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MICROSOFT OUTLOOK

Create a task

A task is a personal or work-related errand you want to track through completion. A task can occur once or repeatedly (a recurring task). A recurring task can repeat at regular intervals or repeat based on the date you mark the task complete. For example, you might want to send a status report to your manager on the last Friday of every month, and get a haircut when one month has passed since your last haircut.

Recurring tasks are added one at a time to the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) When you mark one occurrence of the task complete, the next occurrence appears in the list.

What do you want to do?

1) Create a task that occurs once

2) Create a task that recurs at regular intervals

3) Create a task that recurs based on completion date

1) Create a task that occurs once

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Task.
2. In the Subject box, type a task name.
3. Select the options you want.
4. Click Save and Close .

Note   To quickly add a task in the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar), click Click here to add a new task, type a task name, and then press ENTER.

2) Create a task that recurs at regular intervals

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Task.
2. In the Subject box, type a task name.
3. Select the options you want.
4. On the Actions menu, click Recurrence.
5. Click the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) at which the task recurs, and then select options for the frequency.

   Do not click Regenerate new task, or the task will not recur at regular intervals.

6. If you want the task to start and end on specific dates, set start and end dates.
7. Click OK, and then click Save and Close .

3) Create a task that recurs based on completion date

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Task.
2. In the Subject box, type a task name.
3. Select the options you want.
4. On the Actions menu, click Recurrence.
5. Click the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) at which the task recurs.
6. Click Regenerate new task, and then type a time frequency in the box.
7. If you want the task to start and end on specific dates, set start and end dates.
8. Click OK, and then click Save and Close .

Create a task request from an existing task

1. In the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar), open the task you want to create a task request for.
2. Click Assign Task.
3. In the To box, enter the name of the person you want to assign the task to.

   To select the name from a list, click the To button.

4. Select the due date and status options you want.
5. If you want the task to repeat, click Recurrence, select the options you want, and then click OK.

   For Help on an option, click the question mark and then click the option.

6. Select or clear the Send me a status report when this task is complete and the Keep an updated copy of this task on my task list check boxes.
7. In the text box, type instructions or information about the task.
8. Click Send.

Note   If you assign a recurring task, a copy of the task will remain in your task list, but it won't be updated. If you selected the Send me a status report when this task is complete check box, you will receive a status report for each completed occurrence of the task.

Open a task

1. Click Tasks or Calendar.
2. Find the task in the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) and then double-click the task icon.

Copy a task

1. In the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) select the tasks you want to copy.
2. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
3. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
4. As appropriate, open the task and change its options.

Note   To quickly copy a task, click the task, and then press and hold down CTRL and drag the task to another place in the task list.

Rename a task

1. In the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) click the task name you want to change.
2. Type a new name, and then press ENTER.

Note   If the task is a recurring task, completed occurrences keep the old name.

Set reminder options for new tasks

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, click the Other tab, and then click Advanced Options.
2. Click Advanced Tasks.
3. To have a reminder automatically turned on for new tasks, select the Set reminders on tasks with due dates check box.

Notes

• These reminder options only affect tasks that have a due date.
• If you assign a task with a reminder to someone else, Outlook switches the reminder off so the person who accepts the task can set a reminder.

Mark a task complete

1. Open the task you want to mark complete.
2. In the % Complete box, enter 100%.

Note   If the Complete field (which appears as a check mark in the column heading-A column heading is the horizontal bar at the top of one column in a table. There are multiple column headings in the column heading row) appears in the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) you can select the check box in the Complete field to mark the task complete. Or, if the Status field appears in the task list, you can enter Completed in the Status field.

Change the settings for a task

1. Open the task you want to change the settings for.
2. On the Task and Details tabs, select the options you want.

Set the start and end dates for a task

1. Open the task you want to set the start and end dates for.
2. In the Due box, enter the date the task needs to be complete.
3. In the Start box, enter a date to start work on the task.

