Microsoft Outlook Tips
By Louise Wiedermann
Searching Within Outlook
Is there a way I can search through all the messages in my Inbox for certain words? Outlook has a feature that lets you search through messages in any folder, including your Inbox. It’s called Find and can usually be found on your upper toolbar, next to Send/Receive. If you click on Find, it will open a new toolbar that has a few boxes to fill in:
- Look For: Type the text you want to find.
- Search In: Tell it where you want to search: Inbox, or another folder.
- Find Now: Click here to start to the search.
Once you’ve done a search, you can clear the search and return to your view. If the simple search described above is not specific enough, click further to the right under Options, then Advanced Find.
Outlook, Word And Signatures
I noticed that if I change my signature in Word, I also see the change in Outlook. Why is that? If you use both Word and Outlook, be aware that the two programs share certain information. Here’s how: In Word, if you set any of these, then they will be also set in Outlook:
1. Theme
2. Font
3. Signature
In Outlook, from Options, and then the Mail Format tab: Any setting changed here will be changed in Word, if you have “checked” the box that Word is your email editor.
Drawing A Line Easily
On occasion, I would like to draw a line from one side of the page to the other when I’m working in Word. I’ve tried typing a bunch of underscores, but that looks tacky. Is there a better way? This can be done easily with a few keystrokes. Position your mouse at the beginning of the line, type three hyphens, and press the enter key. Word will draw a normal line. To get a bold line, type three underscores and press the enter key. To get a double line, type three equal signs and press the enter key. This also works when composing a message in Outlook.
Changing A Received Message In Outlook
Sometimes I like to save a message in one of my own Outlook folders. The problem is that the message I save has the same subject each time, so they all look the same. Can I change the subject line? To change the subject of a message that you have received, either before or after you move it to a folder, do this:
Double-click on the message to open it (make sure you open it—not the preview pane). From the top menu, select Edit, then Edit Message. You can then edit the subject line, or any part of the message text. Just click with your mouse in the area that you want to change and start typing. You can change the subject line, or the message text. When you are finished, close the message and Outlook will prompt you to save the changes. Answer “yes” to save the changes.
Not Disclosing Recipients
I need to send an email to 20 people, and I would prefer that the recipients not know to whom else the email was sent. Is there a way to do that? You can use Cc and Bcc when sending your message. When using Cc (Carbon copy), a copy of the message is sent to that recipient, and the recipient’s name is visible to other recipients of the message. Bcc is shorthand for Blind carbon copy. If you add a recipient’s name to this box in a mail message, a copy of the message is sent to that recipient, and the recipient’s name is not visible to other recipients of the message. If Bcc is not showing on your create message window, click on the “To:” box, and Bcc will be available below the address list.
vCard
What is a vCard and how do I use it? A vCard presents contact information as an electronic business card that can be sent through email. vCards are based on an open standard, allowing sharing with any software that supports vCards. You can send a vCard as an attachment, or you can include it as part of your signature. To send a vCard from within contacts, click on the contact you want to send as a vCard, and then on the Actions menu, click forward as a vCard (or Forward). If you receive a vCard, open the message and double-click the attachment to open it. In the open contact, click Save and Close, and the information in the vCard is saved to your Contacts folder.
Creating Your Own vCard
How can I create my own vCard and have it attached to each message I send? To create your own vCard, open your Contact info window (where all details are displayed). Then click on File, then Export to vCard File. You will be prompted for the folder location to save the file, so you can accept the default inputs, and click OK. Once the vCard is created, then it needs to be attached to your signature. If you do not already use a signature, create one first. Under Tools, Options, and then the Mail Format tab, then click on the Signatures box near the bottom of the tab, and create a signature. While creating the signature, under vCard options, select your vCard from the list, and then click Finish.
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