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About personal distribution lists

A personal distribution list is a collection of contacts. It provides an easy way to send messages to a group of people. For example, if you frequently send messages to the marketing team, you can create a distribution list called Marketing Team that contains the names of all members of the marketing team. A message sent to this distribution list goes to all recipients listed in the distribution list. Recipients see their own names and the names of all other recipients on the To line of the message instead of seeing the name of the distribution list. You can use distribution lists in messages, task requests, meeting requests, and other personal distribution lists.

You can easily add and delete names from a distribution list, send it to others, and print it.

Personal distribution lists are identified with and are stored by default in your Contacts folder, so you can sort, print, and assign categories (category A keyword or phrase that helps you keep track of items so you can easily find, sort, filter, or group them) to them.

If you previously used a Personal Address Book instead of the Contacts folder list to store your addresses, you can easily move your addresses and distribution lists into the Contacts folder by using the Import and Export command (File menu).

Create a personal distribution list

On the File menu, point to New, and then click Distribution List.
In the Name box, type a name.
The distribution list is saved in your Contacts folder by the name you give it.
Click Select Members. In the Show names from the list, click the address book that contains the e-mail addresses you want in your distribution list.
In the Type name or select from list box, type a name you want to include. In the list below, select the name, and then click Add.
If you want to add a longer description of the distribution list, click the Notes tab, and then type the text.
Click Save and Close.

Add a name to a personal distribution list

Click Contacts
Open the distribution list in your Contacts folder.
In your Contacts folder, distribution lists are marked with .
Do one of the following:
To add an address from an address book or a contact folder, click Select Members.
To add an address that is not in a contact folder or an address book, click Add New.

Show the names in a personal distribution list

In a new message, click To.
In the Show names from the list, click the address book that contains the distribution list you want information about.
In the Type name or select from list box, type the name of the distribution list. In the list below, click the name.
Click Properties.

Send a meeting request to part of a personal distribution list, group list, or alias

Click Calendar.
On the Actions menu, click New Meeting Request.
Click To, and then in the Type name or select from list box, type or select the distribution list you want to invite to the meeting.
Click Required, and then click OK.
Click the Attendee Availability tab, and then click the plus sign (+) next to the name of the distribution list to show the individuals on the list.
For each member you do not want to invite to the meeting, click the name, press DELETE, and then press ENTER to remove the name from the list.

Note After you expand the distribution list, you can't contract it again.

Remove a name from a personal distribution list

Click Contacts
Open the distribution list in your Contacts folder.
In your Contacts folder, distribution lists are marked with .
In the Name box, click the name you want to remove.
Click Remove.

Update a distribution list with new e-mail addresses

Click Contacts .
Open the personal distribution list in your Contacts folder.
In your Contacts folder, distribution lists are marked with .
Click Update Now.

Add to your Contacts folder a distribution list sent to you

Open the message that contains the distribution list.
Click the attached distribution list and drag it to Contacts

About using Office programs to create e-mail in Outlook

You can use Microsoft Office programs to create Outlook e-mail in three ways.

You can use Office E-mail to send a file as an HTML message. (Office 2000 only.) The file appears as the body of the message, not as an attachment. Because the message is sent as HTML, all recipients can read it, whether or not the appropriate Office program is set up on their computer, as long as their e-mail program can read HTML.
For example, you can create a Microsoft Excel worksheet and then send it as an e-mail message. Recipients who are not Excel users can see and edit cell contents as they would any table. Recipients who have Excel can edit the entire worksheet, including formulas.
After you send the HTML message, you can continue to work on the file and then save it to your hard disk as an Excel workbook.
You can use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor. You can specify Word as your default e-mail editor, and then use it to create all your messages. When you use Word as your e-mail editor, a message is always saved as an Outlook item, not as a Word file.
You can start a new Office file from Outlook and attach it to an e-mail message or save it to your hard disk. In order to read an Office file attached to an e-mail message, recipients must have the appropriate Office program set up on their own computers.

Create a message using Office E-mail

This procedure works for messages created in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

On the Actions menu, point to New Mail Message Using, point to Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft <program name and file type>.
Enter the appropriate information in the To, CC, and Subject boxes, and then enter text or data in the body of the message.
Click Send this <file type>.

Notes

After you send the message, you can continue to work on the file. When you close it, the program prompts you to save the file.
You can only send one Excel worksheet or PowerPoint slide at a time. If you want to send a file that has more than one worksheet or slide, send it as an attachment. On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click Mail Recipient (as Attachment). (Only recipients who have the appropriate Office program set up will be able to open the attachment.)

Send an Access database from Outlook

On the Actions menu, point to New Mail Message Using, point to Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Access Data Page.
Do one of the following:
To create a new data access page, click Design View.
To create a new data access page based on an existing Web page, click Existing Web page.
If you are connecting to a Microsoft SQL server, select the appropriate options. For Help on an option, click .
Enter the appropriate information in the To, CC, and Subject boxes, and then create the data page.
Click Send a Copy.

