managing your time with outlook 2003

Version 1.2

Managing your timeeffectively with Outlook 2003

Changing the way you communicate

Managing your time effectively with Outlook 2003 Version: 1.2

Contents Introduction ...........................................................................................4

About this Cookbook ......................................................................................................4 New look and feel ....................................................................................5

The Mail window ...........................................................................................................5 Viewing your mail .....................................................................................................5

Desktop alerts .........................................................................................8 What is a desktop alert?..............................................................................................8 Managing alerts ........................................................................................................8 Customising alerts.....................................................................................................8 Disabling alerts ........................................................................................................9

Junk mail ............................................................................................. 10 Notification of receipt of junk e-mail ................................................................................ 10 The Junk E-mail filter................................................................................................... 10 Blocked attachments.................................................................................................... 14

What file types are blocked? ...................................................................................... 14 What happens to emails that have attachments that are blocked? ......................................... 15 How to work around blocked attachments ...................................................................... 16

Organising your mail ............................................................................... 17 Flags ....................................................................................................................... 17

Customising the Flags............................................................................................... 18 Favorites .................................................................................................................. 20

Displaying favorite folders ......................................................................................... 21 Making a folder a favorite.......................................................................................... 21 Removing a folder from favorite folders......................................................................... 22

Search folders ............................................................................................................ 22 Creating a search folder............................................................................................ 23

New Calendar features ............................................................................ 25 Colour-coding appointments ........................................................................................... 25

Labels ................................................................................................................. 25 Viewing calendars side-by-side ........................................................................................ 28 Group schedules ......................................................................................................... 29

Creating a group schedule ......................................................................................... 29 Viewing a group schedule .......................................................................................... 30 Making a meeting using group schedule ......................................................................... 31

Propose new meeting time............................................................................................. 32 Sharing in Outlook 2003........................................................................... 33

Sharing your calendar ................................................................................................... 33 Allowing another user to view your calendar ................................................................... 33 Enabling a delegate to add your mailbox to their folder list ................................................. 35

Opening another user’s mailbox....................................................................................... 37 Viewing COE mailboxes and calendars ............................................................................... 38

Opening the calendar or mailbox with Outlook Web Access.................................................. 38 Changes to connection and synchronisation .................................................. 40

Cached mode ............................................................................................................. 40

This document is the confidential property of BP p.l.c. All rights are reserved. Copyright © 2004 BP p.l.c.

Managing your time effectively with Outlook 2003 of 43

Enabling Cached Mode.............................................................................................. 40 Connection status ................................................................................................... 41 Connection options.................................................................................................. 42

What has moved where? .......................................................................... 43



Introduction

About this Cookbook Welcome to ‘Managing your time effectively with Outlook 2003”.

This cookbook is intended to help users who are upgrading from Outlook 2000 to Outlook 2003 and to give you an overview of some of the new and useful features of Outlook.

More information including hints and tips can be found at https://www.bppassport.com.



New look and feel

The Mail window

Viewing your mail To display all Mail folders, click on the Mail button

Help box

Favorite Folders

Folder list Reading

pane

Search Folders

Messages grouped by Date

Mail, Calendar and Contacts

Grouping mail

Tasks, Notes and Folder Icons

Status

Mail messages are usually arranged by Date Received. In the view illustrated above they are also grouped.

To apply or remove grouping:

• Choose Arrange By from the View menu

• Toggle off Show in Groups



Reading pane The reading pane in the illustration above is positioned at the right hand side of the window. This location gives the maximum readability of message text. The reading pane can be turned off or positioned at the bottom of the screen:

• Choose Reading Pane from the View menu

• Choose Right, Bottom or Off as desired

Favorites list Any mailbox or personal folders can be dragged into this area. This does not create a copy of the folder, just a shortcut to it. Using favorites makes it easy to view a frequently used folder or to move messages into the folder. Favorites are covered in more detail later in this Cookbook.

Search folders Search folders are virtual folders and do not cause duplication of messages. They display the results of pre-defined searches. Search folders are covered in more detail later in this Cookbook.

Navigation pane The Navigation Pane on the left of the screen is made up of two areas:

• The folder list

• Navigation buttons to access Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes

A horizontal splitter bar located under the folder list enables the buttons to be collapsed into a button tray:



When a folder name or button is clicked, its contents are displayed in the main window.

Icons • Click on the Tasks icon or Notes icon to display the desired pane

• Click on the Folder List icon to display all folders

• Click on Configure buttons icon if you wish to change which functions appear as buttons and which as icons, or if you wish to reorder the buttons.

Configure buttons

Folder List

Tasks

Notes



Desktop alerts

What is a desktop alert? A desktop alert is a notification that displays when an e-mail arrives, a task is assigned to you or a meeting request arrives.

A balloon displays at the bottom right corner of the screen for a pre-defined number of seconds then fades.

Managing alerts When an e-mail arrives an alert displays the sender, subject and two lines of text. Possible actions are:

• Hover your mouse over the alert balloon to hold the balloon on screen

• Click on the subject to open the e-mail

• Click on the delete tool to delete message

Customising alerts You can choose how many seconds the alert displays for and the transparency of the balloon:

• Choose Options from the Tools menu

• Select the Preferences tab

• Click the E-mail Options button

• Click the Advanced E-mail Options button

• Click the Desktop Alert Settings button

• Move the slider(s) to select the desired duration and/or transparency

• Click Preview to test settings then click OK when done



Disabling alerts To turn off Desktop Alerts:



• Click the E-Mail Options button

• Select Advanced E-mail Options button

• Remove the checkmark from Display a New Mail Desktop Alert checkbox



Junk mail Junk e-mail is unsolicited and unwanted e-mail. Outlook 2003 includes a junk e-mail filter which is designed to catch obvious junk mail. Any junk e-mail detected is moved to the Junk E-mail folder for you to check and delete.

Notification of receipt of junk e-mail The first time Outlook downloads an e-mail message that appears to be junk e-mail, a notification window is displayed. By default, this notification displays every time a suspected e-mail message is downloaded — however, it can be turned off by checking the box for Please do not show me this dialog again.

The Junk E-mail filter There are two parts to the Junk E-mail Filter: the Junk E-mail Lists and the technology developed by Microsoft that is used to evaluate whether an unread message should be treated as a junk e-mail message. The evaluation is based on several factors, such as the time the e-mail was sent and the content of the message. The filter does not single out any particular sender or type of e-mail message but is based on the content of the message in general. Microsoft explains that the filter uses advanced analysis of the message structure to determine the probability that it is an e-mail message that would be thought by the user to be junk.



Junk E-mail settings By default, this filter is set to a low setting which is designed to catch the most obvious junk e-mail. Any message that is caught by the filter is moved to a special Junk E-mail folder, where it can be read or deleted at a later time. You can make the filter more aggressive but then risk catching legitimate emails. You can also set Outlook to permanently delete junk e-mail as it comes in but then risk deleting legitimate emails.

Junk E-mail lists Safe Senders List – messages from e-mail addresses or domains on this list are never treated as junk

e-mail

Blocked Senders List – messages from e-mail addresses or domains on this list are always treated as junk e-mail

Safe Recipients List – messages to these distribution lists, domains or email addresses are never treated as junk e-mail

Adding senders to a list

In your mailbox:

• Right click on the senders name on the email header

• Choose Junk E-mail

• Choose the list to which you wish to add the name



Viewing a list

To view or modify any of the junk e-mail lists:



• Click on the Junk E-Mail button

• Select the tab for the list you wish to view or modify

Levels of filtering No Automatic Filtering – sends mail from Blocked Senders to the Junk E-Mail folder but does not filter any other emails.

Low – Moves the most obvious junk mail into the Junk E-Mail folder

High – Catches most junk email but may also catch some legitimate mail

Safe Lists Only – any emails not from a member of the Global Address List or from senders or domains you have added to your Safe List are moved into the Junk E-Mail folder



Changing junk e-mail settings The level of protection from junk e-mails can be customised to your needs:



• Click on the Junk E-mail button

• Choose No Automatic Filtering, Low, High or Safe Lists Only as desired.

If you receive a lot of junk mail you may wish to try the setting Safe Recipients List Only. Members of the GAL are automatically included in this list and you can add any other domains or email addresses to the list.



