Making Favorite Outlook Commands Easily Accessible

The commands you use to control Outlook are available from menus and toolbars within the program window. The basic command structure hasn't changed substantially from that in previous versions of Outlook: Buttons representing common commands are located on the Standard and Advanced toolbars, and other commands that you probably use less frequently can be found on the File, Edit, View, Go, Tools, Actions, and Help menus. You can also invoke many commands by using keyboard shortcuts.

Tip 

To see a list of the available keyboard shortcuts, click the Microsoft Office Outlook Help button, type keyboard shortcuts in the Search box, and press Enter. Then click the Keyboard Shortcuts For Outlook topic.

As we first discussed in Chapter 2, "Managing Contact Information," big changes have been made to the way commands are presented within the Outlook item windows (messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, and so on). Buttons representing commonly used commands are grouped on tabs to make them easily accessible in the specific context in which you're working. This new design makes all the commands you need at any given time available with only one click. However, you might find that the buttons you use frequently are scattered on different tabs. To give you more control over the way you work in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft has provided the Quick Access Toolbar, the Office equivalent of the Quick Launch bar available in Microsoft Windows. The Quick Access Toolbar is located to the right of the Microsoft Office Button in Outlook item windows, as well as in the Microsoft Office Word 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 program windows. You can add a button for any command to the Quick Access Toolbar so that it is always available no matter which tab is currently active.

In this exercise, you will add a button to the Quick Access Toolbar. There are no practice files for this exercise.

BE SURE TO start Outlook and display the Inbox before beginning this exercise.

OPEN a message window.

1. At the right end of the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button.

   The Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu opens, displaying a short list of frequently used commands that you can click to add to the toolbar.

2. Near the bottom of the menu, click More Commands.

   The Editor Options window opens, displaying the Customize page. The commands currently appearing on the Quick Access Toolbar are listed (in order of appearance) in the right pane.

   

3. Click the Choose commands from arrow, and then in the list, click Options Tab.

   The list displays all the commands available from the Options tab.

   Tip 

   You can display an alphabetical list of all Outlook commands by clicking All Commands in the Choose Commands From list. In some cases, multiple instances of a command appear in the list-these correspond to the locations in which the command appears within the program. Pointing to a command displays the command location in a ScreenTip. Commands that appear on contextual tabs and commands that don't appear on any tab are also available from this list.

4. In the Options Tab list, point to the first command, Browse for Themes.

   A ScreenTip displays the tab and group where you can locate this command. Point to a few other commands to view their ScreenTips and gain a better understanding of how commands are grouped and where you can find them.

5. In the Options Tab list, click Request a Delivery Receipt. Then between the two command lists, click Add.

   Outlook adds the Request A Delivery Receipt command to the end of the list of commands available from the Quick Access Toolbar.

6. In the right pane, click Request a Delivery Receipt, and then click the Move Up button four times to move the selected command to the second position in the list.

   

7. At the bottom of the Customize page, click OK.

   The Request A Delivery Receipt check box now appears on the Quick Access Toolbar so that you can conveniently select it before sending a message.

   

   You can remove the button from the Quick Access Toolbar by repeating Steps 1 and 2, selecting the command in the right pane, and then clicking Remove and OK.

BE SURE TO remove the command from the Quick Access Toolbar if you don't want to keep it there.

CLOSE the open message window. If Outlook prompts you to keep a saved draft of the blank message, click No.