Microsoft Outlook
This KB Article provides an overview of common steps you can take in Microsoft Outlook.
1. Launch Outlook to begin the process of syncing your mailbox content, calendars, contacts, and settings.
First, launch Microsoft Outlook. It may be available as an icon pinned to the lower-left taskbar, it may be a tile in the Windows start menu, or you may wish to search for "outlook" in the Windows start menu.
At the Welcome to Microsoft Outlook prompt, click Next.
At the Microsoft Outlook Account Setup prompt, leave the radio button selected to Yes and click Next.
At the Add Account prompt, Your Name and E-Mail Address will automatically populate. Click Next.
You will then be prompted to multifactor authenticate using Duo. Please see Duo for more information.
Finally, click Finish.
Outlook will then begin the process of syncing your mailbox content, calendars, contacts, and settings from the cloud. Depending on the size of your mailbox, this will take some time. You can monitor the status bar along the bottom of Outlook. The sync has completed when it indicates that All folders are up to date.
You will also need to click the expansion triangle next to your Inbox to expand and view any folders in your Inbox.
2. Create your email signature.
In Outlook, click File in the upper-left.
Click Options in the left ribbon.
Click the Mail tab on the left.
Click the Signatures... button on the right.
Click the New button.
Type a name for the signature such as "Default", and click OK.
Type (or copy/paste) your signature and click Save.
If you want this signature used for all messages including replies, click the Replies/forwards: dropdown and select your signature.
Hint: At this screen, you can create multiple signatures and use a second signature with different details for replies/forwards.
When you are finished, click OK.
Click OK.
3. Add an additional mailbox (if applicable).
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4. Personalize your Outlook.
You may want to spend a few minutes in Outlook setting it up to the look the way you prefer. Here are several ways you may want to personalize Outlook:
Use and configure the Reading Pane to preview messages
When you select a message in the message list, you can see the message in the Reading Pane and access many different types of file attachments. You can customize how the Reading Pane works and appears, or you can turn it off.
In addition to using the Reading Pane to help you quickly scan your messages, you can also preview the first few lines of messages in your message list, and you can break up long emails by splitting the message window.
The Reading Pane is turned on by default. Do one of the following:
- To turn off the Reading Pane On the View tab, in the Layout group, click Reading Pane, and then click Off.
- To turn on or move the Reading Pane On the View tab, in the Layout group, click Reading Pane, and then click Right or Bottom.
Selecting Off closes the Reading Pane only for the folder you’re in. To turn off the Reading Pane quickly for multiple folders, on the View tab, click Change View > Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders, and then select folders in the Apply View dialog box.
Use and customize the To-Do bar
The To-Do bar is one of the panes you can add to Outlook for PC. You can use the To-Do bar to display your upcoming calendar events, your task list, or your favorite contacts.
- To display the To-Do Bar, select View > To-Do Bar.
- Select either Calendar, Tasks, or People. You can pick one type of item to display in the To-Do bar, two types of items, or all three.
- To turn the To-Do Bar off, select View > To-Do Bar > Off.
- Click here to learn more about customizing the To-Do Bar.
Setup Your Favorite Folders
Favorites is the section located at the top of the folder pane and lets you keep frequently used mail folders easily available. You won’t have to scroll through the Folder Pane to find the folder that might be several levels deep within the Folder Pane.
There are several ways to add or remove folders to Favorites. Pick the way that’s most convenient for you.
- Click a folder and drag it to Favorites. (You can’t remove a folder this way.)
- Right-click the folder you want to add or remove, and then click Show in Favorites or Remove from Favorites.
- In the Folder Pane, click the folder you want to add, and then click Folder. In the Favorites group, click Show in Favorites. The ribbon command is highlighted when the selected folder appears in Favorites.
When a folder is added to Favorites, it’s a shortcut to the folder. The actual folder and its content remains at the original location in the folder list. Removing a folder from Favorites doesn’t delete the folder or contents—it removes only the shortcut that appears in Favorites.
By default, when a folder is added to Favorites, it appears at the bottom of the list. To re-arrange the folders, drag the folder to the new position in the Favorites list.
Favorites can be turned off if you don’t use the feature and want more space to view the mail folder list in the folder pane.
No folders are added or removed when you turn on or off Favorites—it only changes whether the section appears in the Folder Pane. There is also no effect on folders in the main folder list.
- In Mail, click View > Folder Pane > Favorites.
If you turn off Favorites, and then turn it back on, the same folders appear.
5. Delete your unwanted Outlook Shortcuts
Outlook frequently likes to suggest names that you have typed in the past when sending out emails. While the feature is helpful, there are other times that these shortcuts become old, incorrect and outdated. Here's how to delete those:
- Begin typing the address you have used in the past.
- When the address appears as a suggestion, look for the "X" next to it.
- Click on that "X" to delete it from your shortcut suggestions.
- Re-type the address manually or re-pick the address from the address lists.
You can also clear your entire Autocomplete Cache to empty all previous suggested addresses. Here's how:
- In the Outlook main window, click the File menu.
- From the File menu, click the Options button.
- In the Options, click the Mail tab and scroll down to the Send Messages section.
- Click the Empty Auto-Complete List button.
- A confirmation box will appear, click Yes.