Modify and Add a New Category in Outlook

Introduction to Color categories

Category has a different meaning in Outlook. It mean that a keyword/phrase used to help you in monitoring and organizing Outlook objects, such as emails, contacts, appointments, tasks and notes. These objects of Outlook are simply called as items. The main reason behind category used in Outlook come from the ability to group items under a specific topic, such as these are related to private appointment and work task; then use the category to search, filter and sort data applicable to that topic.

Categories have changed meaningfully from Outlook 2013 and now displayed as vibrant color coded stamps that you can relate to basically every item that exists within your Outlook information store.

Using the Color Categories List

Using Outlook for first time, the categories accessible have generic names with the color codes of blue, green, orange, red, purple and yellow. It is advised you to begin by defining which category will need in your day to day activities and then re-define the default ones with meaningful names. For example: if you rename category in Red to urgent, then you will easily treat the items flashed with red immediately with appropriate level of attention.

In old version of Outlook this could be done by using Master Category list, which is quite complicated to operate as compared to color category. Color categories list are highly effective and easy to use in presenting groupings of like items in a way never before accomplished in Outlook.

You can access color categories list by selecting:

• Edit
• Categories
• All categories

You can create new categories to add color categories list as appointments arrive in your calendar or new items arrive in inbox.

Adding, Modifying and Using Categories

When you decide that you are using the categories, renaming those ones which you use since default name are slightly meaningless.

There are two options from which you can choose

1. In advance rename all required categories.
2. Rename each category, deciding upon its purpose when you assign it for first.

With an example of email, highlight email which you want to assign a category to, in in box right click the item and from the context menu choose Categories.

Adding and Modifying Categories

You can easily modify and add new categories to reflect the working context through the color categories dialog box. To start with the categories highlight every item like as emails, appointments or tasks. And then choose Edit >>categories>>All categories. You will immediately see the Color Categories list which shows the list of already defined categories.

You will see the three buttons that is New, Rename and Delete in the dialog box at the right side. If you want to delete a category, highlight it by clicking on it, in the dialog box and then click on Delete. By clicking the OK button confirm the intention. Similarly if you want to change the name click “Rename” and type the name in the textbox, then click on OK. If you want to add a new category, it is easy to create. Click on New, type the name for your new Category and assign a color for it and shortcut key, when you done all that, click on OK.

Import Outlook Express/ Windows Mail Email into Outlook on Same Computer

Importing Email from Outlook Express/Windows Mail

An email application Outlook Express comes with Windows and its free application. It is popular for its email handling. Whereas Windows Mail is Outlook Express but it comes up with different platform that is Windows Vista. The difference between Outlook and Outlook Express/Windows Mail is Outlook is not free but Windows Mail/Outlook Express is free email application. Outlook Express and Windows Mail Include Mail and contact list only as it does not includes Calendar, Tasks, Notes or Journal. Outlook provides you the facility of all these features and functionality.

If Outlook Express and Outlook is on the same computer, follow the given mentioned steps to import Outlook Express/Window Mail email and account information into Outlook.

• In Outlook, select File > Import and Export.
• Choose the option “Import Internet Mail and Addresses” and click on next.
• From the list choose Internet Mail Application to import or select Outlook Express 6.x. 5.x, 4.x.
• Choose the option Import Mail and click on Next.
• Now click on the Finish.

Grabbling Outlook Express/Window Mail account information

In Outlook Express/ Windows Mail email is the one part and another part is the information about your account. After all, it is compulsory to know that who is sitting there and manually type in POP3 & SMTP.

To take you’re all the stuff of your email account from Outlook Express/ Windows Mail to Outlook

1. In Outlook, Select File and click on Import and Export.

2. Choose the option Import Internet Mail Account Settings and then click on Next.

3. Choose Microsoft Windows Mail or Outlook Express from the Select the Email client to Import list. To move on to the next screen click on Next in the wizard from where you begin to import account setting.

4. Confirm the display name and click on Next.

5. Confirm your email address & click on Next.

6. Check your account information whether right or wrong. And click on Next to confirm more information about your account.

7. Check out your login information. And select the Next when you’re done.

8. Confirm a service, how you connect to email server: using a modem, through internet service or using a network connection. After making a selection of your choice, click on the Next.

