Outlook 2002

OUTLOOK 2002 TIPS & TRICKS The degree of difficulty on this material ranges from Beginner to Advance and all may not be applicable to all versions of Outlook, nor everyone. Please note: 1. Discussion at top of Table of Contents. I embedded bookmarks with hyperlinks to ease navigation. In Word, hold down the Ctrl key and click on a hyperlink to navigate. 2. The last article includes a backup utility from Microsoft for Outlook files. VERY EASY to install and use. Once installed, open Outlook, select File from menu, then choose Backup. From there it is pretty easy to define and setup the backup. Make sure however you select a path on a network share....backing up to your local hard drive defeats the purpose of a backup. Sorry, not to insult anyone but sometimes it is overlooked even by the power users. Also, note that to install the Outlook backup utility you must have Local Administrator rights. If you do not, you can manually copy the .pst and .pab (if applicable) files to a server (but zip it up first). FYI, all personal eMail is usually saved in a single file with an extension of .pst which is stored on a user's PC. The large majority of companies do not provide mechanism for backing up user's PC's. Thus, unless user takes steps to back up their files, including their eMail, eMail and other files on user's PC's are not backed up. All these tidbits are from a "Office Tips" archive I have and will make available at a future Brown Bag Tech Meeting. They will not be as pretty because I have hundreds more stored as eMail in a .pst file. I am presenting so had to at least make professional. 3. DISCLAIMERS : (1) I am not an Outlook Helpdesk. I will answer questions related to material but on a limited basis and based upon availability. My static answer is to buy a book or install the Google Toolbar and search the Internet; that is why Al Gore invented it. (2) The document provides tips for Outlook 2002. Previous versions of Outlook may differ or may not have certain functionalities discussed herein......see (1) above. (3) Much of this is not my material. I cut and pasted tips I found on the Internet into eMails I sent to myself to be used as a reference later when needed. Unfortunately I did not keep Authors names and other data. If used for educational purposes copyrighted material is exempt! I am not lawyer so I do not know if by excluding pertinent data the educational exemption applies! If not, I apologize to any authors. Table of Contents (To navigate this document, hold down the Ctrl button and click on hyperlink.) Archiving Selecting Potential Folders Archiving a Single Folder Optimizing Outlook E-mail file (.pst) Rules Setting Up a Rule Grouping and Sorting Organize Outlook Messages By Sender Sort by Multiple Columns Automatically Address or Send an E-mail Add a Desktop Shortcut to Frequent Recipients Automatically Address an E-mail Message Send an Office Document Without Opening Outlook Miscellaneous Distributing Calendar Appointment Files Turning on/Off AutoComplete E-mail Addresses Use vCards to Send Your Business Contact Other Tricks & Treats Add Contacts Quickly Give E-Mail a Fresh Look in Outlook Create a Meeting Request with a Contact in Outlook Forward Outlook Contacts to Others Drag Addresses Between To, Cc, and Bcc Fields in Outlook Double-Click to Create a New Message in Outlook Display Week Numbers in the Outlook Date Navigator Printing Envelopes Using Outlook Preview Messages Without Sending Read Receipt Assign Tasks to Coworkers Use Keyboard Shortcuts Accessing Address Books and Recipients How to Back Up, Restore, or Move Outlook Data (Q287070) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 14 15 16 10 11 13 8 9 7 4 4 6 -2- Table of Contents - continued (To navigate this document, hold down the Ctrl button and click on hyperlink.) Outlook Files and Associated Extensions Undisclosed Recipients 35 36 -3- This page intentionally left blank. -4- Selecting Potential Folders for Archiving Obviously if a project has ended successfully or has been put on hold they are candidates for archiving. However, if the .pst file is over 500MB you should consider archiving folders. If the .pst file is approaching 2GB be wary of data loss. To see the size of folders and subfolders: 1. Click on Tools, 2. Select Mailbox Cleanup, Click on Click Here (first button at top). Scroll through window to view size of all folders and subfolders. Archiving a Single Folder (this example assumes everything in folder will be archived) 1. 2. 3. 4. Click on File, then choose Archive. Make sure the second option, Archive this folder and all subfolders: is checked. In the selection window, navigate to the folder you wish to archive (save offline). Once folder selection is made (remember any subfolders will be archived) activate Date Navigator by clicking on the down arrow next to the Date Navigator box for Archive items older than:. Select tomorrow’s date. If you use “Do Not AutoArchive” features, click the checkbox next to Include items with “Do not AutoArchive” checked. Select the path and file name to save the archive file to by using the browse button for Archive file:. Browse to folder first but remember to change the name of the archive file. Please note the archived file will have the same extension as your e-mail file, .pst. Click on OK. By entering tomorrow’s date you will receive a message window and asked if you want to continue. If you have correctly entered the information, click on Yes. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. After the contents of the folder (and all subfolders) have been archived (saved to file), you will notice a Archive Folders item appearing in your Folder List. To rename this for future reference, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Right-click on the Archive Folder. Click on Advanced… In the Name: text box enter the name of the top-level folder just archived. Click Apply. Click OK. Click Apply. Click OK. -5- To close the archived file: 1. Right-click on the item in the Folder List. For example, if you named the archived file “Test” in the previous steps, right-click on Test and choose Close “Test”. To open the archived file at a later date: 1. Click on File, click on Open, choose Outlook Data File. 2. Navigate to the Test.pst file and double-click on it. 3. The Test file will appear in the Folder List. -6- Optimizing Outlook E-mail file (.pst) After archiving folders the size and efficiency of the .pst file can be reduced and increased respectively. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Click on File, choose Data File Management. In the Data Files window, click on a file (all these should appear in your Folder List). Click on Settings. Click on Compact Now. Click on OK. Repeat steps 2 through 5 above for any other Data Files or click Close. Please Note: Depending upon the size of the contents you archived, the above process could take a long time. If there are many and/or large attachments in the e-mails archived, the process could take an hour. -7- Setting Up A Rule The following steps set up a single rule to play an audio file when receiving an e-mail. Create a folder in your Folder List under Inbox: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click on Inbox in Folder List, Click on Tools in menu, Choose Folder, Choose New Folder, Type in Name of Folder; for the rules discussed below enter Project C4203. Set up a single Rule to move all incoming mail to Project C4203 Folder 1. Click on Inbox in Folder List. 2. Choose Tools from Menu, 3. Then choose Rules Wizard… 4. Click on New button, 5. Click Start from a blank rule radio button. 6. Make sure Check messages when they arrive is highlighted in upper window. 7. Click Next, 8. Click on the checkbox with specific words in the subject or body. 9. In the lower window, click on specific words, 10. Type Project C4203 (name of folder previously setup), 11. Click Add, 12. Click Next, 13. Click checkbox move it to the specified folder, 14. In the lower window, click on specified, 15. Navigate to the folder your set up previously, Project C4203 in this example 16. Click OK, 17. Click Next, 18. Click Next again if there are no exceptions, 19. Before clicking Finish review choices; you may want to apply to existing e-mails. Depending upon Exchange Server configuration and if Inbox for personal folder was selected in steps above, an interim message related to particular configuration may appear; rules can be set up on server or client. 20. Click OK. -8- Organize Outlook Messages By Sender To quickly and easily organize the messages in your Outlook Inbox according to who sent them, on the View menu, point to Current View, and then click By Sender. Now, your messages display in a list grouped by sender. -9- Sort by Multiple Columns Sorting by a single column in Outlook is a simple matter of clicking on the column head. Sorting by multiple columns, however, is not so obvious. But it's actually quite easy. First, sort by the first criterion, such as From, by clicking on the column head. Then hold the Shift key down as you click on a second heading, such as Received. Your messages will be sorted primarily by sender, and all the messages from each sender will be ordered chronologically. You can even add additional columns to sort by. Outlook will sort your messages by each additional criterion within the earlier criteria to give you a multicolumn sort. - 10 - Add a Desktop Shortcut to Frequent Recipients 1. 2. 3. 4. Navigate to your desktop. Right-click on any open area of the desktop. Click on New, the choose Shortcut. Enter the mailto: followed by the recipient’s e-mail address (or use one of the following possible combinations found below). 5. Click on Next. 6. Enter the recipient’s full name, nick name, distribution list, etc. 7. Click on Finish. Possible combinations include: mailto:recipient@email? cc=recipient@email.com mailto:recipient@email? bcc=recipient@email.com mailto:recipient@email? subject=Test mailto:recipient@email? body=Test - 11 - Automatically Address an E-mail Message If you send e-mail to the same people frequently, you can automate the process of creating and addressing the message. With Microsoft Outlook®, you can add a custom toolbar button that lists the people to whom you send e-mail most often. Then, with one click, you can create a new message that's addressed to the person you want to send it to. And, if you regularly send e-mail with the same subject line, such as a weekly report, you can also create a message that has the subject line filled in. There are two parts to creating a custom list of recipients. First, create the toolbar button. Then, add the e-mail addresses and subject lines to it. Create a custom toolbar button 1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Commands tab. 2. In the Categories list, click New Menu. 3. In the Commands list, click New Menu and drag it to the toolbar. When the pointer looks like an I-beam, release the mouse button. 4. On the toolbar, right-click the New Menu button, and in the Name box on the shortcut menu, type a name for the new toolbar button. Add e-mail addresses and subject lines 1. In the Categories list mentioned in step 2 above, click File. 2. In the Commands list, click Mail Message and drag it to the custom menu button that you added to the toolbar. When you rest the pointer over the custom button, a gray box appears. Drop the Mail Message command onto the gray box. (If you are adding a subsequent command, no gray box will appear. Drop the command onto the most recent command you added.) If you want to use a different icon, choose the command from the Commands list that has the icon you want. For example, if you add a distribution list, you can use the Distribution List command to get the distribution list icon. - 12 - 3. On the toolbar, right-click the Mail Message command, and in the Name box on the shortcut menu, type a name for the person, distribution list, or alias you're assigning to the command. 4. Then, on the shortcut menu, point to Assign Hyperlink, and then click Open. 5. Under Link to, click E-mail Address. 6. In the E-mail address box, enter the e-mail address of the person, distribution list, or alias you want to assign to the command. If you want this automatically addressed message to also have a standard subject line, such as Status Report, type it in the Subject box. