Outlook Tips & Tricks

The tips below in orange are included in the free membership (remaining tips are part of our Premium membership).

Plus with our free membership you get access to over 6 hours of free Microsoft Office Online Training.

Try it for FREE

 

Category Topic Description
Calendar Show an Additional Time Zone in the Calendar (0:01:43) If you regularly work with people in another time zone you can set up your Outlook 2007 calendar to show both your local time and another time zone. This video shows you how to set up multiple time zones in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Change Calendar Font in Navigation Pane (0:01:18) In this video learn how you can customise your Outlook 2007 calendar font size to make it easier to navigate and reference.
Calendar Change Reminder Sound (0:01:22) This video shows you how you can customise the sound played for reminders in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Never Allow Meeting Attendees to Propose New Times (0:01:02) Arranging meetings in Outlook 2007 with multiple attendees can be tricky if the attendees come back with alternative suggestions for the meeting time. This video shows you how you can prevent attendees from suggesting new times.
Calendar Add Holidays to the Calendar (0:01:46) This video shows you how you can add holidays to your Outlook 2007 calendar relevant to your country.
Calendar Change Calendar Work Week (0:01:38) If you don’t work Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, you will want to change the default work week to suit your hours. This video shows you how you can customise the work week in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Change Calendar Default Reminder Time (0:01:25) If you frequently change the reminder time when setting up appointments in Outlook 2007, this video shows you how you can save some time by changing the default reminder time to the one you use the most.
Calendar Contact meeting attendees with a reminder (0:01:26) This video shows you how you can send a quick reminder, or other email message, to meeting attendees quickly from the original meeting in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Abbreviate when entering meeting times (0:00:54) Colour coding your inbox in Outlook 2007 is a powerful way of organising items and being able to quickly identify emails you want to focus your attention on. For example, you might like to highlight emails only sent to you as they are most likely to require your attention before emails sent to several recipients. This video steps you through the options available and how to set up colour coding in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Insert your e-mail signature for meeting requests (0:00:41) Save time when setting up meetings by using abbreviations in the date and time fields. This video shares some little-known tips to save you time in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Let Outlook find a meeting time when all attendees are available (0:01:04) Watch this video to see how easy it is to insert your signature into meeting requests in Outlook 2007 for a professional touch.
Calendar Create an all-day & multiple-day event in Calendar (0:01:18) This video tip shows you how to save time when scheduling meetings by having Outlook 2007 find a time when all attendees are available. Note: requires use of Microsoft Exchange Server.
Calendar Quickly move an appointment by dragging it to another date (0:00:59) If you want to block out a whole day with an event in your calendar you can easily do this in Outlook 2007. For example you might want to mark when you’re on holiday so people can see your availability when making appointments. This video shows you the simple steps required to create an event that spans one or multiple days.
Calendar Change the time periods in the Calendar grid from the default of 30 minute time slots (0:01:00) Watch this video for a tip on how to quickly change appointments in your Outlook 2007 calendar to another day.
Calendar Track all attendees even if you can’t send them a meeting request (0:01:04) Learn how to change the default calendar grid from 30 minutes to anything from 5 minutes to an hour with this quick video on Outlook 2007.
Calendar Quickly change an appointment into an all-day event (0:00:40) If some of your meeting attendees aren’t able to receive an email meeting request, for example they might be external to your business, you can still track them in the Outlook 2007 meeting. This video shows you how to handle attendees without having to email them the meeting request.
Calendar Attach an agenda or meeting minutes to a meeting request (0:00:43) When you work with your Outlook 2007 Calendar you’ll find you are frequently changing appointment times. This video shows you a quick way to convert a meeting to an all day event.
Calendar Quickly share meeting notes with attendees (0:01:30) Make sure your meeting attendees are prepared. This video shows you how you can easily attach an agenda or other file to your meeting request in Outlook 2007.
Calendar See your Calendar while you’re looking at the Inbox (0:01:00) This video shows you some great short cuts for sending meeting notes or agendas with your meeting attendees in Outlook 2007.
