Applies to
Microsoft Outlook® 2000

Contacts

Finding a contact quickly

Trying to find an Outlook contact but can't remember the person's last name? Or do you remember a contact's catchy e-mail address, but can't remember their name? Use the Find a Contact box on the Standard toolbar in Outlook to quickly locate the contact without even opening your Contacts folder.

On the toolbar, type the name of the contact you want to find in the Find a Contact box. You can enter a partial name, such as Judy L, a first or last name, or an e-mail alias. To quickly open a contact you previously searched for, click the Find a Contact arrow and select a name.

See Also: Display a map for an Outlook Contact's U.S. address.

E-mail

• Add a custom address list to your Outlook toolbar

  If you send e-mail to the same people frequently, you can automate the process of creating and addressing the message. With Outlook 2000, you can add a custom toolbar button that lists the people to whom you send e-mail most often. Then, with one click, you can create a new message that's addressed to the person you want to send it to. And, if you regularly send e-mail with the same subject line, such as a weekly report, you can also create a message that has the subject line filled in.

  

  There are two parts to creating a custom list of recipients. First, create the toolbar button. Then, add the e-mail addresses and subject lines to it.

  Create a custom toolbar button

  1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Commands tab.
  2. In the Categories list, click New Menu.
  3. In the Commands list, click New Menu and drag it to the toolbar. When the pointer looks like an I-beam, release the mouse button.
  4. On the toolbar, right-click the New Menu button, and in the Name box on the shortcut menu, type a name for the new toolbar button.

  Add e-mail addresses and subject lines

  1. In the Customize dialog box, in the Categories list, click File.
  2. In the Commands list, click Mail Message and drag it to the custom menu button that you added to the toolbar. When you rest the pointer over the custom button, a gray box appears. Drop the Mail Message command onto the gray box. If you are adding a subsequent command, no gray box will appear. Drop the command onto the most recent command you added.
     
     If you want to use a different icon, choose the command from the Commands list that has the icon you want. For example, if you add a distribution list, you can use the Distribution List command to get the distribution list icon.
  3. On the toolbar, right-click the Mail Message command, and in the Name box on the shortcut menu, type a name for the person, distribution list, or alias you're assigning to the command.
  4. Then, on the shortcut menu, point to Assign Hyperlink, and then click Open.
  5. Under Link to, click E-mail Address.
  6. In the E-mail address box, enter the e-mail address of the person, distribution list, or alias you want to assign to the command. If you want this automatically addressed message to also have a standard subject line, such as Status Report, type it in the Subject box.

  Repeat these steps for each person, group, or standard subject line you want to add to the button.

• See at a glance messages with read receipts attached

  Would you like to be able to quickly see if a message has been sent to you with a read receipt attached so you could respond to it first? Here's how you can see at a glance all messages with attached read receipts.

  Display messages with a read receipt attached

  1. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
  2. Click Fields.
  3. In the Select available fields from list, click All mail fields.
  4. In the Available fields list, click Receipt requested, and then click Add. To change the display order of this field, in the Show these fields in this order list, click Receipt requested, and then click Move Up or Move Down.
  5. Click OK twice.

  Now there's a column in your Inbox that will have a Yes in it when the message has a read receipt request attached or a No if it does not.

Keyboard shortcuts

Useful shortcut keys

Do you find that using the keyboard is sometimes quicker than using your mouse? Shortcut keys can help you bypass menus and carry out commands directly. You can use shortcut keys in many ways with Outlook®, from accessing commands and toolbar buttons to opening a new e-mail message. Shortcut keys are sometimes listed next to the command name on Outlook menus. For example, on the Edit menu, the Delete command lists the shortcut CTRL+D.

For a comprehensive list of shortcuts, ask the Office Assistant for help. In Outlook 2000 or any of the other Office 2000 applications, press F1 to display the Assistant, and then type shortcut keys in the text box. Here are some of the most useful Outlook shortcut keys:

Activity	Shortcut Keys
Open an e-mail message	CTRL+SHIFT+M
Open the address book	CTRL+SHIFT+B
Open an appointment	CTRL+SHIFT+A
Open a contact	CTRL+SHIFT+C
Open a meeting request	CTRL+SHIFT+Q
Open a task	CTRL+SHIFT+K
Make the Find a Contact box active	F11
Switch to Inbox	CTRL+SHIFT+I
Switch to Outbox	CTRL+SHIFT+O
Check for new mail	F5 or CTRL+M
Open the Advanced Find dialog box	CTRL+SHIFT+F
Mark an e-mail message as read	CTRL+Q
Delete an e-mail message, contact, calendar item, or task	CTRL+D
Delete a word	CTRL+BACKSPACE
Select all	CTRL+A
Copy	CTRL+C
Paste	CTRL+V
Undo	CTRL+Z
Print	CTRL+P

For more information, download A List of Useful Office 2000 Shortcut Keys.

Tasks

Track multiple assignees on a project

Oftentimes you have a single project, such as preparing a presentation, that requires more than one person to complete the job. In these situations, you'll want to track each person's progress to ensure that the team finishes the project on time. In Outlook 2000, if you assign the project as a single task to more than one person, you can't keep an updated copy of the task in your task list. What's the solution?

Divide the project into separate tasks, each with the project name in the task title. Then assign each task to one individual. For example, you might divide the presentation project into two tasks with the following titles: Prepare sales presentation: John Doe, Prepare sales presentation: Jane Doe. After you create each task and click the Assign Task button, make sure you select the Keep an updated copy of this task on my task list check box on the Task tab. If you want status reports, too, select the Send me a status report when this task is complete check box.

As these people work on their tasks, you'll receive updates so you can monitor their progress, keep the project on track, and keep your boss happy!