Sharing information is what e-mail is all about. And thanks to hyperlinks in Outlook 2000, you're not restricted to sharing just the content that's typed into your message. If you find an interesting Web site, news group, file, or other information you want someone to see, you can insert a hyperlink to its location. This saves you from typing a long description about the information or typing instructions to the e-mail recipient on how to get to the site. When the recipient receives your message, they click the link to connect to the information you wanted them to see.

Using the HTML message format, you can turn any text into a hyperlink. All you do is assign the text an address, called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For example, you can type "Microsoft," and then make the word into a link to the Microsoft Web page by assigning it the URL http://www.microsoft.com. (When using Plain Text or Rich Text Format (RTF), you have to put the URL itself directly in the message; you can't use friendly display text.)

 Note   If you're using Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, for more information about creating hyperlinks, type create hyperlinks in the Office Assistant or on the Answer Wizard tab in the Help window, and then click Search.

Turn text into a hyperlink in an HTML message

1. With the HTML message open, type into the body of the message the descriptive text that you want your reader to click on.
2. Select the text, and then on the Insert menu, click Hyperlink.
3. In the Type list, click the appropriate protocol for the URL you are linking to. (The protocol is the part of the address that goes before the colon and that specifies the access scheme, such as http in the address http://www.microsoft.com.)
4. In the URL box, type the URL.

The hyperlink is not live until you send the message. When the recipient opens the message and moves the insertion point over the link, it changes to a pointing finger so that they can click and go to the destination. For the hyperlink to work, though, the recipient must have an Internet browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, that supports the protocol used in the hyperlink.

Besides creating hyperlinks with friendly names, the HTML message format also enables you to enhance messages using special designs, formatted text, or a structured layout. For more information, read Create stylish and decorative e-mail in Outlook using HTML.

 Note   While many popular e-mail programs besides Outlook 2000 — such as Outlook 98, Outlook Express 4.0, Eudora 4.0, and Netscape Messenger 4.0 — understand HTML messages, some do not. For more information about sending HTML messages, read Choose the best Outlook message format for a recipient.