10 Minute Guide to Outlook 97
- 20 -
Integrating Items
In this lesson, you learn to use various items in Outlook together (to create a task or an appointment from a mail message or to create a document within Outlook, for example).
Creating a Task from a Mail Message
You can use a mail message to create a task quickly and easily in Outlook. Instead of printing the message and then opening your Task List to add the information, you can create the task by using drag-and-drop copying. For more information about using the Tasks folder, see Lesson 15, "Creating a Task List."
Timesaver Tip: You Don't Lose the Message When you use a message to create another item, Outlook copies the message so that the original message remains in the Inbox.
To create a task from a mail message, follow these steps:
- 1. Open
the Inbox folder.
- 2. Click and drag the unopened mail message from the Inbox window to the Tasks icon on the Outlook Bar. The Task dialog box opens (see Figure 20.1).
- 3. Change the subject or other data if you want, and then set any options for the task (such as due date, priority, reminders, categories, and so on).
- 4. Click the Save and Close button, and Outlook adds the task to your list.
- 2. Click and drag the unopened mail message from the Inbox window to the Tasks icon on the Outlook Bar. The Task dialog box opens (see Figure 20.1).
Figure 20.1
Create a task from an e-mail message.
Creating an Appointment from a Mail Message
In addition to creating tasks from messages, you can create an appointment from a mail message. When you create the appointment, you can set a time and date for the appointment, invite attendees to the appointment, create a meeting, and otherwise set options for the appointment. For more information about creating appointments, see Lesson 12, "Using the Calendar."
To create an appointment from a message, follow these steps:
- 1. Open the Inbox and locate the message
you want to use.
- 2. Drag the unopened message from the Inbox window to the Calendar folder on the Outlook Bar. The Appointment dialog box opens with some information automatically filled in (see Figure 20.2).
- 3. Add the location to the appointment and make any desired changes in the Subject, Start Time, or End Time boxes, or in any other of the options.
- 2. Drag the unopened message from the Inbox window to the Calendar folder on the Outlook Bar. The Appointment dialog box opens with some information automatically filled in (see Figure 20.2).
Figure 20.2
Create an appointment using the data in a mail message.
- 4. Click the Save and Close button to complete the appointment.
Create a Note from Any Item
Just as you can create tasks and appointments from a mail message, you also can create a note from any item in Outlook. Suppose someone e-mailed you information about a product or service that you want to add to a report; you can simply create a note with the information on it. Or suppose you want to call someone at a certain time later in the day. You can create a note from your contact entry so you won't forget.
You can create a note from a mail message, appointment or meeting, contact, task, or journal entry. After you create the note, you can edit the text in the note without affecting the original item.
To create a note from any Outlook item, drag the item into the Notes folder in the Outlook Bar. Outlook creates and displays the note, and you can edit the text if you want. For more information about notes, see Lesson 17, "Creating Notes."
Using Outlook Templates
Outlook includes many templates on which you can base new messages, appointments, tasks, and so on. You use a template when you want to create a new item. The e-mail templates, for example, supply an Untitled Message window with decorative fonts and graphics you can use to add pizzazz to your message.
To use an Outlook template, follow these steps:
- 1. Choose
File, New.
- 2. In the secondary menu that appears, select Choose Template. The Choose Template dialog box appears with several templates from which to choose (see Figure 20.3).
Figure 20.3
Base your new item on a specific template.
- 3. Select the template you want to use and click OK. Outlook displays the message, task, appointment, or other window in which you can create your item.
In this lesson, you learned to use various items in Outlook together--to create a task and an appointment from a mail message and to create a document within Outlook. In the next lesson, you will learn to share data with other Office applications.
©Copyright, Macmillan Computer Publishing. All rights reserved.