Tips To Make Use of Microsoft Outlook at Its Best

 

In this blog I have tried to explain the procedure of fixing the common Microsoft Outlook issues. The methods compiled here are simple and correct until date. However, it is recommended that these should be followed and implemented carefully to avoid facing problems. This will help users save time and money that would otherwise be spent searching for Microsoft Outlook Support. 

Back up your Outlook data to avoid losing access to important emails, contacts etc. Since computer reformat is quite a common practice, data backup would help you regain access to your favorites and important information. You can either download and use a third party free or paid program to backup Outlook data or download and install Microsoft’s PST Backup tool from its official Microsoft Office website. Save the downloaded file and then install it using the automated wizard’s instructions. When done, open and run the program to start backing up your Outlook data(see also:Create backup in Outlook 2010).

You can also manually backup your .pst files by exporting them to another file\folder. To do so, open Outlook, click on the File menu and select Export. The Import and Export wizard will open up. Click to select .pst file and then hit the Next button. Name the file and save it to an easily accessible location in your computer. Follow rest of the instructions to complete the backup procedure. You can retrieve your backup by following the same procedure, choose Import instead of Export.

You can create an auto responder when you are going out of home or office for a few and want others to be informed about the same.

Steps to create an auto responder

•    Open Outlook and click on  “Tools”  and then click  “Out of Office Assistant.”
•    Click to select Send Out of Office auto-replies. Type a desired response under the Inside My Organization tab.
•    You can also select to reply to the people out of your organization using the Auto-reply to people outside my organization checkbox under the Outside My Organization tab.
•    Click to select My Contacts only\Anyone outside my organization in the Outside My Organization tab in order to determine the contacts who needed to be sent the auto reply.
•    Save the changes and exit Outlook.

Set reminders to quickly make Outlook remind you about the tasks to be performed.

Steps to Set reminders in outlook

•    Open Outlook, right click on the email message that you want to create the reminder for, select Follow Up, and then Add Reminder.
•    Select the date and time using the Due By and second list respectively to fulfill the task.
•    Use the Flag Color list to flag the message in the desired color and press the OK button.

Close Outlook properly before shutting down your computer. This is a small but very useful practice as it helps prevent unsaved data from loss caused by inadvertent shutdown. A forced shutdown causes many applications including Outlook to perform weird next time these are opened.

Regularly download and install latest updates intended to maximize performance and utility of Outlook. Use Windows Update feature to do so. You can also set Windows Updates to automatically download, install these updates.

See also: Microsoft Outlook Not Opening