Blocked attachments Virus attacks are a constant threat. Often these attacks come in the form of attached files in emails. Microsoft has developed Outlook so that it will block certain file types that are known to be used to run malicious scripts when opened. This means that a number of file types are blocked. The file types most commonly shared, such as Office 2003 files, are not blocked.

What file types are blocked? Outlook 2003 blocks the following files types:

.ade Microsoft Access project extension

.adp Microsoft Access project

.bas Microsoft Visual Basic class

.bat Batch file

.chm Compiled HTML Help file

.cmd Microsoft Windows NT Command

.com Microsoft MS-DOS program

.cpl Control Panel extension

.crt Security certificate

.exe Program

.hlp Help file

.hta HTML program

.inf Setup Information

.ins Internet Naming Service

.isp Internet Communication settings

.js JScript file

.jse Jscript Encoded Script file

.lnk Shortcut

.mdb Microsoft Access program

.mde Microsoft Access MDE database

.msc Microsoft Common Console document

.msi Microsoft Windows Installer package

.msp Microsoft Windows Installer patch

.mst Microsoft Visual Test source

.pcd Photo CD image, Microsoft

.pif Shortcut to MS-DOS program

.reg Registration entries

.scr Screen saver

.sct Windows Script Component

.shb Shell Scrap object

.shs Shell Scrap object

.url Internet shortcut

.vb VBScript file

.vbe VBScript Encoded script file

.vbs VBScript file

.wsc Windows Script Component

.wsf Windows Script file

.wsh Windows Script Host Settings



What happens to emails that have attachments that are blocked? If you receive an email containing an attachment that is blocked you will see a notification in the task pane as shown below:

You will also see a note in the message header area as shown:



How to work around blocked attachments If you need to share files that are blocked by this feature, you have several options, including the following:

When sending a file: • Whenever possible send a link to a file rather than send the file as an attachment (see below)

• Use a program, such as WinZip, to package files before you attach them to your e-mail message

• When sending mail, rename the attached files to include a temporary file type that is not on the list of blocked file types For example, you might rename MyFile.exe to MyFile.exe_EXTRA, and then attach the file to the e-mail message. Include instructions in the message to save the file with the correct name when the recipients save the file to their computers

• Post the files to a secure shared area. In your message, you can include a link to the location that you have given the recipients access to

Sending a link to a file in a shared area: Remember, conventional shortcuts (.lnk) are blocked by Outlook 2003. The only way to send an attachment to or from Outlook 2003 is to send a link (the file address).

Method 1

• From within your email message, choose Insert File

• Click on the drop-down arrow by Insert and choose Insert as Hyperlink

• The link will be inserted into your email, in the form < file://G:\Documents and Settings\John Sox\My Documents\Competencies.doc>

Method 2

• With the document open, display the Web toolbar:

• Choose Toolbars from the View menu and display the Web toolbar

• Copy and paste the URL of the document from the web toolbar into your email

Spaces in file/folder names: To prevent truncation and preserve the spaces in your link open “<” and close chevron “>” at the beginning and end of the link text: <\\bp1sunis001\Kaleidoscope\Training\Outlook Top Tips>

When receiving a file: • If you receive an email which informs you that the attachment has been blocked, re

sender asking them to resend the attachment as a zip file or to rename the file andwhat to change when you save the file on receipt.


X

text, use an

spond to the instruct you on


Organising your mail

Flags Outlook 2003 makes it quick and easy to flag messages for follow up. Flags can be red (Quick flags) or you can choose from a variety of other colours. Once you have dealt with the message it can be flagged as completed or you can remove the flag.

Flag column

Quick flags

Flagged as completed

Coloured flags

Quick flags

Click once in the flag column to the right of the message that you wish to flag. The grey flag icon will turn red.

Coloured flags Right click in the flag column to the right of the message and choose a flag colour

Flag complete Click once on the coloured flag to the right of the message or right mouse click on the flag and choose Flag Complete

Clear flag Right click on the coloured flag to the right of the message and choose Clear Flag



Review all flagged messages Click on the For Follow Up search folder in the Favorite Folders pane. All flagged messages in your mailbox will be displayed, grouped by flag colour.

Customising the Flags If you wish to use a particular coloured flag for a specific project, you can add an appropriate text label of your choice. The labels that you create will be displayed in the tooltip for each coloured flag. Adding a name to a Quick Flag does not apply a category or add functionality; instead, it is a way for you to remember what each flag colour means to you. It is useful to create a new toolbar specifically for the customised flags.

