Chapter 1

A First Look at Outlook 365

IN THIS CHAPTER

Checking your Outlook version

Switching to the Simplified Ribbon

Reading and creating email

Sending files by email

Checking your calendar

Entering appointments and contacts

Managing tasks

Keeping notes

This book kicks off with Outlook’s greatest hits — the things you’ll want to do with Outlook every single day. The list sounds simple enough: sending email, making appointments, and so on. But there’s more here than meets the eye; Outlook does ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Most people use only about 5 percent of Outlook’s power. (Hey, that’s kind of like how people only use a small percentage of their brains!) Even if you move up to using 10 percent of Outlook’s features, you’ll be amazed at how this application can streamline your life and spiff up your communications.

Making Sure You Have Outlook 365

Before we go any further, it’s important to make sure you have the version of Outlook that this book covers: Outlook 365. Otherwise, you’re in for a world of confusion as you try to follow along!

At least five different applications are all called Outlook:

• Outlook 365 (a.k.a. Outlook Classic, or Classic Outlook): The version that comes with the paid edition of Microsoft 365 (also called Microsoft Office). It’s the one most businesses use, and the one I teach you about in this book. If that’s the one you have, you’ve come to the right place! It’s available for both Windows and Mac. The Outlook 365 for Mac version is quite similar to the Windows one but has fewer features. Here’s an article that explains the differences: https://tinyurl.com/3k2a7u4b.
• Outlook for Windows (a.k.a. New Outlook): The version that comes with Windows. Starting in 2024, it replaced Windows’s previous default mail application, which was called Mail. Windows 11 calls this version New Outlook. It’s confusing because that makes it sound like it is a replacement for Outlook 365, and it’s not. It doesn’t have the depth of functionality — at least as of this writing — that would enable it to be a full-featured replacement. Microsoft has announced that eventually this version will replace Outlook 365, though, so we can expect new features to gradually be added over the next few years. This book doesn’t cover Outlook for Windows in much detail, but Chapter 14 is devoted to the basics of this free app.
• Outlook for Mac (a.k.a. New Outlook): This is a similar version to Outlook for Windows, but it has fewer features than the Windows version.
• Outlook.com: If you go to the Outlook.com website using your web browser, you’ll find this online-only version. It’s a lot like Outlook for Windows. You’ll learn about it in Chapter 15.
• Outlook Mobile: If you have an Android or iOS (Apple) smartphone, you can install a version of Outlook for your device from the app store for your phone’s operating system. Chapter 16 covers its most popular features.

To start Outlook 365 in Windows, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start menu.

2. Type Outlook.

   Search results appear. These results may contain both Outlook and Outlook (New). See Figure 1-1.

3. In the search results that appear, choose Outlook.

   This is actually Outlook 365, although its name simply appears as Outlook or Outlook Classic.

   Do not choose Outlook (New). If that is your only option, you probably don’t have Office 365 installed on your computer. Head on over to Office.com to rectify that.

The first time Outlook 365 runs, you are prompted to enter your email address and password. Then you’ll be guided through a brief setup that prepares Outlook to be able to send and receive mail with that account. Work through that, following the prompts, and then come back here to continue with this chapter.

Switching to the Simplified Ribbon

The figures you see in this book and the instructions you read assume you’re using Outlook 365 the way it comes directly from Microsoft — either out of a box or as a download — with all the standard options installed. If you don’t like the way the program looks (or how things are named) when you install Outlook, you can change many of the things you see. If you change too much, however, some instructions and examples I give you won’t make as much sense. I suggest leaving the interface alone until you’re comfortable using Outlook. Chapter 18 covers a variety of customization options.

You might need to adjust one important option before you go any further, though. All Microsoft Office apps have a Ribbon, which is like a super toolbar across the top of the screen; you use the Ribbon to execute commands.

The Ribbon has two different ways it can appear. The Simplified Ribbon is the default for new installs of Outlook and looks like Figure 1-2. The Classic Ribbon was the default in earlier versions of Outlook and looks like Figure 1-3. Yours might have some different buttons on it.

The main difference is that the Simplified Ribbon has fewer buttons on it, and the buttons aren’t clustered into groups. Don’t let the name Simplified fool you into thinking that all the Classic mode commands aren’t there, though. Most of them still are. They’re just tucked away. Many of the buttons in Simplified mode open menus containing more commands.

This book’s steps and figures show the Simplified Ribbon (Figure 1-2), so if your screen doesn’t look like that, follow these steps to switch over to Simplified mode:

1. Click the Ribbon Display Options arrow at the far right end of the Ribbon.

   It looks like a down-pointing arrow. A menu opens (Figure 1-4).

2. Click Simplified Ribbon.

   The Ribbon changes to Simplified mode.

Using Email: Basic Delivery Techniques

Email is Outlook’s most popular feature. I’ve run across people who didn’t know Outlook could do anything but exchange email messages. It’s a good thing that Outlook makes it so easy to read your email, although it’s too bad so many people stop there.

Reading email

When you start Outlook, you normally see the Mail module, which is a screen with four columns. The leftmost column is the navigation bar. It contains buttons for each of Outlook’s modules (sections), such as Mail, Calendar, People, and so on. You switch between modules by clicking one of those icons.

To its right is the Folder pane, which lets you switch between different locations, such as folders or data files. The third column contains your list of messages. The right column (called the Reading pane) contains the text of one of those messages. If the message is short enough, you may see its entire text in the Reading pane, as shown in Figure 1-5. If the message is longer, you’ll have to open it or scroll down in the Reading pane to see the whole thing.

To see an entire message, follow these steps:

1. Click the Mail button in the navigation bar to make sure you are in the Mail module.

   You don’t need this step if you can already see your messages.

2. Double-click the title of a message.

   Now you can see the entire message on its own window.

3. Press Esc to close the message.

   The message window closes. (Note that closing a message does not delete it.)

A quick way to skim the messages in your Inbox is to click a message and then press the ↑ or ↓ key. You can move through your message list as you read the text of your messages in the Reading pane.

You can move the Reading pane to the bottom of the window if you prefer it to be wider and shorter. To do that, choose View > Layout > Reading Pane > Bottom.

Answering email

Anytime you’re reading an email message in Outlook, buttons labeled Reply and Reply All appear somewhere near the top of the screen. That’s a hint.

To reply to a message you’re reading, follow these steps:

1. In the Mail module, select the message to which you want to reply.
2. Click the Reply button on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
3. Type your response.
4. Click the Send button.

If you’re reading a message sent to several people besides you, you have the option of sending a reply to everyone involved by clicking the Reply All button.

Some people get carried away with the Reply All button and live to regret it. If you get a message addressed...