10 Minute Guide to Outlook 97 - 2 - Getting Started with Outlook In this lesson, you learn to open menus and select commands, use dialog boxes, and use toolbars in Outlook. Using Menus and Selecting Commands As do most Windows applications, Outlook supplies pull-down menus that contain the commands you use to work in Outlook. Each menu contains a list of commands that relate to the operation of the program. For example, the Edit menu contains such commands as Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear. Some menus change depending on the task you're performing. For example, the Compose menu you see when you're working in the Inbox folder changes to the Calendar menu when you switch to the Calendar folder. Those changing menus contain commands that enable you to work in a specific folder. Plain English: Folder A folder is a container of sorts that holds items related to the folder's name. For example, the Inbox folder holds your e-mail messages, and the Calendar folder holds your appointments and meetings. Folders are displayed in the Outlook Bar. To open a menu, either click it or press and hold the Alt key and press the key for the underlined letter in the menu name. Figure 2.1 shows an open menu. Figure 2.1 Pull-down menus contain commands you use to work in Outlook. Click a command to select it from an open menu, or press the key for the underlined letter in the command's name (the hot key). If an arrow appears to the right of the command, choosing that command leads to a secondary menu; click the command you want in the secondary menu or press its hot key to activate it. Plain English: Hot Key The underlined letter in a menu name, command name, or other option that you press (often in combination with the Alt key) to activate that option. Also referred to as the accelerator key. Menus can contain a number of elements along with the commands. For example, some commands have hot keys you can use to select them from the keyboard, and some have keyboard shortcuts with which you can bypass the menu altogether. In addition, certain symbols may appear in a menu to give you an indication as to what will happen when you activate the command. Table 2.1 describes the command indicators you might see in a menu. Table 2.1 Command Indicators Element Description Arrow Indicates that another menu, called a secondary or cascading menu, will appear when you select the command. Ellipsis Indicates that a dialog box will appear when you select that command. Hot key Marks the letter whose key you press to activate the menu or the command using the keyboard. Check mark Indicates that an option or command is selected or active. Shortcut Provides a keyboard shortcut you can use to activate the command without accessing the menu; you cannot use the shortcut if the menu is open but you can remember it for use at another time (when the menu is not open). Dimmed command Indicates that the command cannot be accessed at the current time. (For example, you cannot tell Outlook to copy unless you've selected something for it to copy; so if nothing is selected, the Copy command is not available.) Timesaver Tip: Cancel a Menu To close a smenu without choosing a command from it, point to any blank area of the Outlook window and click once, or press the Esc key twice. Using Dialog Boxes Often, selecting a menu command causes Outlook to display a dialog box. You can use dialog boxes to set more options and make specific choices related to the menu command. Each type of box contains certain elements you need to understand in order to use it. Figure 2.2 shows the Options dialog box, in which you can customize Outlook for your personal needs. This dialog box contains most of the elements common to Outlook dialog boxes. Table 2.2 describes those elements and tells you how to use them. Figure 2.2 Use dialog boxes to make additional choices related to the selected menu command. Plain English: Tabs The tabs in a dialog box are similar to the tabs in a drawer full of file folders. Select a tab to see information related to the tab's title. Table 2.2 Dialog Box Elements Element Description Tab A "page" of the dialog box, which contains a group of related options. Click a tab to switch to it. Area A grouping of elements on a tab or in a dialog box that is surrounded by a box. Check box Toggles an individual option on or off. Option buttons These enable you to choose one option from several options in a group. When you select one option, the previously selected option becomes deselected. Drop-down list box Displays one option from a list; click the arrow to the right of the box, and the box drops down to display the list. Command button Closes the dialog box or leads to another related dialog box containing more options. What's This button Presents a brief explanation or defin-ition of the elements in any dialog box. Click the ? in the title bar of the dialog box, and the mouse pointer changes to a question mark. Click the pointer on an item in the dialog box to get more infor-mation about it. (In NT, not all dialog boxes contain the What's This? button.) Close button Closes the dialog box and cancels any changes you made to its contents. List box Displays a list of options so you can see more than one choice at a time. Text box Enables you to enter a selection by typing it in the box. Check list Enables you to select one or more items from a displayed list of options. To use a dialog box, you make your selections as described in Table 2.2, and then choose a command button. The following list describes the functions of the most common command buttons: OK or Done accepts and puts into effect the selections in the dialog box, and then closes the dialog box. Cancel cancels the changes you've made in the dialog box and closes it, as does the Close (X) button at the right end of the title bar. Apply employs the changes you made to the options in a tab but leaves the dialog box open for you to choose other tabs and options. If you cancel a dialog box after choosing Apply, the changes made before choosing Apply remain intact. Browse (or any other button with an ellipsis following the button's name) displays another dialog box. Open (or any other button with a command on it) performs that command. Help displays information about the dialog box and its options. Panic Button: I Can't Get Rid of the Dialog Box Once you've opened a dialog box, you must cancel or accept any change you make and close that dialog box before you can continue your work in Outlook. Using Toolbar Shortcuts As do other Windows programs, Microsoft Outlook includes toolbars you can use to perform common tasks quickly. Outlook supplies some specific toolbar buttons that appear depending on your location in the program and the task you're going to perform. When you're in the Inbox, for example, the Reply and Forward toolbar buttons appear. On the other hand, some toolbar buttons--including the Folders List and Print buttons--are always displayed. To display or hide the toolbar, choose View, Toolbars, Standard. (The Standard option is a toggle, which means it works like a light switch. If the option is turned on (checked) and you click it, the check mark disappears and the option is turned off--and vice versa.) In addition to the Standard toolbar, Outlook offers a toolbar called Remote that has the Connect, Disconnect, and Mark to Retrieve buttons, and other tools you can use when you're calling the office via a modem with Outlook. To find out which command a toolbar button represents, hold the mouse pointer over the icon, and a description appears containing the name of the menu command for which the icon is a shortcut. Figure 2.3 shows a description for the Move to Folder button, which is the shortcut for a command on the Edit menu. Figure 2.3 Toolbar button descriptions tell you what the icons do. To activate a tool on a toolbar, simply click it. In this lesson, you learned to open menus and select commands, use dialog boxes, and use toolbars in Outlook. In the next lesson, you learn to use the Outlook tools.

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