Platform: Windows PC Ref no: USER182 Date: December 2007 Version: 1 Authors: Chris McEvoy, Susan O Reilly, Claire Napier Introduction to Microsoft Web Outlook This document explains how to use Microsoft Outlook Web Access to connect to your University email account. You may also find the following guide useful: USER180 Introduction to Microsoft Outlook 2007 User guides are available on the Information Services website: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/uniservices/infoservices/documents/it/index.php
Introduction Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA) allows you to access your University email account from any computer or location using the Internet. OWA provides access to your mailbox, calendar, contacts, public folders and any other items that may be stored within Microsoft Outlook. Accessing Microsoft Outlook Web Access OWA can be accessed with any suitable web browser. It is designed to work with any browser that supports HTML version 3.2 and Javascript. However, it is recommended that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later when accessing OWA. OWA will work with other browsers, but certain functions such as drag-and-drop editing, preview pane and tree control will not be available. To access OWA, go to the following web address (URL): https://weboutlook.staffs.ac.uk/exchange The following window will appear, prompting you to log in: You must enter your username with the prefix STAFF\ or STUDENT\ as shown below: 2
Once you have entered your username and password, the web browser will access the main OWA page for your account. The main page looks very similar to the Microsoft Outlook standard desktop. You can access items such as your calendar, contacts, tasks etc. by clicking the appropriate button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. E-mail folders can be accessed by clicking the arrow next to Folders in the top-left corner. 3
Receiving email As with Microsoft Outlook, email is delivered automatically, so there is no need to check for messages manually. When a message arrives, a pop-up window will appear in the bottom right of the screen. Click on the pop-up window to go straight to the new message. To open a message already in the Inbox, simply double-click on the message. When you open a message, it will appear in a separate window. It looks similar to any other email software, with the address and subject at the top and the body of the message underneath. Any attachments will be listed under the header, click on them to open or save to disk. At the top of the window are buttons including Reply, Forward and Delete. Clicking Reply or Forward will open the appropriate compose window. Sending email To compose a new message, click the New compose window will open. button at the top of the screen. A 4
Type the email address of the recipient(s) in the box next to To. Addresses should be separated with a semicolon (;). To find an address from the University address book, click the To button to open the Find Names window. Enter the surname of the person you are looking for into the Display name box and click the Find button. The search results will appear underneath. Click once on the name of the person and click the To, Cc or Bcc button as required, then click the Close button. Enter a subject for the message by typing some appropriate text into the Subject box. Add attachments to the email by clicking the Attachments button Attachments window will open.. The 5
Click the Browse button to locate the file that you wish to attach. Once you have selected the file, click the Attach button to move the file to the list of attachments. You may then add other files if necessary or click the Close button to return to the Compose window. Note: You cannot send file attachments that are or may be potential virus threats, for example executable files, batch files, screensavers etc. To complete the email, type the main message in the bottom section of the Compose window. 6
Once the message is complete, click the Send button to send your email. A copy of all messages sent is stored in the Sent Items folder by default. Contacts This is where you can store email addresses, so that you can retrieve them easily at any time. You can store information about an individual, including name, email address, location, job title, phone numbers etc. The only information that is compulsory is the name and e-mail address any other information is optional. To view your contacts, click the Contacts button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Any contacts that you already have will be listed in the main window. To create a new contact, click the New button. The New Contact window will appear so that you can enter information about the contact. You must complete the fields next to Last Name, First Name and E-mail address. All other fields are optional. 7
Once you have completed the information, click the Save and Close button. The contact will not be listed in the Contacts folder. You can also create a Distribution List within your Contacts folder. Click on the arrow to the right of the New button and select Distribution List from the list of options. The Distribution List window will appear. Enter a name for the list in the box next to List Name. Click the Find Names button to add addresses to the list. Once you have created the distribution list, click Save and Close. The distribution list will be added to the Contacts folder. A distribution list can be identified by the two heads symbol. To send an email to a contact or distribution list, double-click on the name in the Contacts folder, then click the Send mail to contact button in the menu bar. A Compose mail window will open with the address of the contact or the name of the distribution list in the To field. Calendar OWA provides access to create, view and edit your calendar appointments. Click the Calendar button to open the calendar. 8
To change calendar views to daily, weekly or monthly, click the appropriate icon on the menu bar above the calendar. Any appointments you have can be identified quickly in the month view on the right side of the screen, as a day will appear in bold if there are any appointments. To create a new appointment, click the New button. The Appointment window will be displayed. Alternatively, you can double-click on a specific date/time in the Calendar view. 9
Enter a subject that will be displayed as the appointment title in the Calendar view. You may also enter a location for the appointment. Any notes that you wish to add can be done so in the bottom part of the window. Set the date and time for the appointment using the Start time and End time boxes. You can select All day event to fill the entire day in the calendar. You can also set a reminder for the appointment, which will show a message box on your screen at a specified time before the start of the appointment (15 minutes by default). You can label your appointment to state whether you will be Busy, Free, Tentative or Out of the Office. This will be indicated by the colour of the label in the calendar Blue=Busy, Grey=Free, Light Blue=Tentative, Purple=Out of the office. 10
When all of the necessary information has been entered, click Save and Close. The appointment will now appear in your calendar. To edit an appointment, double-click on it to re-open the window. Meeting requests If the appointment that you wish to create is a meeting, you can send a Meeting Request email to any proposed attendees. Click New to open a blank appointment window, then click the Invite Attendees button. Click the Required or Optional button to find the email addresses of the attendees. Once you have completed all of the information required, click Send to send the meeting request. The proposed attendees will receive an email with four buttons at the top of the message to either Accept, Decline, indicate Tentative or Propose New Time. If the attendee accepts the request, you will receive a confirmation email and the 11
appointment will be automatically entered into their calendar. Whichever of the four buttons is pressed, you will receive an email to indicate their intentions. Getting Help There is a help facility in OWA, which you can use to obtain further assistance with the software. To access help, click on the Help button top of the OWA screen. The Help window will be displayed. on the toolbar at the 12
You can select the category you require from the list on the left-hand side. Click on the specific topic you require to display information on that topic in the main part of the window. Where to go for more help or information You can get further help from the Information Services Help Desks at: Thompson Library: 01782 294771 Brindley IT Centre: 01782 294135 Octagon IT Centre: 01785 353339 Online: Email: www.staffs.ac.uk/ishelp libraryhelpdesk@staffs.ac.uk (for all IT and Library queries) All Microsoft product screenshots and references are used by permission of the Microsoft Corporation. Windows operating system 13