As mentioned earlier, you'll encounter the Ribbon when you take certain actions like creating messages, calendar entries, or contacts (to name just a few things you might do in Outlook).

The Ribbon shows tabs and commands appropriate for what you're doing. That is, the tabs on the Ribbon will differ depending on the area of Outlook you're working in. We've shown some of these differences in the picture:

 A new message shows the Message and Options tabs with groups and commands that you'll use when you write and send a message.

 A new appointment shows an Appointment tab with groups and commands specific to working with a calendar entry.

 A new contact shows a Contact tab with groups and commands to help you keep contact information up to date.