Outlook
is a powerful tool for managing your e-mail, contacts, calendars, and tasks. To use it most effectively, you first have to understand the basics. This tutorial introduces some of the tasks and features that you will use most often.
What you'll learn
After completing this tutorial, you'll be able to:
Set up an e-mail account.
Identify user interface elements that you can use to accomplish basic tasks.
Add a contact to your address book.
Compose and send e-mail messages.
Organize your folders and inbox.
Create a calendar event.
Requirements
Outlook for Mac 2011
E-mail account information (for example, your e-mail address, password, and mail server addresses). For a personal account, you can obtain this information from your Internet service provider. For a corporate account, contact your network administrator.
Estimated time to complete
20 minutes
1. Add a new e-mail account
You can use Outlook
to manage multiple e-mail accounts, including
Microsoft ExchangeAn account managed by Microsoft Exchange Server. Microsoft Exchange
accounts are used by organizations with many users. They make it possible to synchronize e‑mail, calendars, and contacts between multiple computers.,
POPA common type of Internet-based mail account. Examples are Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. After you add a POP account to Outlook, messages from the account appear in the folder list under On My Computer.,
IMAPA common type of Internet-based mail account such as Gmail, AOL Mail, and many others. Messages from these accounts appear in folders in the Outlook
folder list, under the name of the account., and Windows Live
accounts.
Before you can send and receive e-mail messages, you first have to set up an e-mail account.
Let's set up your e-mail account.
Note To complete this procedure, you must have your e-mail account and server information. If you have already set up your e-mail account, you can skip this procedure.
On the Tools menu, click Accounts (also written as Tools > Accounts in this tutorial).
On the Add an account pop-up menu, click E-mail.
Tip If your account is located on an Exchange
server, click Exchange.
Enter your e-mail address and password, and then click Add Account.
Note If Outlook
recognizes your e-mail provider (for example, Windows Live Hotmail), the Configure automatically check box remains selected, and Outlook
attempts to configure your server information automatically. To enter the server information manually, clear the Configure automatically check box.
Verify your account personal information and server information, and then close the Accounts dialog box.
Notice that a folder appears for your e-mail account in the folder list.
Note A new folder in the navigation pane is created only for IMAP and Exchange accounts. If you set up a POP account, your messages will go into the On My Computer folder.
A number of factors (for example, the number of messages to download, or the current server traffic) can influence how long it takes for a new e-mail account to appear in the folder list. If you have trouble setting up your account, see
About adding accounts.
Hints
For more information about the different types of e-mail accounts that Outlook
supports, see
Add an e-mail account.
To view and manage other Outlook
preferences, click Outlook > Preferences.
Before you move on
Make sure that you can do the following:
Add an e-mail account, and verify that it appears in the folder list.
2. Explore the Outlook user interface
Before you begin to use the e-mail account that you set up, you should familiarize yourself with some of the user interface elements in Outlook.
Let's explore the Outlook
user interface.
Search box: A way to find items in the current folder. As you type keywords into the search box, the Search tab appears on the ribbon and provides additional search options (for example, the option to expand the search to All Items).
Ribbon: The tabbed command bar at the top of a window or work area that organizes features into logical groups.
The current view (for example, mail, calendar, or contacts view) determines which options appear on the ribbon.
Reading pane: The area where you can read e-mail messages or see details about items such as contacts and tasks. To change the location of the reading pane, on the View menu, point to Reading Pane, and then select an option (for example, Below).
Navigation pane: In mail view, the navigation pane displays the folder list. In calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes views, the navigation pane lets you show and hide items in categories. If you don't see the navigation pane, click View > Navigation Pane.
View switcher: Buttons to switch between the five main Outlook
views — mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes.
Hints
To resize the navigation pane or the reading pane, point to the border between the panes. When the pointer becomes , drag to change the width.
To hide the ribbon while you work, on the right side of the ribbon, click .
Before you move on
Make sure that you can do the following:
Identify the Outlook
user interface elements listed above.