Note After you send the data page, you can continue to work on it.

About the automatic filtering of junk or adult content e-mail messages

In much the same way that retailers and businesses use mailing lists of postal addresses to send potential clients catalogs and other information, there is a growing business in using e-mail messages as a direct marketing tool. If you do not wish to receive these kind of messages, Outlook can search for commonly used phrases in such messages and automatically move them from your Inbox to a junk e-mail folder, your Deleted Items folder, or any other folder you specify. The list of terms that Outlook uses to filter suspected junk e-mail messages can be found in a file called Filters txt.

You can also filter messages based on a list of e-mail addresses of junk and adult content senders. There are third party filters, which are regularly updated, that you can add to Outlook. These filters have the latest lists of commercial and adult content senders. For more information, see the Outlook Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/outlook.

Outlook also creates a list of the e-mail addresses of senders of commercial or adult content, which you can add to as you get unwanted e-mail messages.

Intercept junk e-mail messages and remove them from my Inbox

If you receive unwanted e-mail messages from commercial mailers (for example, messages that contain adult content) you can have these messages automatically removed from your Inbox, or have them appear in a particular color so you can quickly find them and move them manually. You can have unwanted e-mail messages automatically moved to a specific folder or have them deleted. You can also create a list of the senders of unwanted e-mail messages and have all messages from those senders removed from your Inbox.

What do you want to do?

1) Automatically move or delete all junk e-mail messages

2) Automatically move or delete all adult content e-mail messages

3) Automatically move or delete all e-mail messages from a particular sender

4) Change the color of junk e-mail messages in my Inbox

1) Automatically move or delete all junk e-mail messages

Click Inbox .
Click Organize .
Click Junk E-mail.
Select the options you want by clicking the down arrow next to each box in the first bulleted item.
Click Turn on.

2) Automatically move or delete all adult content e-mail messages

Click Inbox .
Click Organize .
Click Junk E-mail.
Select the options you want by clicking the down arrow next to each box in the second bulleted item.
Click Turn on.

3) Automatically move or delete all e-mail messages from a particular sender

Click Inbox .
Select a message from the sender whose messages you want to automatically move or delete.
On the Actions menu, point to Junk E-mail, and then click Add to Junk Senders list.

4) Change the color of junk or adult content e-mail messages in my Inbox

Click Inbox .
Click Organize .
Click Junk E-mail.
For either bulleted item, in the first box click Color, and then click the color you want in the second box.
Click Turn on.

Change the folder junk or adult content e-mail messages are automatically sent to

Click Inbox .
Click Organize .
Click Junk E-mail.
To change the folder junk messages are sent to, click Turn off in the first bulleted item.
To change the folder adult content messages are sent to, click Turn off in the second bulleted item.
For either bulleted item, click Move in the first box, and then select a new folder in the second box. To see a list of all your folders, click Other Folder.
Click Turn on.

Add or remove an e-mail address from the list of unwanted e-mail senders

Click Inbox .
Click Organize .
Click Junk E-mail.
Click the options link.
To change the commercial e-mailers list, click Edit Junk Senders.
To change the adult content senders list, click Edit Adult Content Senders.

Make an exception in my Junk Senders list

On the Tools menu, click Rules Wizard.
In the Apply rules in the following order box, click Exception List.
In the Rule description box, click Exception List.
Click Add.
Enter the e-mail address you want to make an exception for.
The name and domain you enter will appear in your Inbox, even if you have the domain listed in your Junk Senders list.

About flags

You can flag a message or contact to remind yourself to follow up on an issue, or you can flag an outgoing message with a request for someone else. You can also set a reminder for the message or contact.

When a message or contact is flagged, one of the following appears in the Flag Status column .

If this appears in the Flag Status column	It means
blank	Not flagged
	Flagged
	Flagged as completed

When the recipient receives a message with a flag, a comment on the purpose of the flag appears at the top of the message. If you set a reminder, this date will also appear.

Flag a message or contact for follow up

Select the message or contact you want to flag.
On the Actions menu, click Flag for Follow Up.
In the Flag to box, click the flag you want, or type your own.
Enter a date in the Due by box.

Change the due date on a flag

Select the message or contact you want to change the due date for.
On the Actions menu, click Flag for Follow Up.
Enter a date in the Due by box.

Note Items (An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook [similar to a file in other programs]. Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, and notes) past their due date appear as the color set in the Automatic Format dialog box. By default, flagged items past their due date are red.

Flag a message or contact as completed

Select the message or contact you want to flag as completed.
On the Actions menu, click Flag for Follow Up.
Select the Completed check box.

Clear a flag

Select the message or contact you want to clear flags for.
On the Actions menu, click Flag for Follow Up.
Click Clear Flag.