Creating a new toolbar • Choose Customize from the Tools menu

• Select the Toolbars tab

• Click New

• Assign a name to the New Toolbar

• A new Toolbar will appear on your screen

Adding a button to the toolbar • Select the Commands tab from the Customize dialog window



• Select Actions from the Categories list

• Scroll down through the Commands list until the Flag commands are displayed

• Drag and drop the required Flag command onto the New Toolbar

• Repeat this procedure until your New Toolbar has the desired buttons

• Select a flag on the toolbar

• Click Modify Selection

• Give the toolbar button a name e.g. BP PassPort. boss’s name, etc

• If you wish to see the icon and the name on the toolbar, select Image and Text from the shortcut menu

• Repeat the process for other buttons on your toolbar as required

• After you have added all the flags you want on the toolbar, click Close in the Customize dialog box

• To mark your messages with a flag, click the message in the message list, and then click the flag button on the toolbar you created



NOTE: The ampersand (&) next to a letter in the Name: field denotes the letter which will be underlined and available to be accessed as a shortcut key e.g. for ‘&BP PassPort’, use Alt + Shift + B. The shortcut keys ARE case-sensitive and therefore Alt + b would not assign the flag to an email, but take you to your Calendar. If you use a shortcut key combination that is already in use on one of the standard Outlook toolbars, then the original shortcut key combination takes preference over any shortcut key combination that you create.

Favorites Favorites folders make frequently-used mailbox or personal folders easily accessible by placing a shortcut to the folder in the Favorites pane. This is not a copy of the folder, just a representation so there is no duplication of messages. If you have a large folder list this is a great way to make it easy to see and use folders that you need often.

Messages can be read in the actual folder or in the Favorite folder.



Displaying favorite folders • Click on the Mail button

• Favorite Folders will be displayed at the top of the navigation pane

Making a folder a favorite

• Drag the folder from your folder list into the Favorite Folders pane



Removing a folder from favorite folders • Right click on the folder

• Choose Remove from Favorite Folders

NOTE: Do NOT delete a folder from Favourite Folders or the master folder and contents will be deleted

Search folders Search folders are virtual folders and do not cause duplication of messages. They display the results of pre-defined searches and make it easy to see particular sets of messages without having to do a new search manually. Search folders are automatically kept up to date with all mail that meets the criteria that have been set for the folder.

Search folders are created for you for Unread Mail, messages that are flagged For Follow-Up, and Large Mail (over 100kb). You can also create search folders that match your own criteria – for example:

• to display all mail to or from a particular contact

• all messages with a particular word in the subject

• all mail with attachments

Examples:

• Mail from a particular person



• Mail from and to a particular person

• Mail with specific phrase or words in subject or body

• Mail with attachments

Creating a search folder A Search Folder can be created in the Mailbox or in a Personal Folder and will only search within that location.

• Choose New from the File menu

• Choose Search Folder

• Select a type of Search Folder from the list

• If appropriate customise the search folder – for example choose names of senders and/or receivers

• Specify which location to search (i.e. Mailbox or a personal folder)

• Click OK when done

The search folder will appear in the Search Folders list on the navigation bar. You may, if you wish, drag the search folder into the Favorite Folders pane to make it easy to access.



Note: Deleting a message from a Search Folder will delete it from its source folder too.

Deleting a Search Folder does not delete the messages displayed within it.



New Calendar features

Colour-coding appointments Calendar appointments can be colour-labelled.

Labels

Labelling an appointment • Right click on the appointment

• Select Label from the drop down menu



• Choose the label you wish to apply

Editing labels The label associated with each colour can be customised

• Click on the Calendar Coloring tool on the standard toolbar

• Choose Edit Labels

• Edit label text as required

• Click OK

Applying labels automatically Automatic formatting allows rules to be created so that appointments which meet specified criteria are formatted with a coloured label of your choice. For example, all team meetings coloured blue, all meetings organised by a particular person coloured red:



• Click on the Calendar Coloring tool

• Choose Automatic Formatting

• Click Add

• Type a name for the rule

• Choose a label colour from drop down list

• Click Condition

• Set your conditions

• Click OK, then OK again



Viewing calendars side-by-side When other users’ calendars are opened they display side-by-side with your own.