   To reset the start date without changing the due date, enter None in the Start date box, press ENTER, and then type the new start date.

Note   Instead of typing a date, you can type a brief description such as "next Monday" or "one month from today."

What you can type in date and time fields

Instead of typing numbers for a date or time, you can type a description of the date or time in words. Outlook then converts the description to a number format for you. This conversion is called AutoDate. For example, if you type one week from today in a date field, Outlook displays the numbers that represent the correct month, day, and year.

The following list provides examples of what you can type in date and time fields. Use this list for ideas, and then try to type some descriptions yourself. Also, try typing abbreviations. For example, you can type Feb instead of February.

Dates spelled out

• July twenty-third, March 28^th, first of September
• this Fri, two days from now, sixty days after
• three wks ago, next week
• one month from today

Times spelled out

• noon, midnight
• nine o'clock am, five twenty

Descriptions of times and dates

• now
• yesterday, today, tomorrow
• next, last
• ago, before, beforehand, beginning, previous, start
• after, end, ending, following
• for, from, that, this, till, through, until

Holidays that fall on the same date every year (punctuation is optional)

• Boxing Day
• Cinco de Mayo
• Christmas, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve
• Halloween
• Independence Day
• Lincoln's Birthday
• New Year's Day, New Year's Eve
• St. Patrick's Day
• Valentine's Day
• Veterans Day
• Washington's Birthday

Note   If you type something in a date or time field and later change your mind, you can delete the entry or type none.

Delete a task

1. In the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) select the tasks you want to delete.
2. Click Delete .

Note   Deleting a task you assigned to someone else removes it only from your task list. The task remains in the list of the person who accepted it. You will no longer receive status reports for the task.

About task assignments

Task assignments help you track the progress of work assigned to other people on a project. For example, a manager might assign a task to an assistant, or an employee might assign a task to a co-worker in a group effort. A task assignment requires at least two people: one to send a task request (A request sent in an e-mail message asking the recipient of the message to complete a task from the sender. If the recipient of the message accepts the task, the task is added to the recipient's task list, and the recipient becomes the new owner of the task) and another to respond to it.

When you send a task request, you give up ownership of the task. You can keep an updated copy of the task in your task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) and receive status reports, but you cannot change information such as the due date for the task.

When you receive a task request, you are the temporary owner of the task. You can accept the task, decline the task, or assign the task to someone else. If you accept the task, you become the permanent owner and are the only person who can make changes to the task. If you decline the task, it is returned to the person who sent you the task request. If you assign the task to someone else, you can keep an updated copy in your task list and receive status reports, but ownership is transferred to the person you assigned it to.

Only the owner or temporary owner of the task can update the task. If you own a task that was assigned to other people before you accepted it, every time you make a change it is automatically copied to the task in their task lists. And when you complete the task, status reports are automatically sent to the other people who were assigned the task and to those who requested reports.

If you assign a task to more than one person at a time, you cannot keep an updated copy of the task in your task list. To assign work to more than one person and have Outlook keep you up to date on work progress, divide the work into separate tasks, and then assign each one individually. For example, to assign a report to three writers, create three tasks named Write Report: Writer 1, Write Report: Writer 2, and Write Report: Writer 3.

Set a reminder for a task

1. Open the task you want to set a reminder for.
2. Select the Reminder check box, and then enter a date and time.

Note   If you don't set a reminder time, the default reminder time is used. To set the default reminder time, click the Tools menu, and then click Options. Click the Preferences tab, and then select a time in the Reminder time box.

Respond to a task request

When you receive a task request (A request sent in an e-mail message asking the recipient of the message to complete a task from the sender. If the recipient of the message accepts the task, the task is added to the recipient's task list, and the recipient becomes the new owner of the task), you are the temporary owner of the task. You can accept the task, decline the task, or assign the task to someone else. If you accept the task, you become the permanent owner and are the only person who can make changes to it. If you decline the task, you have the opportunity to give a reason why you decline, and the task is returned to the person who sent you the task request. If you assign the task to someone else, you can choose to keep an updated copy in your task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) and receive status reports, but ownership is transferred to the person you assign the task to.

