Introduction

As good a program as Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 is, it can't do everything on its own. However, it can work with your other programs to help you accomplish your daily tasks . For instance, you might have information in a Microsoft Access database or an Excel workbook that you want to use in Outlook, such as a list of clients or a directory of phone numbers . You can also exchange data between Outlook and other e-mail programs. Or, you might have data in Outlook that you want to integrate with other Office programs. For example, you can merge the names and addresses of your contacts into letters that use a Word document, such as form letters .

Because Outlook is part of the Office suite of programs, you can use Office features such as the spell checker, Clipboard, and the Research task pane in Outlook, just as you would in any other Office program.The Research task pane can help you access dictionaries, thesauruses, research sites, language translations, stock quotes, and company information right into your e-mail message without leaving Outlook.