Managing Folders

Even with the message management benefits offered by Quick Flags and Search Folders, you'll still use folders to organize your messages.

You might end up using more folders because it's so easy to find your messages with Search Folders. The Unread mail folder is especially handyyou can create rules to file your messages as they arrive and use a Search Folder to view them in one folder. The end result is your messages are neatly filed away and you don't have to browse your folders looking for new mail.

Adding a New Folder

Outlook includes just one folder for each item type when it creates a message store for a profile, along with Outbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, and Drafts folders.

Although there's nothing wrong with keeping all your mail in your Inbox folder, most people create some folders for filing messages as they're finished reading them. A good filing system makes it easier to find the messages you need when you need them. Even with a bad filing system, Outlook 2003 helps you find your messages.

Don't use the Deleted Items folder as a filing folder. You don't file papers you need in a trashcan, so why would you store email you want to keep in the Deleted Items folder? Outlook 2003 supports more than 65,000 folders with 65,000 messages per folderwhy not use a few?

Before adding new folders, plan your filing system. After you have a system in mind, it's time to create some folders.

1. Select any folder in your message store.

2. Right-click and choose N ew Folder.

3. Type a name for the folder.

4. Select the type of Outlook item you're going to store in the folder from the F older Contains drop-down list.

5. S elect where to place the folder. You can place any folder type in any folder (see Figure 9.12). Select Mailbox or Personal Folders to add a new folder at the same level as the default Outlook folders.

   Figure 9.12. Use the Create New Folder dialog to add more folders to Outlook. You can create new folders in any folder. For example, you can create a Calendar folder in your Inbox folder.

   

Deleting Folders

The default folders that are in your mailbox when you first use Outlook cannot be deleted. However, you can delete any folder you create. Right-click on the folder and choose D elete " [folder] ", where [folder] is the name of your folder. You'll have to respond to a dialog asking whether you really want to delete the folder and all of its contents. If you say Y es and then change your mind, you can still recover the folder provided that you haven't emptied the Deleted Items folder. Just select the deleted folder from within the Deleted Items folder and drag it back to its original location. But after you empty the Deleted Items folder, you cannot recover deleted items (except Exchange Server users under limited circumstances).

In addition to using the right-click menu, there are additional ways to delete folders:

• Select and drag the folder to the Deleted Items folder. You won't get the warning dialog reminding you that all the folder contents will be deleted.

• Select the folder and press the Delete key or Ctrl+D. You'll get the warning dialog when you use the keyboard.

To delete the folder and bypass the deleted folder, hold the Shift key when you delete. When a folder or item is deleted this way, it's gone for good. Fortunately, Outlook warns you before it deletes the folder and you can change your mind.

When the Deleted Items folder is emptied or if you hold the Shift key when deleting, the deleted items can't be recovered. If you don't have a backup, you're out of luck and the items can't be recovered.

Exchange Server mailboxes can be configured to use Deleted Items Recovery, in which case deleted items can be restored. If you connect to Exchange Server, look for T ools, Recover Dele t ed Items. If you don't see it or it doesn't contain any items, speak to your Exchange administrator.

Moving Your Folders

After adding a folder, you might decide that you'd rather have it somewhere else in the folder tree. When you're moving a folder around your message store and have only a few folders, the easiest way to move it is to select and drag and drop, especially if you're using the Folder list in the Navigation bar.

When you're moving folders between message stores or have a lot of folders, right-click on the folder and choose Mo v e Folder. The Move Folder selection dialog opens, enabling you pick the folder or message store you want to move the folder to (see Figure 9.13).

Figure 9.13. Use the Move folder dialog to move folders and folder contents.

It usually takes only a few seconds to move a folder. However, if there are a lot of items in the folder, it could take several minutes, especially on a slow machine.

C opy Folder, also found on the right-click menu, works like Mo v e Folder but creates a copy of the folder and folder contents, instead of moving it.

Copy Folder Design

A common complaint by many Outlook users is the inability to share custom views. Although this is true for Internet mail users, Exchange users can copy their views to a PST and share it with other Exchange users.

1. Select the folder that you want to copy another folder's designs to.

2. Choose F ile, F older, Cop y Folder Design to open the Copy Design From dialog (see Figure 9.14).

   Figure 9.14. Use Copy Folder Design to copy views and forms to new folders after using Import and Export.

   

3. Select the folder to copy the design from and select the elements you want to copy, choosing from P ermissions, R ules, D escription, and Forms & V iews.

Not all elements will be available for copying. Forms & V iews is the important selection because it enables you to move custom views and forms published to specific folders between folders and message stores.