Improving Your Outlook

You can use all the methods described in this chapter to create saved searches and search folders to quickly locate the information you need. If you receive as many email messages as I do in a day (anywhere from 50 to 100), you need a quick-and-easy way to navigate to the information you want when you want it.

If you routinely access individual contacts for address or phone information, use the Contact QuickFind to quickly display the contact's information. If you're viewing your email and realize you need to send a contract to one of your contacts, just type the contact's name and press Enter. If you've entered a close enough match for the contact, the record for that contact will be displayed instantly. So, instead of three or four mouse clicks, you can find your contact with only one mouse click.

To instantly view all unread items when you come back to your desk after a meeting, click the Unread Mail Search Folder. You can use this folder to view items across all the mail folders in your default message store. Once you select the Unread Mail Search Folder, you can deal with every message in order by replying to it, forwarding it, flagging it, or deleting it.

You can also create a Search Folder or organization color rule for important messages from your direct supervisor. If you receive a large number of email messages every day, it's possible to lose the occasional message in the bustle of the workday. By specifying that all messages from your supervisor be marked in red, you'll be alerted to those messages by their display color. Creating a Search Folder for those messages allows all messages from your supervisor to be viewed in one central location. You can even include all messages you sent to your supervisor. Grouping those messages by conversation enables you to see whole conversations in their entirety.

Your particular organization solution may involve some or all the techniques discussed in this chapter. Try them all out and see what works best for you.