Calendar Copy an appointment to a new time or date (0:00:52) Quite often you need to refer to your calendar while you’re in your Inbox in Outlook 2007. This video shows you how you can view your calendar in another separate window enabling you to see both your Inbox and Calendar at the same time, or any other combination of Outlook folders.
Calendar Avoid meeting request responses (0:00:58) This video will teach you how you can save time copying appointments to other dates and times within your Outlook 2007 calendar.
Calendar Quickly add Calendar and Availability information to an e-mail message (0:02:28) If you use Outlook 2007 to send meeting requests to large groups, it might be a department meeting, you probably don’t want to receive responses from each attendee. This video shows you how you can easily turn off Meeting Request Responses with a couple of mouse clicks.
Contacts Quickly move through contact address cards (0:00:53) If you have Microsoft Exchange set up you will most likely know that you can view your colleagues availability via your calendar. But if you don’t have exchange, or you’re liaising with someone outside of your office this video will show you a quick and easy way to add your calendar information to an email message, including the different levels of detail available.
Contacts Create a contact card from a message (0:01:02) This video shows you some tips to quickly move through your contact address cards to find the contact you’re looking for in Outlook 2007
Contacts Create a message/meeting from a contact (0:00:46) Get contacts set up fast in Outlook 2007 with the drag and drop technique shown in this video.
Contacts Change the column width in your Contacts list (0:00:44) Save time addressing emails and messages with this video tip. Learn how to create a message or meeting request from the Outlook 2007 contact.
Contacts Create a task related to a contact (0:00:49) This video will show you how to change the column width in your Outlook 2007 Contacts List to display more or less contacts at a time.
Contacts Add custom fields to contacts (0:02:55) Outlook 2007 is so much more than just an email program. This video shows you how you can assign a task to a contact enabling you to keep track of work or projects from within Outlook.
Contacts Quickly create a contact with the same company name and address as another contact (0:01:12) Outlook 2007 Contacts comes with some great information fields pre-defined, but you can customise it by adding additional fields specific to your business. This video shows you how easy it is to set up and use custom fields in Outlook 2007 Contacts.
Contacts Share a contacts folder with others (only applies to users with Microsoft Exchange installed ) (0:02:02) Once set up your Outlook 2007 Contacts can save you lots of time and be an invaluable record. This video shows you how you can quickly set up contacts with the same company details as another to save time.
Contacts Set up a Custom Contacts folder and share (only applies to users with Microsoft Exchange installed ) (0:02:50) If you have Microsoft Exchange Server installed you can share your contacts with others. This video shows you the steps to set this up and the options available in Outlook 2007.
Contacts Import Outlook Contacts (0:04:30) A custom Contacts folder can be an alternative way to group contacts. With Microsoft Exchange Server you can take it one step further and share your contacts with others in your organisation. For example, you might have a contacts list just for suppliers, or a separate one for customers. This video shows how to set up a custom folder and then share it with others in your organisation. (Requires Microsoft Exchange Server)
Contacts Edit Multiple Contacts at Once (0:02:03) If you have a contacts list in another program you can save time by importing it to Outlook 2007. This video shows you the steps for importing a contacts list from Excel.
Contacts Attach a reminder to a contact for follow-up (0:01:36) If you have multiple contacts from the same company and they advise you of a new phone number for example, it would be time consuming to update each contact one by one. This video shows you a great trick for updating details for multiple contacts in one go.
Contacts Create an appointment and link the contact (0:01:41) No need to rely on your memory, use Outlook 2007 to set up reminders for tasks relating to your contacts. Watch this video to see how easy it is to set reminders relating to your contacts.
Contacts Include my Contacts as safe senders (0:01:02) This video shows you how you can link a contact to an appointment in Outlook 2007. This provides a handy one click shortcut to open the contact record from within the meeting at any time.
Email Organise Your Inbox With Colour Coding (0:02:30) Having emails end up in the Junk folders from your contacts is annoying. Watch this video to see how to easily set your contacts list as ‘safe senders’ in Outlook 2007.
Email Disable Name Auto Suggest (0:01:22) When you create a new email and begin to type in the email address Outlook 2007 makes some suggestions from previously used addresses. This video shows you how you can turn this feature off if you find it annoying.