You can only open another user’s calendar if they have given you permission.

• In Calendar, click on Open a Shared Calendar

• Click Name

• Choose the person’s name from the Global Address List

• Click OK, then click OK again

The other person’s calendar will display next to yours as long as they have given you at least Reviewer permission. They display ‘side by side’ so you can scroll through them simultaneously.

After a shared calendar has been opened its name appears in the list of Other Calendars.

• To stop the calendar displaying, remove the checkmark

• To display the calendar again, check the checkbox by the name



Group schedules Group schedules enable you to view the free and busy times of a group of people, rooms or resources easily, and to make a meeting or book a resource. For example, create one for your team and one for all the meeting rooms in your building.

Creating a group schedule • Display your Calendar

• Click on the View Group Schedules tool (or choose View Group Schedules from the Actions menu)

• Click the New button

• Type a name for the new group schedule

• Click OK



• Click Add Others

• Click Add from Address Book

• Select the names you wish to add

• Click OK

• The Group Schedule is created

• Click Save and Close

Viewing a group schedule • Display your Calendar


• Select the schedule you wish to open

• Click OK



Making a meeting using group schedule • Display your Calendar


• Select the Group Schedule you wish to open and click the Open button

• Click on the Make Meeting button and choose New Meeting with All

• Delete any people you do not wish to invite

• Choose a meeting time - or click Options then AutoPick to let Outlook find a time when all invitees are next available

• Type any message text

• Click Send and the invitations will be sent by email

Note: If booking a room, after clicking on the Make a Meeting button, select the resource then click New Meeting as a Resource



Propose new meeting time When you receive a new meeting request, as well as options for Accept, Decline or Tentative there is a button to Propose New Meeting Time. If this button does not display then the meeting organiser has chosen to make this option unavailable.

• Open the meeting request from your mailbox

• Click Propose New Time

• Click a time when all invitees are available. (You can use AutoPick Next to find the next available free time for all invitees)

• Click Propose Time

• Click Send

Changing message Whenever you make a counter proposal, it is sent with a default message saying that you want to propose a new time, but that you have tentatively accepted the meeting.You can change this setting for individual meetings.

• Open the meeting request from your mailbox

• Click either Decline and Propose New Time or Tentative and Propose New Time from the Actions menu

Disable propose new time As meeting organizer you can disable the Propose New Meeting Time option.

• Open the meeting from your calendar

• Choose Actions

• Toggle Allow New Time Proposals off



Sharing in Outlook 2003

Sharing your calendar You can enable other users to open your calendar and see all your appointments except those marked private. You can choose to allow people to edit your appointments. This will work for BP PassPort or COE users on the BP1 domain.

Allowing another user to view your calendar • Display your calendar

• Click on Share My Calendar

• Choose Add and select users from the Global Address List

• Click OK

• Select the users

• Set permission level to Reviewer



• Click OK

Allowing another user to manage your mail and calendar If you need a BP PassPort or COE person on the BP1 domain to be able to manage your mailbox i.e. manage your Inbox and Calendar, send messages on your behalf, receive and respond to your meeting requests, you need to make them a Delegate with Author or Editor permission.

Note: The delegate will not be able to access items marked private unless you choose to give them permission.


• Select the Delegates tab

• Click Add and choose the user from the Address book

• Choose the permission level (Author or Editor)

• Click OK



Enabling a delegate to add your mailbox to their folder list For a delegate to be able to add your mailbox to their folder list and be able to access your Inbox and other required folders, permissions need to be granted:

• Click on the Mail button to display your Mail Folder List

• Right click on your Mailbox

• Choose Properties then Permissions



• Add the user from the Global Address List

• Select the permissions you wish to grant and click OK

• Repeat for each other folder you wish the delegate to be able to open

Note: If you do not give the delegate permission to access your mailbox they will not be able to display your mailbox and folders in their Mailbox pane, even if you have given permission for them to access your Inbox



Opening another user’s mailbox If you have been given permission by the owner, you can add their Mailbox to your folder list to enable you to manage their Mailbox, Calendar or other folders.

Before you try to add their Mailbox, check that they have given you at least Reviewer permission to the mailbox and other relevant folders.

