subject

The old Outlook recognises URLs as hyperlinks in the message body. Outlook XP, however, has gone one step further. It also recognises links in the subject line and turns them into hyperlinks. Recipients, who run Outlook XP, can click the link in the subject line, and their default browser will open the link. This is very handy when you have to send just a link and not the entire e-mail.

Dual purpose software

Outlook XP can be used as a dual-purpose software when you run out of desktop space. You can use it either as an e-mail client or as a browser. Just type the URL of any site in the Address area, which is just below the menu, and below the standard toolbar. You will see the page loaded on the area to the right where mails are displayed. This serves two purposes and saves desktop space too.

Mail mechanic

Outlook XP gives you a new option to maintain your mails. Go to the Tools menu and choose the Mailbox Cleanup option. It opens a window that gives you various options for mail maintenance. Click on the first button to see your mailbox size. The Find button allows you to find mails based on size, and you can also archive messages and purge deleted items with this option.

Using colour schemes for Tasks

If you want to identify the status of your tasks at a glance, then it is a good idea to use colour schemes. To do this, go to Tools > Options > Preferences, and click on Task Options to change the appearance of tasks. Select the colours for 'Overdue tasks' and 'Completed tasks' from the screen you get.

Note-making

In Microsoft Outlook XP, Notes are the electronic equivalent of sticky notes. You can use Notes to jot down your personal queries, reminders and such like. To create a Note, in the File menu, click New and select Note.

It's also possible to leave the notes open on the screen while you work, and any changes you make will be automatically saved. You can also change the colour of your note to signify the importance and priority of a task. For this, click on the icon on the left hand side of the note, from the drop-down menu, click on Colors and choose the colour you want to assign.

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