9. And then click on “Finish” option.

Getting Instant Gratification with Instant Search Option in Outlook

In office 2007 there is a new feature “Instant Search” that helps you to find items more instantly. When you ran Outlook first, you noticed that a prompt message will open in a popup box asking you to index Outlook. If you probably clicked “Yes”, in which you just quite sure about what does that meant. Creating an index for Outlook means you will able to find things more quickly. Instant Search in Outlook is based upon accessing indexed content which contains all your items and attachments. Outlook continues to index new content in the background, when initial indexing takes place. Instant Search is accessible from Outlook Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Folder List and Journals views. When you click any of these items you will see Instant Search bar displayed prominently at the top of your item list.

Enabling Instant Search

Instant Search involves certain MS Windows search mechanisms in order to function. If you have Windows Vista then you are in good luck, as Windows Vista already contains Desktop Search due to which Instant Search is enabled automatically. If you don’t have Windows Vista then Windows Desktop Search feature cannot be installed, when first time you ran Outlook a popup box will appear with prompt message to download the software. Go ahead and to do so. After downloading, restart the Outlook in order to use Instant Search feature to function. If you do not enable the Instant Search, so you are not able to search faster as compared to Instant Search feature.

Fiddling with Instant Search Options

If you want to change Instant Search Options, go to Tools and select Instant Search, then click on Search Options from the main menu bar. Click on the arrow from the Instant Search pane and then Select Search Options. A Search Options window will appear which is divided into several parts.

• Indexing:—Indexing is the main reason that Outlook Instant Search work faster, as it installed all the Outlook data and keep information about content of various item. When you search something using Instant Search feature, at that time this information speed up the process of searching.
• Search:— By default, search result will appear in Instant Search pane, the result list become much shorter when you type more. And you can also speed up your search by limiting the number of results. 
• Deleted Items:— When you select the check box in deleted item section of the Search Option dialog box, so you can have a look on Outlook through your deleted items. As this option is not enabled by default because Outlook thinks that you don’t need to search through deleted items. If you want to search through deleted item, first you place a check mark to this item.
• Instant Search Pane:— By default, Instant Search searches in your current folder, after the result will display you can select the other folder by clicking the” Try Searching Again in All Mail Item” option. If you choose the “All Folders” option, Instant Search looks into your entire Outlook folder without prompting you.

Outlook Data File Management and Working Process for your Outlook Profiles

If you view email in Outlook, and that email is spread through multiple folders, which would be similar as Windows Explorer when viewing the file system.

However, Outlook folders are nothing like file system folders. Besides this they are stored in database in single location, with the view in Outlook which is derived from metadata related with each item in data store. Outlook has many ways of storing data and it is very important to know the difference between each method in order to select what is good for you.

Three methods used to store data in Outlook are:

• Data store in a Personal folder (PST)
• Data store in an offline folder (OST)
• Data store on Microsoft Exchange Server machine

Data store in Outlook is a database which contains all emails, contacts, appointments, notes, calendar, tasks and account information. If you are using the standalone environment, then data store locally on your PC whereas data stored on the server in case your computer is connected to the Exchange Server.

When Outlook profile is first created, users are assigned to store data by default. For example: a user profile has been assigned on Exchange Server computer for corporate email.

Introducing Personal Folders

To store contacts, calendars, appointments, emails and tasks, you can use a personal storage folder (PST). As per your requirement you have multiple PST file and all are attached to your Outlook profile simultaneously. In user interface all these PST files are presented I a separate folder. The Outlook profile associated with default PST file is called Outlook.pst and store under the directory path of your user profile \Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst.

If you want to see the list of data store installed on your computer, go to the Start menu and right click on the Outlook icon, in context menu choose properties and click on “Data Files”.

After clicking the Data files, a dialog box will open as shown in above figure, in which you can add a new data file, or you can change the settings of an existing data file, Change data file which is set as default, remove a data file, and open the folder using Windows Explorer in which PST files are stored.

Adding New PST Files

In Outlook adding an extra PST file in data store is easy. You can easily do this from the Start menu using the Outlook icon. If you don’t know how to add new data store follow these given below steps:

1. From the Start menu right click the Outlook icon and select Properties.

2. In Mail Setup dialog box, click on “Data files” button.

3. Click on the Add button from the Toolbar. A New Outlook Data File dialog box will appear.

4. From the list select “Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst)” and then choose OK.

5. In Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog box give a name to your data store file and select OK.

6. Now you will see the dialog box “Create Microsoft Personal Folders”. If you want to secure your .pst file in order to give a password to that file as only you can open that particular and no one can. You can give the name to identify new data store in Outlook interface but this name can be different from physical file name you entered in previous step. Click on Ok when you are ready to create data store.