• Choose E-mail accounts from the Tools menu

• Click View or change existing e-mail accounts then click Next

• Select Microsoft Exchange Server then click Change

• Click More Settings

• Select the Advanced tab

• Click Add then type the person’s mailbox name

• Click OK, then click OK again

• Click Next, then click Finish

Their Mailbox will appear in your Folder list



Note:

You must NOT add your personal POP mail mailbox to Outlook or autoforward your POP mail to your BP mailbox. It is critical from a security point of view that this does not happen as well as the fact that staff should not be integrating personal mail with business mail.

Viewing COE mailboxes and calendars If you are a BP PassPort user and wish to view the Mailbox or Calendar of a BP COE user, this cannot be done using the instructions given above. COE mailbox and calendars can only be viewed via Outlook Web Access. The person needs to give you delegate access to the Mailbox or Calendar as appropriate. You will be able to read but not edit the contents.

You need to know the Internet email address name of the COE user:

Either:

• Ask the user for their Internet email address

or

• Find the person in the GAL and choose Properties

• Choose the Email Addresses tab

• Look for the first SMTP email address – the characters that precede ‘@bp.com’ should be their email name e.g. the email name of [email protected] is smithj3.

If you have a problem viewing the person’s mailbox check:

• they have given you delegate permission

• you have the correct email name

Opening the calendar or mailbox with Outlook Web Access Use Outlook Web Access (OWA) to view another person’s calendar or mailbox in the following way:

• Go to https://eumail.bp.com/exchange/email name/Calendar (where eumail could also be ammail or semail depending on the user’s regional OWA gateway)

or

• Go to https://eumail.bp.com/exchange/email name/Inbox (where eumail could also be ammail or semail depending on the user’s regional OWA gateway)



Changes to connection and synchronisation

Cached mode Laptop users will find a major improvement in how they work with Outlook away from the office if they enable cached mode.

With cached mode enabled, whether connected to the Exchange Server or not, you are working on an offline copy of your mailbox. Whenever there is an internet connection, Outlook will synchronise in the background, sending and receiving messages. If the internet connection fails you can keep working seamlessly and as soon as the connection is restored messages will be sent and received automatically.

Enabling Cached Mode If should be enabled by default, but if you need to check…

• Choose E-mail Accounts from the Tools menu

• Choose View or change existing e-mail accounts

• Click Next

• Select Microsoft Exchange server



• Click Change

• Click More Settings

• Choose the Advanced tab

• Ensure Use Cached Exchange Mode is checked

• Click OK then Next then Finish

Connection status Connection status is indicated at bottom right of the Outlook window and will show Connected, Trying to connect, Disconnected or Working Offline depending on the status

Connected indicates you are connected to the Exchange Server

Trying to connect indicates Outlook is trying to establish a connection



Disconnected indicates Outlook has tried and failed to establish a connection. This may be due to connectivity problems.

Working Offline indicates you have elected to work offline.

Connection options If you are in the office or are working with a broadband connection you will usually choose to work online, even if you are temporarily moving to a meeting room or other place where there is no connectivity. Outlook will deal with disconnection and reconnection in the background and you can just keep working. If you are working away from the office where there is no connectivity, you may wish to work offline to prevent Outlook trying and failing to send and receive.

• To choose connection options, click on the drop down arrow at bottom right of the Outlook window

Available options are:

It is a good idea to check the On Slow Connection Only Download Headers option, as then, if you are working on a dial-up modem or have a slow connection for any other reason, you will be able to see the header information then choose which messages to download. Double click an item to download it in full. The Send and Receive process is speeded up considerably in this way.



What has moved where? Features which were in Outlook 2000 are still available in Outlook 2003 but some are now in a different location. The following table outlines where existing features can now be found:

Outlook 2000 Outlook 2003

Personal Folders File, Data File Management

Tools, Services (e.g. to add another user’s mailbox)

Tools, E-mail accounts, Change Account, More Settings

Right click Mailbox, Properties, Advanced, Folder Size

Tools, Mailbox Cleanup, View Mailbox Size

or

Choose Folder List view, scroll down and choose Folder Size.

Inbox Assistant Tools, Rules and Alerts (or Create Rule tool)

Tools, Synchronise Tools, Send and Receive
