Objective 1. Start and Navigate Outlook

Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 has two functions; it is an e-mail program, and it is a personal information manager. Among other things, a personal information manager enables you to store, electronically, information about your friends, family members, coworkers, customers, suppliers, or other individuals with whom you communicate. You can also use a personal information manager to keep track of your daily schedule, tasks you need to complete, and other personal and business-related information. Thus, Outlook's major parts include Mail for e-mail and Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks for personal information management.

Your e-mail and personal information in Outlook is stored in folders, and there are separate folders for each of Outlook's components. For example, the Mail component is stored in a folder called Inbox. Outlook presents information in views, which are ways to look at similar information in different formats and arrangements. Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks all have different views.

Alert!: Complete This Project in One Working Session

Because Outlook stores information on the hard drive of the computer at which you are working, it is recommended that you schedule enough time to complete this project in one working session, unless you are working on a computer that is used only by you. Allow approximately one to two hours for Project 1A.

 

Activity 1.1. Starting Outlook

Start Outlook in the same manner as you start other Microsoft Office 2003 programs.

1.

On the Windows taskbar, click the Start button .
 

2.

In the Navigation Pane, click the Mail button . In the displayed Start menu, locate the Outlook program, and then click Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. If necessary, on the Outlook title bar, click the Maximize button to maximize the Outlook window.

Organizations and individuals store computer programs in a variety of ways. The Outlook program might be located under All Programs or Microsoft Office or at the top of the Start menu. Compare with Figure 1.2 for an example.
 

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Figure 1.2.

 

3.

Look at the opening Outlook screen, and take a moment to study the main parts of the screen as shown in Figure 1.3 and as described in the table in Figure 1.4.
 

Figure 1.3.

(This item is displayed on page 66 in the print version)

 

Figure 1.4. Microsoft Outlook Screen Elements

(This item is displayed on page 66 in the print version)

Screen Element	Description
Navigation Pane	Displays a list of shortcuts to Outlook's components and folders. The top portion of the Navigation Pane consists of two smaller panes. The lower portion contains buttons for frequently used folders.
Title bar	Displays the program name and the name of the currently displayed folder. The Minimize, Maximize/Restore Down, and Close buttons display on the right side of the title bar.
Menu bar	Contains the lists of commands by category. To display a menu, click the menu name.
Standard toolbar	Contains buttons for the most commonly used commands in Outlook. There are different buttons on the Standard toolbar, depending on which Outlook folder is currently displayed.
Web toolbar	Contains buttons for navigating the Internet, similar to the navigation buttons in Microsoft Internet Explorer. The Web toolbar is displayed by default only in the Outlook Today view.
Outlook Today	The default view of Outlook when the program is started. It is a summary view of your schedule, tasks, and e-mail for the current day.

The default view when you open Outlook is Outlook Today, which is a summary view of your schedule, tasks, and e-mail for the current day. Your Outlook screen will differ from the one shown in Figure 1.3. Your program window might display the Inbox instead of Outlook Today. The starting appearance of the screen depends on various settings that were established when Outlook was installed on the computer you are using.
 

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Activity 1.2. Exploring Outlook Using the Navigation Pane and Folder List

A convenient way to move amongnavigateOutlook's different components is to use the Navigation Pane, which is located on the left side of the Outlook window. The Navigation Pane provides quick access to Outlook's components. Outlook uses folders to organize information, and you can also use the Folder List to move around Outlook. Individual folders store items. An item is an element of information in Outlook, such as a message, a contact name, a task, or an appointment. As you manage the activities of Darron Jacobsen, the Navigation Pane and Folder List will be your tools for moving around Outlook.