How to Keep Secrets Safe with Outlook Security

Computer hackers know everything about your personal information like credit card balance, security number, what you are doing, where you are— everything. Most of the crimes that a hacker does involving theft of personal information that do not come from hackers informing into personal computers. To reveal or stole your password hackers makes a trick some poor slob and make a phone call.

But in Outlook there is a feature that allow you to keep your secrets or personal information secret that make your identity more secure and be sure about the message received by you is sent from the known people. To advance these security features, you need to add small programs to Outlook, but once you have installed all the features then you never hassle with them again. If you are connect with defense industry, law enforcement, financial work etc., then security is the big deal to handle all these tasks. Many high technology companies provide you a system that confirming identity and message security, using eye scanner, fingerprint reader, and gizmos that recognize you or your face.

In this discussion, we mention about the security features that Outlook offer right out of box.

Getting a Digital ID

You probably receive messages from the unknown people every day that you never met. And you open that message without spending much time to think about whether the message come from the people they seem to be. If you know the sender personally than you simple make a call to verify that what they sent and what you received. But there is much faster approach uses high technology feature that is called as “Digital Signature”. Digital Signature contains tiny piece of secret code mixed with your message to prove 3 things:

• The message comes from that person who seems to have sent it.
• The person who sends the message is the person he claims to be.
• The person who sends the message sent it intentionally like putting your signature on a check; it shows that you mean to send a message.

If you want to get an advantage from Outlook security features, the first step to take is to get yourself a Digital ID. To get the digital ID of your own, get it from that companies that maintain and issue digital services by following these steps:—

1. Click on tools and then select Trust Center.

2. Click on words “E-Mail Security”.

3. Click on the button “Get a Digital ID”.

Sending Digitally Signed Message

Once you have your Digital ID, when you send a message to someone, a Digital Signature is going with that message. With this digitally signed message you can assure about your recipient that you are yourself no one else can send this message. To send a message with digital signature follows these steps after getting a Digital ID:—

1. When you are creating a new message, click on the Options tab from the top of the message screen.

2. Click on the icon showing More Options.

3. Click on “Security Setting” button.

4. Enable the check box “Add Digital Signature to This Message”.

5. Click on Send and the OK.

Received Digitally Signed Message

When you receive a message contains a digital signature. You need not to do anything when you get this type of message just view a little red icon looks like as prize ribbon at upper right corner of the message which verifies that the message really came from the person it claims to have come from.

Encrypting Message

When you are sending an encrypting message to someone, both you and the receiver to whom you are sending a message need to have obtained a Digital certificate. When you select this technique the system hikes the contents of your message which you want to send, so that only recipient can view and read you message. To send an encrypted message to whom you want to send follow the given mentioned steps:—

1. Click on the Options tab while you are creating a message.

2. Click the More Options icon from the right.

3. Click the “Security Settings” button.

4. On clicking, enable “Encrypt Message Content and Attachments” option.

5. Click on Send and Select OK.

How to Creating an Email Shortcut for a Recipient

Introduction

Many users run Outlook program all day, which creates sense that you constantly send and receive messages. Sometimes users face problem against incessant interruptions caused by an email. They think that the continuous use for checking new messages reduce efficiency by making a state known as continuous partial attention, where most of the attention is on your primary task. But something more important or interesting happen, where you monitor several background tasks like as incoming email.

In the result it is observed that many people leave Outlook and they check their mail on Outlook only once or twice a day. If they need to send a message, then open Outlook, compose a new message, send mail and again close the Outlook. Sending a message in Outlook is a great deal to me to work with. If you have some people to whom you link regularly, so you can create email shortcuts for those recipients by save yourself. A new Outlook message window will appear when you launch a shortcut. The message is already addressed to the recipient, so you just type the message in the message field and send it which adds you message in the Outbox folder. This all would happen without the main Outlook program starting. When you start Outlook next time, it sends the message waiting in Outbox folder.

To create an Email Shortcut Follow the given mentioned Steps:

1. In which folder you want to create shortcut, open it. For quickly access, I recommend using the desktop, and choose the Quick Launch toolbar, or the start menu.