Email Change Junk Email Filtering Level or Disable It (0:01:58) This video takes you behind the scenes to see the settings available for Junk Email filtering in Outlook 2007. If you find you’re not receiving emails it may be that your junk filtering is too high, or if you get a lot of junk email you may be able to manage this better by adjusting the settings in Outlook 2007.
Email Stop Deleting Meeting Requests From the Inbox when you’ve responded to it (0:01:33) By default Outlook 2007 deletes meeting requests from your Inbox when you respond to them. This video shows you how you can set Outlook 2007 to keep the meeting request messages in your Inbox after you’ve responded, allowing you to refer back to them in the Inbox, as opposed to searching for them in your calendar.
Email Stop Warning Before Permanently Deleting Items (0:01:07) Outlook 2007 by default warns you before you permanently delete an item. This video shows you how you can turn the warning off.
Email Turn off Sending Read Receipts (0:01:06) With the frequent use of the auto preview and reading pane Read Receipts are rendered unreliable. This video shows you how you can reduce your email traffic by turning off the Read Receipt function in Outlook 2007.
Email Turn off Show Paste Options buttons (0:01:39) When you copy and paste in Outlook 2007 by default the Paste Options button appears and hangs around for a little while. If you find this annoying because it gets in your way this video shows you how you can turn it off.
Email Turn off Tray Notification Icon When New E-Mail Arrives (0:01:10) Getting distracted is one of the biggest enemies of productivity. This video shows you how you can improve productivity by eliminating the distraction of the email notification envelope.
Email Stop Playing Sounds When E-Mail Arrives (0:00:50) By default Outlook 2007 will play a sound when a new email arrives. This video shows you how you can reduce interruptions in your work-day by turning this off.
Email Empty Deleted Items Folder Upon Exit (0:01:02) Managing the volume of emails in Outlook 2007 can be made simpler by emptying your Deleted Items folder automatically. This video shows you how.
Email Show or Hide Message Header (0:01:01) This video shows you how you can reduce the size of the Message Header in Outlook 2007 to maximise the reading area for the message body.
Email Set a reminder to reply to a message (0:01:06) We get so many emails and we can’t always reply right away. This video shows you how you can set a reminder in Outlook 2007 on an Email to reply to it at a specified time.
Email Find related messages (0:01:08) Finding Emails can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately Outlook 2007 has some great tools to help you find emails. This video shows you how to use the Find Related messages feature to locate message with the same thread.
Email Save searches that you use often (0:01:43) If you regularly perform the same searches you can save some time by setting up a custom search folder in Outlook 2007. This video shows you how you can easily save searches for use again and again at the click of one button.
Email Search for and move items or files to different folders (0:01:23) This video shows you how to copy or move emails or other items from the search window in Outlook 2007 to a folder to make them easier to find in the future.
Email Create a Search Folder quickly from the Find bar (0:02:11) If you perform a search in Outlook 2007 and decide that it would be handy to save that search for later reference, this video shows you how you can quickly save the search from the Find bar.
Email Find All Messages Sent By The Same Person (0:00:50) Sometimes as we’re reading an email or looking in our Inbox we realise we need to find an earlier email we received from a particular sender. This video shows you a quick way of finding all messages or items sent by the same person in Outlook 2007.
Email Reduce Email Size By Using A File Shortcut Instead Of An Attachment (0:01:33) If you work in an Office with a server you should be using this tip to reduce the size of your emails you send to colleagues with attachments. This video shows you how you can insert a link to a file rather than attach the actual file in Outlook 2007.
Email Sort messages alphabetically by sender name (0:00:45) A simple way to find emails is to sort the folder you’re searching in by the Sender. This video shows you how you can quickly change the sorting options in Outlook 2007.
Email Want to move an Inbox item to a folder in the Navigation Pane but can’t see the folder? (0:00:58) Folders are a great way to sort and manage your email. We all know that we can simply drag and drop our emails from one folder to another, for example from our Inbox to an archive, but what if the folder isn’t visible in your folder list. This video shows you how you can move items to folders that aren’t visible in your folder list in Outlook 2007.
