Bypass Deleted Items Folder

You can permanently delete Outlook items bypassing the Deleted Items folder if you hold your Shift key down while pressing the delete key on your keyboard. Confirm that you intend a permanent deletion.

Empty the Deleted Items Folder on Exit

Keep your deleted items folder under control by setting the Empty the Deleted Items Folder on Exit option on the Other Tab of the Options Dialog box. Outlook will prompt you if you want to empty the deleted items folder as you exit the program. Click yes to empty, Click No to keep items. Outlook Express offers the same option on the Maintenance Tab of the Options Dialog Box.

Task Pad on Calendar Views

To eliminate the task pad from your Calendar view, place your mouse pointer over the task pane divider, click and drag it down to the bottom of the window.

Birthday and Anniversary Reminders

Outlook will display birthdays and anniversary dates recorded in your contact records in the calendar. It will establish a recurring calendar entry with an automatic reminder equal to the default reminder time you have set in your calendar options (Tools | Options | Preferences | Calendar) Before recording your anniversaries and birthdays in contacts, set an appropriate calendar reminder time in your calendar options. I use two weeks to give me enough time to send a card. The birthday and anniversary fields for your contacts are found on the details tab of the contact form.

Mark Messages as Read

When using the preview pane to read your email messages, you may quickly delete messages before they have been marked as Read (i.e., shown as an opened envelope.) Read receipts are only sent when the message has been opened. If you delete the message without it being marked as read, senders who are awaiting a read receipt are informed that you deleted the message without reading it when you may in fact have read it in the preview pane window. Imagine the embarrassment, when you boss asks you why you haven't been reading his/her messages. You can avoid this by setting a preview pane option to mark messages as in preview window after waiting "X" seconds. I recommend you set the number of seconds to 3. To set the option:

• Click on Tools | Options
• Select the Other tab
• Click on the Preview Pane Button
• Select the option to mark messages read and set your time
• Click on OK to close the preview pane option window
• Click on OK to close the options dialog box

Special Edition Using Microsoft Outlook 2000 (Special Edition Using)
Using Microsoft Outlook 2000

I personally own this book and have found it to be a terrific reference tool. Whether you're using it for personal information, e-mail, collaborative networking, or some combination of these, Microsoft Outlook is a subtle, powerful application. If you want to make the most of using it, take a look at Special Edition: Using Microsoft Outlook 2000, a gigantic reference written specifically for intermediate to advanced users.


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