2. Right click on the folder and choose “New”, click on Shortcut a Create Shortcut dialog box will appear.

3. In “Type the Location of the item” text box type the recipient email address. 

4. Click on “Next”.

5. In “Type a Name” text box, type a name for your shortcut. Like, type a name for recipient or email address.

6. Now click on “Finish”.

How to Block Messages from a Particular Person in Outlook

Block a Particular Address or Domain

The particular address & domain name is the cause of spamming, and you notice that Outlook doesn’t catch them. At that time you block all the incoming messages coming from that particular address by telling the Outlook to block the particular domain or address. Then Outlook filters all those spam mails and kept them into the Junk E-mail folder. To see all the addresses or domains, Outlook maintains them in Blocked Sender List.

Following the given mentioned steps add the domain or address to the Blocked Sender list:

1. Select Actions, and then click on Junk E-mail, Junk Email Options.

2. From Junk Email Options dialog box click on Block Senders tab.

3. Click on Add. A Domain and Add address dialog box will appear

4. Enter the domain name and individual address. Now Click on OK button.

5. If you want to add more addresses in your Blocked Senders list, repeat 3-4 steps.

6. And click on OK.

Block Foreign or Non English Messages

As you know that 22 percent of all spam mails are comes from United States which is number one spam producing country, but still 78 percent is left. The remaining spam mails are comes from the foreign countries, in which most of the spam mails are written other language than English.

With this information you can block the incoming messages that originate from a particular country and kept them in Junk Email filter. By using the top level domain Outlook restrict the spam mail, which is the final suffix that displays in a domain name. There are 2 types of domain: generic top-level like com, edu, net and country code top level like kr (South Korea) ch (China). Outlook has an ability to filter those messages that are written in foreign languages. The special encoding is used to displays the character set of foreign language. The Outlook uses this encoding scheme to filter the spam mail written in a specified language.

Some steps are given to block messages come from a specific country and language:

1. Click on Actions and select Junk Email. Choose Junk Email Options to open this dialog box.

2. Select the International tab.

3. To block one or more than one country choose Blocked Top Level Domain List; enable the check-box beside each country which you want to filter. Then click on OK.

4. Click on “Blocked Encoding List” to block one or more language by activating the check-box which language you want to filter. Then click on OK.

How to Setting the Junk E-mail Protection Level

If you are using the internet to send and receive emails from an email application like Outlook, then you get spam. And if you have most of the people adding in your account, then you gets one or two dozen of email beside one or two spam mails in a day. It is not the topic to surprise as spam is now the accounts for the billions of messages sent every day and one day it accounts for 90 per cent of sent messages.

There is no solution to avoid these spam mails, but you can do one thing by minimizing the chances of getting these spam mails.

1. For newsgroup account don’t use your actual email address. The spammers get the address to harvest them from newsgroup posts which is the common method used by them. You can alter your email address by adding text that invalidates the address but it is still understandable by the other people.

2. If it is possible use a fake address whenever you sign up for something online. Make sure that you deactivate any option that asks you to receive any promotional offer, if you want or send an email from a company and you are using your real address. An alternative method to minimize the spamming is to use an address from a free Web based account, so that spam mail goes on that mail address not in your main account.

3. Sometimes the spammer notice that you are opening the suspected mail or display them in the Reading pane, if you open them the spammer confirms that your address is legitimate. So never open those mails for which you are not sure.

In spite of these precautions, if you get spam the Outlook Junk Email feature is another option to cover. Spam filter is that feature which examines each and every message received to look for significant sign of spammers. If Outlook decides that a message is spam then it automatically put that message in the Junk email folder so that you don’t deal with that message directly. If you find that Outlook is doing something wrong that it put lots of spam mail in inbox folder or Outlook is generating too many false result as positive. Then go through the following settings:

Choose Actions, Junk Email, Junk E-mail Options, select the Option tab from the Junk Email Options dialog box and select any one from the following protection levels:

No Automatic Filtering—after shut off the Junk email filter still moves the messages from block sender to the Junk email folder. You should select this level when you handle spamming using your own message rules.

Low—this is a default protection level that moves messages with spam content to the Junk Email folder.

High—it move slightly spam content messages to the Junk email folder. This level catch all incoming spam mail but also sometimes makes few false results positive.

Safe Lists Only—these lists are called as "white list" that defines who can send you an email. This level is useful if you receive non-spam messages from those people you know.