Email Quickly see the next or previous mail message in a conversation or thread (0:01:03) This video shows you how you can quickly navigate through an email thread using the Next and Previous buttons in a Outlook 2007 email.
Email Quickly print search results from your Inbox (using Advanced Find) (0:00:54) After performing a search using Advanced Find in Outlook 2007 you can quickly print the results. This video shows you how you can do this and the different options you have.
Email Show blocked images in an e-mail message (0:01:16) If you receive emails with images that are blocked you have a few options to display them in Outlook 2007. This video goes through your options and how to add senders to your safe list so the images are displayed automatically.
Email Keep track of messages that require action using categories (0:01:24) Categories in Outlook 2007 enable you to manage your messages more efficiently. This video shows you how you can assign categories and use them sort your messages.
Email Test the hyperlink in the message you just wrote (0:01:01) When inserting hyperlinks into emails, like web addresses, or links to files, it’s a good idea to test them before sending the email. This video shows you how you can easily test your hyperlinks in Outlook 2007.
Email Does your mailbox need a quick cleanup? (0:02:14) Improve Outlook 2007 performance and reduce the size of your mailbox with the handy Mailbox Cleanup tool demonstrated in this video.
Email How Do I Change the Color of a Message’s Quick Flag (0:01:19) Quick Flags in Outlook 2007 are great for reminding you of items to follow up, but you aren’t able to change their colour to categorise them. This video shows you how you can use categories to organise items into groups.
Email Delete names from the AutoComplete list (0:00:57) This video shows you how you can delete incorrect email addresses from your AutoComplete list when you type an email in Outlook 2007
Email Send a file using ‘Send To as attachment’ from e.g. Excel program (0:01:19) This video shows you how simple it is to email a file as an attachment in Outlook 2007 from the file you’re attaching.
Email Quickly add an attachment to a new message (0:00:48) Learn how to email an attachment without even opening a new email window first. In this video we’ll show you how you can drag and drop files and create a new email automatically in Outlook 2007.
Email Save multiple attachments at one time (0:00:43) Save time by saving multiple attachments in one go. This video shows you how you can easily save more than one attachment at a time in Outlook 2007.
Email View all your unread messages in the Inbox (0:00:39) This video shows you how you can quickly view all unread messages in your Outlook 2007 inbox.
Email Create a rule from a message (0:01:49) This video will teach you how to quickly set up a rule from a message in Outlook 2007, allowing more efficient management of your emails.
Email Clear your address history (0:02:43) When you type an address in an email, if you’ve entered an address like that before, Outlook 2007 will suggest addresses from the AutoComplete Cache. This video shows you how you can erase all previous addresses from the AutoComplete Cache, which you might want to do for privacy.
Email Turn On Automatic Spell Checking (0:01:08) Make sure your emails are professional. This video shows you how to turn on Automatic Spell check in Outlook 2007 to ensure your emails are free of spelling errors.
Email Make a message unavailable to recipients after a specific date (0:01:15) When you’re sending an email that is time sensitive, for example, it might be an invitation to a free event, you can set a time limit on the availability of the email. This video shows you the simple steps to creating this rule in Outlook 2007.
Email Open several messages at the same time (0:01:07) Watch this video to learn how to open several messages at once in Outlook 2007.
Email Use Quick Parts To Save Time (0:02:08) If you regularly reply to emails with the same information, using Quick Parts in Outlook 2007 will save you loads of time. This video shows the easy steps to set up and use Quick Parts.
Email Insert an email from another folder/Inbox/Sent Items etc. Into a new email (0:01:01) When creating a new email do you ever refer to an email you already sent or received? This video shows you how you can insert emails from your sent items or another Outlook 2007 folder as either text or an attachment.
Email Update the subject line in old emails (0:00:43) Often you might receive an email with a blank subject line, which is fine if it’s not going to be sent on or replied to. But if you want to forward the email to someone or if it has information in it that you might want to refer to later you can update the subject line to make it more useful. This video shows you how you can easily update the subject line in an email.
Notes Change How Notes Are Displayed (0:01:11) Notes in Outlook 2007 are a great way to organise information that you don’t require a reminder for. This video shows you some different ways to display and organise your notes.
