Outlook Intro Training

Using Outlook, you can configure different email accounts, organize your appointments, schedule meetings, set up tasks, and jot down little electronic notes for yourself. As one of the most frequently used applications in the workplace, you can effectively stay on top of your tasks and assignments. Even if you have used previous versions of MS Outlook before, you will certainly learn about some features that you didn't know existed that can make you more productive.

Getting Started with Microsoft Outlook

We start with the basics of launching the program and navigating its features. The introduction of the "ribbon" navigation scheme in previous versions confused many people so we make an effort to demystify this and give you hands-on training in how to:

Launch the application
Use the different toolbars
Customize the way the interface looks
Get help on a topic

Email in Microsoft Outlook

In addition to sending and receiving email, Outlook offers a wide array of email management features you may not be aware of. After setting up and configuring an email account, we show you how to:

Attach files to emails
Format emails the same way you would an MS Word document or a web page
Filter out junk mail
Check spelling and grammar
Flag and categorize messages by color
Organize messages in folders

Calendar in Outlook

Outlook comes with a built-in calendar with many powerful features. Whether you want to convert from an old-fashioned paper calendar or you've used Outlook's calendar before but aren't sure if you've been doing it the right way or taking advantage of all the features, we will train you to make the best use of the calendar:

Create and edit calendar entries
Select the appropriate view and layout
Schedule appointments, invite attendees, and set reminder alerts
Set up recurring events (e.g., a weekly status meeting)
Assign categories (i.e., color-coding) to calendar entries

Meetings in Outlook

Scheduling a meeting between a group of busy employees can be very challenging, but with a good understanding of Outlook's meeting features, you can remove the planning headaches that accompany this task. An Outlook meeting has a host, a set of invitees, and a list of resources needed (e.g., a projector or a room). In this part of the training you will learn how to properly schedule and update meetings and manage attendee invitations and resource requests. We show you how to:

Schedule a meeting
Invite attendees
Request resources
Track and update meeting requests

Contacts and the Address Book

If you've worked with Rolodexes before, you'll find Outlook's address book feature a major improvement. A contact us a person with whom you have either a business or personal relationship. You can use the Contacts folder to manage information for each contact such as their name, birthday, address, telephone number, web page address, company name, or anniversary. Being able to quickly find a vendor's phone number or print out a list of customers in your city can dramatically improve your productivity. In this part of the training we show you how to:

Add contacts to the address book
Search the address book by field
Generate a map to a contact's location
Sort and print a list of contacts

Tasks and Notes

Tasks and notes are electronic replacements for to-do lists and post-its, respectively. A task is an activity that must be completed within a specified period of time. Putting tasks in Outlook allows you to organize, prioritize, and track them. The notes feature of Outlook allows you to jot down simple text notes to keep within Outlook or to stick on your computer's desktop. We train you on how to:

Create and edit tasks
Set deadlines and priorities for tasks
Sort tasks by field
Assign tasks to individuals
Create, organize, and edit notes
Copy Outlook notes to your desktop

Prerequisites:

Good understanding of MS Windows file management, and the concepts of right-clicking and selecting the properties of an object