MS Outlook. How to Increase Your Productivity With

Transcription

1 How to Increase Your Productivity With MS Outlook 2015 National Seminars Training. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this material or any part thereof in any manner.

2 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH MS OUTLOOK Advanced Calendaring Features Several advanced calendaring features are seldom used, including: Creating additional calendars Printing calendars Using multiple time zones Creating Additional Calendars To create a new calendar: 1. Click on the Calendar link in the Navigation bar. 2. Select the Home tab. 3. Choose the Open Calendar button. 4. Select Create New Blank Calendar from the drop-down list. 5. Type a name for the new calendar. 2

3 PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Printing Calendars Calendars may be printed based on many options. To print a calendar: 1. Press Ctrl+P or from the ribbon choose File > Print. 3

4 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH MS OUTLOOK Using Multiple Time Zones At times, you may need to work with multiple time zones in a single calendar. This option is available in Outlook calendars. To add a time zone: 1. Click File > Options. 2. Choose the Calendar page. 3. In the Time zones section, choose Show a second time zone and select the appropriate time zone. 4. Click OK to save your changes. 4

5 PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Categories and Color-Coding Categories and color-coding have been in Outlook for several versions and provide a powerful way to organize, view, and manage: s Appointments Events Tasks Once categorized (which also color codes the item), you can use the categories to: Create custom views. Filter the current view. Quickly understand the item. To categorize an item: 1. Select the item. 2. On the Home tab, click Categorize and then select the desired color category. To create new categories: 1. On the Home tab, choose Categorize and then select All Categories. 2. In the Color Categories dialog box, click New. 3. Choose the desired properties and click OK. 5

6 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH MS OUTLOOK Creating Custom Views Outlook comes with several default views for , calendars, and other objects; however, you can create custom views that show only the information you desire. To create a custom view: 1. Choose the object type desired (Mail, Calendar, Contacts, or Tasks). 2. Select the View tab. 3. Select Change View and choose Manage Views. 4. Click New to start a new view from scratch or select an existing view and click Copy to start with the settings of the current view. 5. If Copy was chosen, provide a name for the new view and click OK. 6. Customize the view based on your needs. 6

7 PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Using Rules and Macros The first thing you must do is determine if rules or macros should be used. The basic answer is you should use rules anytime they can effectively complete your desired task. Only create macros when necessary, because they require programming in Outlook 2013 and this takes significant time. In addition to rules, you can use Quick Steps in Outlook 2010 and later. Quick Steps allow you to accomplish common tasks very quickly on an as-needed basis instead of basing the task action on a rule. To create a new Quick Step: 1. Click the small arrow in the lower-right corner of the Quick Steps group on the ribbon. 2. Select Manage Quick Steps. 3. Click New and then choose the category of Quick Step you desire to create from the list provided: a. Move to Folder b. Categorize and Move c. Flag and Move d. New to e. Forward to f. New Meeting Request g. Custom The Quick Step can be used from the Quick Steps group on the ribbon. You can also manage the Quick Steps you create and perform three primary tasks: 1. Edit a Quick Step. 2. Duplicate a Quick Step. 3. Delete a Quick Step. All three options are available in the Manage Quick Steps dialog box. 4. Provide a name for the Quick Step. 5. Define unique parameters for the Quick Step category chosen. 6. Click Options, if necessary, to modify advanced settings. 7. Click Finish. 7

8 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH MS OUTLOOK Task-Management Secrets Three primary task-management actions should be mastered to be effective in using the Outlook task-management features: Assigning a Task Many tasks are performed by the task entry individual. Other tasks should be assigned to other workers. To assign a task: 1. Create the task. 2. Open the task by double-clicking it. 3. On the Task tab, choose Assign Task. 4. In the To field, enter the recipient of the assigned task and provide any additional modified information as shown here: 5. Click Save & Close. 8

9 PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Attaching Items to Tasks You can also attach items to tasks, including files and Outlook items. To attach an item to a task: 1. Create the task. 2. Open the task by double-clicking it. 3. Select the Insert tab. 4. Choose Attach File or Outlook Item to attach an item. 5. Click Save on the Quick Access Toolbar. 9

10 HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH MS OUTLOOK Using the Journal The journal is a little-utilized feature in Outlook, because it is hidden by default. It is officially disabled in Outlook 2013; however, it is still in that version you just have to know how to find it. To view the Outlook Journal: 1. Press Ctrl+8 to view the Journal. Alternatively, you can add the Journal to the ribbon bar with the Customize feature: NOTE: To disable Journal settings, click File > Options and choose the Notes and Journal page in Outlook The Journal is effectively disabled in Outlook 2013, with the exception of manual input. It is no longer used to automatically track communications with contacts. 10

11 PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Using Outlook Add-Ins Several add-ins are included with Microsoft Outlook, including: 1. Microsoft Exchange 2. Microsoft Outlook Social Connector 3. Microsoft SharePoint Server Colleague Import 4. Microsoft SharePoint Workspace Proxy for Outlook 5. OneNote Notes about Outlook Items 6. Microsoft Access Outlook Add-in for Data Collection and Publishing 7. Microsoft VBA for Outlook Third-party add-ins (also called add-ons) are also available, including: Evernote Recover My ( Follow-Up ( Scheduler ( 11