10 Minute Guide to Outlook 97 - 3 - Using Outlook's Tools In this lesson, you learn to change views in Outlook, use the Outlook Bar, and use the Folders List. Using the Outlook Bar Outlook's components are organized by folder. There is a folder for e-mail, a folder for the calendar, and so on. The Outlook Bar is a tool you can use to quickly change folders in Outlook. The icons in the Outlook Bar represent all of the folders available to you and provide shortcuts to getting to the contents of those folders. Figure 3.1 shows the Outlook Bar. There are three groups within the Outlook Bar: Outlook, Mail, and Other. Each group contains related folders in which you can work. The Outlook group contains folders for working with different features in Outlook, such as the Inbox, Calendar, Tasks, and so on. The Mail group contains folders for organizing and managing your mail. And the Other group contains folders on your computer for working outside of Outlook. To switch from one group to another, click the Outlook, Mail, or Other button in the Outlook Bar. The Outlook group is displayed by default. The Outlook Group Folders The Outlook group's folders in the Outlook Bar enable you to access your work in Outlook. That includes your mail messages, appointments, address list, and so on. Table 3.1 describes each of the folders within the Outlook group. Figure 3.1 Use the Outlook Bar to view various items in your work. Table 3.1 Outlook Group Folders Folder Description Inbox Includes messages you've sent and received via e-mail. Calendar Contains your appointments, events, scheduled meetings, and so on. Contacts Lists names and addresses of the people with whom you communicate. Tasks Includes any tasks on your to-do list. Journal Contains all journal entries, such as phone logs, meeting notes, and so on. Notes Lists notes you write yourself or others. Deleted Items Includes any items you've deleted from other folders. The Mail Group Folders The Mail group folders provide a method of organizing your incoming and outgoing e-mail messages. Table 3.2 describes each folder in the Mail group. Table 3.2 Mail Group Folders Folder Description Inbox Contains all received messages. Sent Items Stores all messages you've sent. Outbox Contains messages to be sent. Deleted Items Holds any deleted mail messages. The Other Group Folders The Other group contains folders that are on your computer but not within Outlook: My Computer, My Documents, and Favorites. This enables you to access a document or information in any of those areas so that you can attach it to a message, add notes to it, or otherwise use it in Outlook. For example, with My Computer, you can view the contents of both hard and floppy disks, CD-ROM drives and so on (see Figure 3.2). Double-click a drive in the window to view its folders and files. Double-click a folder to view its contents as well. Then you can attach files to messages or otherwise use the files on your hard drive with the Outlook features. Using the Folders List Outlook provides another method of viewing the folders within Outlook and your system: the Folders List. The Folders List displays the folders within any of the three groups (Outlook, Mail, or Other). From the list, you can select the folder you want. To use the Folders List, first select the group you want to view from the Outlook Bar. Then click the Folder List button to display the list (see Figure 3.3). Figure 3.2 View your entire system through the My Computer folder in Outlook. Figure 3.3 The Folders List shows all folders in the group you selected. Choose any folder from the list, and the folder's contents appear. If you display another folder in the Information screen, double-click it to display its contents. Changing Views In Outlook, views give you different ways to look at the same information in a folder. Each view presents the information in a different format and organization so you can get the most from the program. The following list outlines the view types and provides a brief description of each. A view type determines the basic structure of the view; within each view type, you can change the way you see the information. Table view type. Presents items in a grid of sorts--in rows and columns. Use this view type to view mail messages, tasks, and details about any item. Timeline view type. Displays items as icons arranged in chronological order from left to right on a time scale. Use this to view journal entries and other items in this type of view. Day/week/month view type. Displays items in a calendar view in blocks of time. Use this type for meetings and scheduled tasks. Card view type. Presents items like cards in a card file. Use this to view contacts. Icon view type. Provides graphic icons to represent tasks, notes, calendars, and so on. Timesaver Tip: Looking at the Inbox The default view for your Inbox looks like Table view type, in which items appear in columns and rows, but it is called Messages with AutoPreview. Each folder--Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, and so on--displays its contents in a particular view type, as previously described. Additionally, within each view type, you have a choice of views that further fine-tune the presentation of the information on-screen. You can change a view by clicking the Current View drop-down list on the standard toolbar (see Figure 3.4). Figure 3.4 Select a view to change the format of the information. As you can see in Figure 3.4, within the Table view type of the Inbox, you can change views so that you can see all messages, messages from the last seven days, messages organized by sender, unread messages only, and so on. Similarly, the Calendar folder--which is arranged in the Day/Week/Month view type by default--enables you to view active appointments, events, recurring appointments, and so on (see Figure 3.5). As you work your way through this book, you'll see examples of each view type. When you change folders in Outlook, take a look at the available views in the Current View drop-down list. Figure 3.5 You can choose how to view the contents of the Calendar folder. In this lesson, you learned to change views in Outlook, use the Outlook Bar, and use the Folders List. In the next lesson, you learn to get help in Outlook.

©Copyright, Macmillan Computer Publishing. All rights reserved.