perimeter church

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Perimeter Church

Outlook Introduction,

2005

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Outlook BasicsMultiple functions, all within one program

The Extremely Obvious:

• Email

The fairly obvious:

• Calendar

• Tasks (to do’s)

• Contacts

• Notes

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Outlook Basics, continued

The Worthless (mostly):

• Journal

The less obvious:

• Meeting requests

• Task requests

• Postings

• Additional folders

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The #1 application

Q: Of all the applications at Perimeter (Word, Excel, Shelby, Internet Explorer, etc.), which one receives the most use?

A: Outlook

• Outlook is a key tool for communicating and time management

• Worth an investment in learning to use well

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Technical digression

Outlook is a client program that works with any of several email servers. Perimeter uses Microsoft Exchange Server. We will occasionally make reference to Exchange, but will generally use the term Outlook to refer to whatever you see, regardless of how it is implemented.

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Reminder

• If you’ve met the prerequisites to be here, you already know how to adjust window sizes, open and close windows, and start applications

• You should also know about the shortcut menus available using the Right mouse button

• If you don’t know these things, you will be at an extreme disadvantage

• Note: There aren’t many handouts for this class -- capture your own “Aha’s”

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Outlook’s major “views”

• Outlook bar

• Folder list

• Neither of the above

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Outlook Bar

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Folder List

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No Folder Listing

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Special request

• When exiting Outlook, please use Exit and Logoff

• After exiting and logging off, please wait at least 45 more seconds before shutting down your system

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A quick look around

DEMO

• Inbox

• Contacts

• Calendar

• Tasks

• Notes

• Other folders

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Quick Demo, continued

• Two major hierarchies:– Your mailbox– The public folders

• The Outlook Today view

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Many choices when starting something new

• Toolbars

• Pull-down menus

• Shortcut menus

• Some double-click opportunities

• Your Office Shortcut Bar

• Use whatever works for you

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Email Basics

Demo

• Reading

• Deleting

• Composing

• Addressing

• Organizing

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Email -- for further exploration (on your own)

• Sorting and grouping

• Different views of the inbox or other folders

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What’s my address?(for the name Tom Smith)

• Church standard: [email protected]

• School standard: [email protected]

• For most, either will work

• We can create any number of “aliases”

• Typically include [email protected]

• Unusual spelling? We can accommodate common mistakes (just contact helpdesk)

• There are MANY exceptions

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Calendar Basics

• Create from various ‘new’ options– or by simply dragging and typing

• Appointments vs. Events

• Printing leaves a bit to be desired

• Recurring Items

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Task Basics

• Due Dates

• Recurring items

• Consideration: Projects

• View from the TaskPad (with Calendar) or independently

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Contact Basics

• Note the options for File as

• Many different views possible

• Preferred place to store email address– But don’t duplicate if in the Global Address

List

• FAX will conflict with email address

• Properties on email address

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Notes Basics

• Notes are too simple

• Sorting, if any, is only by the first line of info

• Unlike other functions, escape and close box do NOT cancel the creation

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Why not Journal?

• Journal is nothing like a diary

• May be useful for lawyers, or others who want to bill by the minute for anything done

• Not supported by Perimeter -- use at your own risk– Do NOT contact helpdesk on this one

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Public Folders• Common information, available to all

– subject to some security/privacy settings

• Not just messages -- use for shared tasks, calendars, etc.

• Easy visibility from Outlook

• Demo -- a quick look at some public folders

• Favorites can simplify your life

• Takes “two clicks a day”

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Preview Mode - do you love it or hate it?

• Most people have a strong opinion

• Either way, you can control it

• Demo: preview mode

• Alternative: AutoPreview - first few lines of unread messages only

• Demo: AutoPreview

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Categories

• Great way to organize your data– Especially contacts, tasks, meetings

• A bit awkward to remember

• Very awkward to share

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Especially for new staff members

• If you haven’t already, please add yourself to the staff directory

• Any IT-related issues, send email to helpdesk

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Beyond the Basics

Tips & Tricks to boost your productivity with Outlook

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Addressing Tips

• To vs. cc:

• Multiple addressees

• Type names rather than searching

• OK to key Internet addresses without ever putting into an address book– But, not for rich text

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Contacts vs. the Personal Address Book (PAB)

• PAB is a bit of a dinosaur -- legacy from earlier Microsoft Exchange clients

• Email addresses can be stored in either Contacts, or PAB

• Suggestion: use contacts

• Today: personal distribution lists can only be created in the PAB

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Contacts & PAB continued

• Shared contact lists are easily created– Great Public Folder application– Drag and drop between contact folders

• Normal search for address is: GAL, Contacts, PAB– User configurable

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Message types: Rich Text, Plain Text, HTML

• Outlook supports three types of messages:– Plain Text– Microsoft Rich Text– HTML

• A fourth variant uses Word as your email editor - richer Rich Text– Not the Perimeter preference, primarily for

performance reasons

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Replying to mail

• Reply and Reply to All

• Adding and removing addressees

• Preserving an attachment

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Sorting items in a folder

• Click on any column heading

• Click again to “reverse” the sort

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Managing messages while reading

• Don’t have to delete, move, etc. from the inbox

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Expiring messages

• A tremendous courtesy to other users

• Any message with a time sensitivity is a candidate

• Even more so if mailing to a list

• Easy to do -- just click the Options page button

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Read Receipts

• Another Option

• Not as useful as it might seem– Some companies don’t support at all– Some mailers give false returns– Preview mode can really mislead you

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Attachments

• Outlook makes it [too] easy to send and receive attachments

• Size/performance

• Danger (viruses, worms, etc.)