What do you want to do?

1) Accept a task request

2) Decline a task request

3) Reassign a task request

1) Accept a task request

1. Open the message that contains the task request (A request sent in an e-mail message asking the recipient of the message to complete a task from the sender. If the recipient of the message accepts the task, the task is added to the recipient's task list, and the recipient becomes the new owner of the task).
2. Click Accept .
3. To accept without comment, click Send the response now.

   To accept and return a comment, click Edit the response before sending, and then type your comment in the text box.

4. Click Send .

2) Decline a task request

1. Open the message that contains the task request (A request sent in an e-mail message asking the recipient of the message to complete a task from the sender. If the recipient of the message accepts the task, the task is added to the recipient's task list, and the recipient becomes the new owner of the task).
2. Click Decline .
3. To decline without comment, click Send the response now.

   To decline and return a comment, click Edit the response before sending, and then type your comment in the text box.

4. Click Send .

3) Reassign a task request

1. Open the message that contains the task request (A request sent in an e-mail message asking the recipient of the message to complete a task from the sender. If the recipient of the message accepts the task, the task is added to the recipient's task list, and the recipient becomes the new owner of the task).
2. On the Actions menu, click Assign Task.
3. In the To box, enter the name of the person you want to assign the task to.
4. Select or clear the Keep an updated copy of this task on my task list check box and the Send me a status report when this task is complete check box.
5. Click Send .

Decline a task after you accept it

1. Open the task you accepted.
2. On the Actions menu, click Decline. To decline without comment, click Send the response now. To decline and return a comment, click Edit the response before sending, and then type your comment in the text box.
3. Click Send .

Skip one occurrence of a recurring task

1. In the task list (A list of tasks that appears in Tasks and in the TaskPad in Calendar) open the recurring task you want to skip.
2. On the Actions menu, click Skip Occurrence.

Note   If you set the recurring task to end after a specific number of occurrences, skipping the task counts as one occurrence.

Change a task to a recurring task

1. Open the task you want to change to a recurring task.
2. On the Actions menu, click Recurrence.
3. Click the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) at which you want the task to recur.
4. To repeat the task at regular intervals, select any of the options on the right side of the Recurrence pattern group box, except Regenerate new task.

   To repeat the task based on the date it is marked complete, click Regenerate new task, and then type a time interval in the box.

5. Select start and end dates.

Note   Only the owner of a task can change the task into a recurring task. Recurring tasks appear one at a time in the task list. When you mark one occurrence of the task complete, the next occurrence appears in the list.

Stop a recurring task

1. Open the recurring task you want to stop.
2. On the Actions menu, click Recurrence.
3. Click Remove Recurrence.

Change the priority level for a task

1. Open the task you want to change the priority level for.
2. In the Priority box, click a priority level.

Make a task private

1. Open the task you want to make visible only to yourself.
2. Select the Private check box in the lower-right corner.

Record billing information for a task

1. Open the task you want to record billing information for.
2. Click the Details tab.
3. Type in the Billing information box.

Record contact information for a task

1. Open the task you want to record contact information for.
2. In the Contacts box, type contact names.

Record estimated and actual time spent on a task

1. Open the task you want to record estimated and actual time for.
2. Click the Details tab.
3. In the Total work box, type the estimated number of hours a task might take to complete.
4. In the Actual work box, type the number of hours you spent on the task.

Record mileage for a task

1. Open the task you want to record mileage for.
2. Click the Details tab.
3. To record distance traveled (for example, for mileage reimbursement), type in the Mileage box.

Record company information for a task

1. Open the task you want to record company information for.
2. Click the Details tab.
3. In the Companies box, type company names.