Notes Quickly create a note from text in another program (0:00:57) Copying text from another program into notes in Outlook 2007 has never been quicker. Watch this video to see how it’s done and another great use of this technique.
Notes Forward a note (0:00:40) Get your Outlook 2007 notes working for you. This video shows you how easy it is to share notes by forwarding them to others.
Tasks Create a task from a file containing details about the task (0:01:03) In this video learn how to quickly create tasks from another file in Outlook 2007. For example, you might have a document with supporting information relating to the task that you want to attach to it for future reference when working on the task.
Tasks Send a new message about a task (0:00:57) Send updates on Outlook 2007 tasks with a simple drag and drop technique you’ll learn in this video.
To-Do Add a Month to the To-Do Bar (0:01:03) This video shows you how you can customise the To-Do Bar to show more than one month in the calendar section in Outlook 2007.
To-Do Show more tasks in the To-Do Bar (0:01:01) Customise the space in your To-Do Bar to show more tasks in this video on Outlook 2007.
To-Do Turn off the To-Do Bar (0:00:49) For some people the To-Do Bar is taking up valuable space. Watch this video to see how to turn it off and bring it back in Outlook 2007.
To-Do Show more appointments in the To-Do Bar (0:00:50) Customise the space in your To-Do Bar to show more appointments in this video on Outlook 2007.
To-Do Show more calendars in the To-Do Bar (0:01:04) Customise the space in your To-Do Bar to show more Calendars both horizontally or vertically, in this video on Outlook 2007.
Views Change the Order of the Navigation Pane or Hide Buttons (0:01:22) In this video learn how you can customise your navigation pane in Outlook 2007 to suit your work style. For example if you use your Tasks a lot it would be handy to have Tasks towards the top of the list, and if you don’t use Notes then you can remove the Notes button altogether.
Views Start Outlook in a Different Folder i.e. Not the Inbox (0:01:18) If you find the first folder you go to when you start up Outlook is not your Inbox, for example, you might prefer to view your calendar first. This video shows you how you can set up Outlook 2007 to open with your preferred folder.
Views Change view from multiline view to single-line view to see more messages in your Inbox (0:01:02) Outlook 2007 has some great email preview options, but they’re usually at the expense of how many emails you can see in your Inbox at any one time. This video shows you how you can maximise the number of emails in your inbox by using a single line layout.
Views Move Desktop Alerts to a different monitor – for users with two or more monitors (0:01:22) If you have more than one monitor you can choose the monitor and location of your desktop alert for new emails. This video shows you the simple steps to customise this feature in Outlook 2007.
Views Create & save a custom view of your information, sorted or filtered in a different way (0:03:07) Outlook 2007 allows you to sort and filter items to suit your needs. This video shows you how you can set up and save a custom view, including specifying fields and formatting.
Views Customize the names of the voting buttons (0:01:07) Voting Buttons are a handy feature of Outlook 2007. This video teaches you how to set up your own customised buttons.
Views Create a custom print style (0:02:24) Customise the print layout in Outlook 2007 to suit your needs using the tips in this video.
Views Change the size of the Navigation Pane buttons (0:01:21) If you have a lot of folders in Outlook 2007 you will find it useful to reduce the size of the navigation pane buttons. This video also shows you how you can add or remove buttons from the navigation pane.
Views Shade group headings (0:00:59) Make viewing your email inbox easier by customising your view headings in Outlook 2007.
Views Display folders at the top of the mail folders view (0:01:01) Using Folders in Outlook 2007 is a great way to organise your email. Unfortunately the order of the folders is determined by alphabetical order. This video shows you a way you can get a folder to appear at the top of the list irrespective of the letter it begins with.
Views Apply views to all folders (0:02:46) If you want to customise a view Outlook 2007 and apply it to all of your folders, for example you might like the font size bigger, this video shows you how you can apply this change to all of your folders in one go.
Views Reading Pane Options (0:01:50) If you like to see un-read emails in bold then you’ll probably find it annoying that the default setting in Outlook 2007 is to mark emails read when the selection changes. This video shows you how to turn this feature off, so the email has to be opened for it to be marked a read.