Chapter 4. Communicating and Scheduling

4. Communicating and Scheduling

In this section:

• Sending, Receiving, Forwarding, and Replying to E-Mail

• Designing Your Default Message

• Working with Your Contacts

• Transferring Files

• E-Mailing Files and Photos

• Organizing and Managing Your Messages

• Tracking Your Schedule

• Tracking Your Tasks

• Scheduling a Meeting

• Tracking Multiple Schedules

• Sharing Schedules

• Subscribing to Newsgroups

The ability to communicate electronically is one of a computer's most used and most valued features. In this section, we'll discuss the tools that Windows Vista provides to enable you to reach out and connect with other people.

You can use Windows Mail to organize your e-mail and newsgroup messages, and to read and compose your e-mail even when you aren't connected to the Internet. You can format your messages with fonts and colors, and you can choose or create your own e-mail stationery. If you often send one message to several people, you can combine all their addresses into a group so that you don't have to enter each individual's address. You can enclose files, or attachments, with your e-mail, and if an attached file exceeds the size that your mail system can handle, you can compress the file to make it smaller.

Using the Windows Calendar, you can keep track of your own appointments and meetings, as well as those of your family members. You can also list the tasks you have to accomplish, set the priority for each, and specify when you want Windows Calendar to remind you about the task. With access to your coworkers' calendars, you can compare your schedule with your colleagues' schedules to see whether there are any conflicts before you propose a date and time for a meeting.