1.	Be sure that your Navigation Pane is displayed as shown in Figure 1.3. If necessary, on the menu bar, click View, and then click Navigation Pane to display it. The Navigation Pane displays as a column on the left side of the Outlook window. The upper portion of the Navigation Pane contains two smaller panes. The lower portion contains buttons to quickly display frequently used folders.
2.	In the Navigation Pane, click the Mail button . In the upper portion of the Navigation Pane, under All Mail Folders, click Inbox. The Inbox folder displays. The middle pane of the Outlook window displays any e-mail messages you have received. The right pane is the Reading Pane, a window in which you can preview an e-mail message without actually opening it. If your Inbox contains no messages, the Reading Pane is blank. If you have messages, the currently selected message displays in the Reading Pane. In a new installation of Outlook, there may be a Welcome e-mail message from Microsoft that displays in the Reading Pane.
3.	In the Navigation Pane, click the Calendar button to display the Calendar folder. The right portion of the Outlook window displays the calendar for the current day, and the upper two panes of the Navigation Pane display calendar-related information. The Web toolbar is no longer displayed, and the Standard toolbar changes the commands that are available. In this manner, each of Outlook's folder views displays different information.
4.	In the Navigation Pane, click the Contacts button to display the Contacts folder. Depending on whether contacts have been created, contact names may or may not display in the right pane of the Outlook window.
5.	In the Navigation Pane, click the Tasks button to display the Tasks folder. The Tasks list shows any pending tasks. If no tasks have been created, the list is blank.
6.	In the lower portion of the Navigation Pane, locate the four small buttons that display an icona graphic representation of an object you can select and open. Point to each one to display its ScreenTip, which is a small box that displays the name of a screen element, and then click the Folder List button to display the Folder List in the upper portion of the Navigation Pane, as shown in Figure 1.5.   Figure 1.5. The right portion of the Outlook window continues to display the Tasks folder; the upper portion of the Navigation Pane displays the Folder List. Folders shown in the Navigation Pane may contain more folders than can fit in the All Folders pane. Scrolling is the action of moving a pane or window vertically (up or down) or horizontally (side to side) to bring unseen areas into view. Click the scroll arrow or drag the scroll box to move the pane.
7.	In the upper portion of the Navigation Pane, under All Folders, locate the first folder, which is also called the root folderthe folder on a drive from which all other folders branch. If your Outlook data is stored in a personal folders file, it will likely be named Personal Folders; if your data is stored on an Exchange Server, it will be named Mailbox. Click either Personal Folders or Mailbox. The Outlook Today view displays. You can scroll down the pane to view the additional folders.   Alert!: Does Your Screen Differ? Depending on the configuration of Outlook on your system and the size of your screen, the Folder List shown in the Navigation Pane might differ from the one shown in Figure 1.5, which shows a scroll bar that displays on the right side of the All Folders pane. No scroll bar displays if the Folder List fits within the boundaries of the pane.
8.	If a scroll bar displays on the right side of the Navigation Pane, point to the scroll box, press and hold down the left mouse button, and then drag it downward to display the lower portion of the Folder List. You can also use the scroll arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar to adjust the view if necessary.
9.	In the Folder List, click Inbox to display the Inbox folder.
10.	In the Folder List, click Notes to display the contents of the Notes folder, as shown in Figure 1.6.   Figure 1.6. In this manner, you can use the Folder List to display folders that do not have large buttons on the Navigation Pane. Use the Notes component to store bits of information you might use later, such as directions or a question you have for someone.
11.	In the Navigation Pane, click the Mail button to display the Inbox folder, and then notice that Outlook hides the Folder List when you click a button on the Navigation Pane.

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More Knowledge: Servers and Exchange Server Accounts

Your e-mail account may be a Microsoft Exchange Server account. Exchange Server is an e-mail based communications server for businesses and organizations. A server is a computer or device on a network that handles shared network resources. Microsoft Exchanger Server functions as a mail server for a business or organization. In an Exchange Server environment, Outlook functions as a client of the server. A client is a program that runs on a personal computer and relies on the server to perform some of its operations. A few Outlook features require an Exchange Server e-mail account. Home users typically do not have Exchange Server accounts. Most home users of Outlook have a POP3 e-mail account with an Internet service provider.

 

Activity 1.3. Using Menus, Toolbars, and ScreenTips

Outlook commands are organized in menus, which are lists of commands within a category. You perform menu commands by using the menu bar. Toolbars are rows of buttons from which you can perform commands using a single click of the mouse; this is faster than performing the command from the menu. Toolbars are usually located under the menu bar. Recall that a ScreenTip is a small box that contains the name or a descriptive label of a screen element, such as a toolbar button. As you move around Darron Jacobsen's Inbox, the menus, toolbars, and ScreenTips will be available to you.

1.	On the menu bar, click File. The File menu displays either in a short format, as shown in Figure 1.7, or in a full format, which displays all the File menu commands. The short menus are adaptive, meaning that they adapt to the way you work by displaying the commands you most frequently use. If you want to see the full format, you can wait a moment, and the full menu will display. You can also click the Expand arrows, which are located in the lower portion of the menu.     Figure 1.7.
2.	On the displayed File menu, point to, but do not click, the New command to display the submenu, as shown in Figure 1.8.   Figure 1.8. (This item is displayed on page 72 in the print version) When you point to a command on the menu, the command is shaded and surrounded by a border. Commands that have triangles next to their names will display a submenu, which is another menu of commands.
3.	Without clicking, move the pointer down the list of commands on the File menu. Commands that are shaded or gray indicate that the command is currently unavailable. Commands that display an ellipsis (. . .) after the name will display a dialog box or a task pane.
4.	Look to the right of the Print command and notice the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+P. To the left of this command, notice the image of the toolbar button that represents the Print command on the toolbar, as shown in Figure 1.8. A keyboard shortcut is a combination of keys on the keyboard that performs a command. Many Outlook commands can be accomplished in more than one way. To use the keyboard shortcut for the Print command, press and hold down and then press . The result is the same as clicking File on the menu bar and then clicking Print on the File menu.
5.	Move the pointer away from the menu, and click anywhere in the Outlook window to close the menu without executing any commands.
6.	On the Standard toolbar, point to the New Mail Message button . When you position the pointer over a button, Outlook highlights the button and displays a ScreenTip, which describes the button as New Mail Message.
7.	Point to each button on the Standard toolbar, observing the ScreenTip for each button. Shaded or gray buttons indicate that the command represented by the button is not currently available.

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Objective 2 Read and Respond to E mail