3. Add a contact
You can use the Address Book to manage both professional and personal information for all contacts. After a contact is in your address book, you can use it across Outlook. For example, you can send an e-mail message or a meeting invitation without having to remember the person’s e-mail address.
Let's add a contact to the Address Book.
On the view switcher, click Contacts.
On the Home tab, click Contact.
Enter information for the contact. At a minimum, include the contact’s name and e-mail address.
Tip To add a picture for the contact, double-click the placeholder thumbnail that appears in the contact window.
On the Contact tab, click Save & Close.
Notice that the contact appears in the contact list.
Hints
To add a group of contacts (for example, the members of a book club) so that you can send e-mail to all members of the group at once, on the Home tab, click New, and then click Contact Group.
Once you add a picture for a contact, all e-mail messages that you receive from that person will include the picture.
To remove a contact's picture, double-click the picture thumbnail, drag the picture out of the box, and then click Set.
Before you move on
Make sure that you can do the following:
Add a contact to the Address Book.
4. Compose and send an e-mail message
E-mail messages are the most common way that people communicate online. You can compose and send messages to any contact in your address book or to anyone whose e-mail address you know.
Let's compose a message to the contact that you added in the previous lesson.
On the view switcher, click Mail.
On the Home tab, click E-mail.
In the To box, begin typing the name of the contact that you added earlier. Possible matches appear in the Contacts and Recent Addresses list.
Press
RETURN. The contact is added to the To box.
Tip To delete a contact from the To box, click the contact name, and then press
DELETE.
In the Subject box, type a subject, and then press
TAB. The subject of the message appears above the message toolbar.
In the message window, type the text of the message.
Tip To send a file (for example, a Word
document) with the message, on the Message tab, click Attach, and then select the file that you want to include.
On the Message tab, click Send.
Tip When you send a message, if you are connected to the Internet, your message is sent immediately. If you are having trouble sending messages, on the Outlook menu, make sure that a check mark does not appear next to Work Offline.
Hints
A copy of each message that you send appears in the Sent Items folder in the folder list.
To check spelling in the message, on the Options tab, click Spelling.
To change the default font used in e-mail messages, click Outlook > Preferences. Then, under Personal Settings, click Fonts.
Before you move on
Make sure that you can do the following:
Compose and send an e-mail message to a contact in your address book.
5. Explore the Inbox and other folders
The Inbox is the main folder where e-mail messages arrive when they are sent to you. You can also create other folders to help organize your messages.
Let's view a message in your inbox, create a new folder, and then move and delete the message.
In the folder list, click a folder that contains a message.
Note The type of accounts that you add determine how folders appear in the folder list. To make changes to the folder list appearance, on the Outlook menu, click Preferences, and then click General.
In the message list, click an e-mail message. The contents of the message appear in the reading pane.
In the folder list, under Inbox, click the folder for the e-mail account that you added earlier.
On the Home tab, click New, and then click Folder.
Type a name for the new folder (for example, Temp), and then press
RETURN.
Click Inbox, and then drag a message to the new folder.
Tip To set up rules for moving messages to folders automatically, click Tools > Rules.
In the new folder, click the message, and then click Delete.
Tip To undo the deletion, click Edit > Undo.
Hold down
CONTROL, click the Deleted Items folder, and then click Empty Folder.
Important
When you empty the Deleted Items folder, those items are deleted permanently and cannot be recovered.
Hints
A number in a circle to the right of a folder (for example, ) indicates the number of unread messages in the folder.
For more options, hold down
CONTROL
and then click any message or folder.
You should occasionally check the Junk E-mail folder to make sure messages were not incorrectly marked as "junk." If a message was incorrectly marked as junk, drag the message to your Inbox.
Folders in the folder list are arranged in alphabetical order.
Before you move on
Make sure that you can do the following:
Read a message in your Inbox.
Create a new folder, and move a message to the new folder.
Delete a message and empty the Deleted Items folder.
6. Add an appointment to your calendar
In Outlook, an appointment is a calendar item that has a specific start date and end date and a specific start time and end time. If you invite other people to an appointment, it is considered a meeting.
Let's add an appointment to the calendar.