About using Word as your e-mail editor

The following Microsoft Word features are available from Microsoft Outlook if you use Word as your e-mail editor. You must have Word set up to use these features.

AutoCorrect As you write, automatically correct common typos, such as transposed letters and extra or missing letters.
Spell It Check your spelling while you work. Misspelled words are underlined and alternative spellings appear, eliminating the need to check spelling before sending a message.
Automatic Bullets and Numbering Add bullets and numbering to call out important points. Use a picture or other graphic as a bullet, or create a hierarchical list that has numbered items.
Tables Use tables to organize your information. When you use Word 2000 as your e-mail editor, your messages are sent in HTML format, preserving table formatting, even for recipients who do not use Word.
Conversion of e-mail names and Internet addresses Automatically convert e-mail names and Internet addresses to hyperlinks (hyperlink Colored and underlined text or a graphic that you click to go to a file, a location in a file, an HTML page on the World Wide Web, or an HTML page on an intranet. Hyperlinks can also go to Gopher, telnet, newsgroup, and FTP sites) Smart hyperlink formatting can even convert hyperlinks whose URLs contain spaces.
Themes Use Word themes to provide visual consistency and make your messages stand out.
Auto format Format your message automatically as you type and add formatting to plain text messages that you receive.

Note If you use Word 97 as your e-mail editor, you can send messages to, and receive messages from, recipients who do not use Word, but some formatting might change to plain text.

Turn on or off Word as your default e-mail editor

To use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, you should have at least 16 megabytes (MB) of memory available.

In Microsoft Outlook, click the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
Select or clear the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages check box.

Note You can create a single message by using Word without changing your default e-mail editor. On the Actions menu, point to New Mail Message Using, and then click Microsoft Word (message format).

Change the look of Word e-mail messages

Microsoft Word includes several themes you can use as stationery when Word is your e-mail editor. Each theme, such as Sandstone, Artsy, or Blueprint, is installed the first time you use it. Use this procedure to add a default theme that is applied to all your messages.

In Microsoft Outlook, open a new message by using Word as your e-mail editor.
In the new message, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
Click E-mail Options.
Click the Personal Stationery tab, and then click Theme.
In the Choose a Theme list, click the name of a theme.
Select the check boxes for any other options you want.

Notes

The default theme you select is not applied to the current message. Close the current message, and start a new one to see the theme.
You can apply a theme to an individual message. On the Format menu, click Theme and then choose a theme.

Create a signature to use with Word as your e-mail editor

In Microsoft Outlook, start a new message by using Word as your e-mail editor.
In the new message, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
Click E-mail Options, and then click the E-mail Signature tab.
Under Create your e-mail signature, type and format the text you want to use for your signature.
In the Type the title of your e-mail signature or choose from the list box, type a name for your signature.
Click Add.
Under Choose your default e-mail signature, click the name of a signature in the Signature for new messages list box and the Signature for replies and forwards list box, or click (None) if you do not want to use a default signature.

Tip To insert a signature into a message when using Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, click the Insert menu, point to Autotext, point to E-mail Signature, and then click the name of a signature.

Notify me when new messages arrive

On the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the Preferences tab, and then click E-Mail Options.
Select or clear the Display a notification message when new mail arrives check box.

Note You can also play a sound or change the mouse cursor when messages arrive. On the Tools menu, click Options; click Preferences, click E-Mail Options, click Advanced E-Mail Options, and then under When new items arrive, select the options you want.

Automatically move messages from someone to a folder

Select a message from the person whose messages you want to automatically move to a folder.
Click Organize .
Click Using folders.
In the second bulleted item, click the options you want.
To move messages to a folder not listed, click Other Folder in the into box.
Click Create.

Color messages sent by someone

Select a message from the person whose messages you want to appear in your Inbox in a different color.
Click Organize .
Click Using Colors.
In the first bulleted item, click the options you want.
Click Apply Color.

Have replies to your message sent to another person

Create a message.
Click Options .
Select the Have replies sent to check box.
Type the name of another person, or click Select Names to select from a list.
You cannot have replies sent to a personal distribution list (personal distribution list A personal distribution list is a collection of e-mail addresses that you create and add to your Outlook Address Book or Contacts folder as one e-mail address. When you address a message to a personal distribution list, a message is sent to each e-mail address in the list. The administrator creates and maintains distribution lists in the Global Address List. You create and maintain your personal distribution lists. Personal distribution lists are stored in your Contacts folder by default).

Make a sent message unavailable after a specified date

Create a message.
Click Options .
Select the Expires after check box, and then enter the expiration date you want.

Delete an entire conversation

Outlook refers to a message thread as a conversation. To delete an entire conversation, follow these steps.

Click Inbox .
On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click By Conversation Topic.
Click the conversation group header, and then press DELETE.