• Links are GREAT for other Perimeter users– but worthless for off-site users

• Hot-spots (web addresses) are easy to create– But no guarantee your recipient’s email works

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Attachments, continued

• Replying to a message, keeping the attachment– by design, the attachment is dropped in a reply– Either: copy from the original and paste into the

reply– Or: forward the message back to the originator

rather than replying

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Free/Busy Time

• When setting a meeting or event, and extra option

• Takes some extra clicks

• Makes life much easier for co-workers

• Allows secretaries and receptionists to know who’s in, who’s not

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Distribution Lists

• Global distribution lists -- maintained by IT

• Handout: Common distribution lists in the GAL– Assorted staff lists– Elders, Deacons, etc.– Others of sufficient general interest

• Easy to use -- resist the urge

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Distribution Lists, continued

• Personal Distribution lists can be created– In the Personal Address Book– May contain addresses from the GAL,

Contacts, PAB, or any other existing source– No provision for ad-hoc addresses

• Problem: no auto-update -- if an address changes, you have to make the change

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Message Size considerations

• Obvious: Large messages take longer to deliver than small ones

• Less obvious: Internal messages have much less of a problem than messages outside the church

• Obscure: How big is a message?– Rich text will be larger than plain text– How big is an attachment?

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Sending shortcuts rather than attachments

• If a file exists in a public location (S:, for instance), you can send a shortcut (link) rather than the file

• Great for internal - shortcuts are tiny

• Terrible for external - external users won’t be able to use

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Email & Confidentiality• The nature of Exchange supports

confidentiality

• Administrators have over-ride capability

• Mistakes happen

• Various proofs that, given enough time, anything can be retrieved

• Trust, with caution

• Internet mail has much less security

• But shear volume works to your advantage

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Appropriate use policyRepresenting the Church/School

• Any email message you send comes from the church

• Assume ZERO confidentiality if sending anything embarrassing

• Email is provided to serve in our ministries

• Personal contact is part of what we all do

• Use some common sense

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Email Etiquette

• Always have a meaningful [and short] subject line

• One subject per message

• Shorter is better

• Limit redistribution

• NEVER forward chain letters, including virus hoaxes

• Consider our recipients

• New Perimeter Guidelines in the works now

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Internal mail vs. external

• Email to others on the Perimeter network is very different from mail to “outsiders”

• Internal: fast (delivered within seconds)

• External: could be queued or otherwise delayed for days [usually not]

• Consider dial-up users and performance

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Non-Delivery Reports (NDRs)

• Failed email -- why?– Typos– People change addresses– Companies go out of business– Specifying something other than Internet– Network failures

• Read the message -- if unclear, forward to helpdesk

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Meeting Requests

• You can invite others to meetings– And pre-check their schedule for availability– And track the responses– And include important info about the meeting

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Task Requests

• Tasks can be delegated– And tracked!– And reminders set!– Details can be included

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Postings

• Great for “deposits” into public folders

• Also good for temporary/working messages to yourself

• Warning: no drafts for postings!

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Drag and Drop

• Convert a message to a task• -or- a calendar item• -or- a note• -or- anything to anything else• -or- drag any item to the desktop (or elsewhere)• -or- drag a file into an Outlook folder• Move/copy items from folder to folder• Remember Right-drag?

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More Drag and Drop

• Moving an appointment– Reschedule

– Works for meeting requests, too

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Other considerations

• Opening multiple windows

• Opening someone else’s calendar

• Additional folders in your mailbox– Consider sub-folders

• Creating Public Folders

• Public Folder permissions

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Even more to consider

• More on the OPTIONS page– Caution on Delivery and Read receipts– Many options are only useful within our server

environment– Voting buttons– Delayed send

• The pre-defined views (pull-down lists)

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Outlook for Administrative Assistants (and those they assist)

• Allowing someone else to manage your schedule, or tasks, or anything else

• Managing someone else’s schedule, or tasks, or anything else

• Task requests, meeting requests -- administering for someone else

• Availability viewer

• Sending on behalf of another user

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Comparing Outlook folders to Disk folders

• Documents can be stored in Outlook

• Easier to organize?

• Harder to revert to older copies

• Very difficult to restore selectively

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Ideas for further exploration (on your own)

• The map view for contacts

• Recurring events

• Flags, message priorities

• Keyboard shortcuts

• Find, Organize, Preview

• Public folder permissions

• Posting vs. mailing

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More ideas (for exploring on your own)

• Privacy in your calendar

• BCC field

• Folder Views

• Publishing Views

• The TaskPad view

• Configuring Outlook Today

• Use of birthdays, anniversaries, etc., in contacts -- how useful?

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Even more for on your own

• Setting unique fonts or colors for messages, replies

• Adjusting your signature• With caution: visit the Microsoft web for

add-ins (contact helpdesk before doing anything)

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Miscellaneous

• Handout: Email lingo

• Smileys :-) :-( ;-)

• Acronyms– Listing is NOT an endorsement!