On the view switcher, click Calendar.
On the Home tab, click Work, and then click Appointment.
Tip To create a new appointment directly from the calendar, double-click the date and time of the appointment on the calendar.
Type a subject and location for the appointment, and then select a start and end date and start and end time.
Note To invite others and make the appointment a meeting, on the Appointment tab, click Invite.
On the Appointment tab, select how far in advance that you want a reminder and whether the appointment recurs.
On the Appointment tab, click Save & Close.
Notice that the appointment appears on your calendar on the date and time that you specified.
Hints
To change the date or time for an appointment, drag the appointment to a new location on the calendar. Or double-click the appointment and make the changes that you want.
To delete an appointment, select the appointment on the calendar, and then press
DELETE. Or, double-click the appointment, and then on the Appointment tab, click Delete.
To show or hide the mini calendar, in the upper-left corner of the navigation pane, click the border above the category list. When the pointer becomes , drag the border down or up.
Small icons appear on appointments to indicate that a reminder is set (), that other people are invited (), and the appointment recurs ().
Before you move on
Make sure that you can do the following:
Add an appointment to your calendar.
Quick Reference Card
To
Do this
Add a new e-mail account
Click Tools > Accounts.
Change the location of the reading pane
On the view switcher, click Mail.
Click View > Reading Pane, and then select an option (for example, Below).
Add a contact group to the Address Book
On the view switcher, click Contacts.
Then, on the Home tab, click Contact Group.
Add a picture for a contact
When adding a contact to the Address Book, double-click the thumbnail placeholder image that appears in the contact window. Or, you can drag a picture from your desktop or folder on to the placeholder image.
Compose a new e-mail message
On the view switcher, click Mail.
Then, On the Home tab, click E-mail.
Check the spelling of a message before sending
When composing a message, on the Options tab, click Spelling. Or, click Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Document Now.
Send a file (for example, a Word
document) with an e-mail message
When composing a message, on the Message tab, click Attach, and then select the file that you want to include.
Add a new mail folder
On the view switcher, click Mail. On the Home tab, click New, and then click Folder.
Empty the Deleted Items folder
Hold down
CONTROL, click the Deleted Items folder, and then click Empty Folder.
Create a new appointment directly from the calendar
Double-click the appointment date and time on the calendar.
Change the date or time of an appointment
Drag the appointment to a new location on the calendar. Or, double-click the appointment and make the changes that you want.
Set user preferences, such as default e-mail fonts or signatures
Click Outlook > Preferences.
More Hints
You can use Outlook
to manage multiple e-mail accounts, including
Microsoft ExchangeAn account managed by Microsoft Exchange Server. Microsoft Exchange
accounts are used by organizations with many users. They make it possible to synchronize e‑mail, calendars, and contacts between multiple computers.,
POPA common type of Internet-based mail account. Examples are Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail. After you add a POP account to Outlook, messages from the account appear in the folder list under On My Computer.,
IMAPA common type of Internet-based mail account such as Gmail, AOL Mail, and many others. Messages from these accounts appear in folders in the Outlook
folder list, under the name of the account., and Windows Live
accounts.
The five main views in Outlook
are mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes.
The contents of the folder list, navigation pane, and reading pane change based on what view is selected in the view switcher.
A contact group is a group of related contacts (for example, the members of a book club). After you create a contact group, you can send e-mail to all members of the group at once.
A copy of each message that you send appears in the Sent Items folder in the folder list.
When you send a message, if you are connected to the Internet, your message is sent immediately. If you are having trouble sending messages, on the Outlook menu, make sure that a check mark does not appear next to Work Offline.
The type of accounts that you add determine how folders appear in the folder list. To make changes to the folder list appearance, on the Outlook menu, click Preferences, and then click General.
In Outlook, an appointment is a calendar item that has a specific start date and end date and a specific start time and end time. If you invite other people to an appointment, it is considered a meeting.
You should occasionally check the Junk E-mail folder to make sure messages were not incorrectly marked as "junk." If a message was incorrectly marked as junk, drag the message to your Inbox.
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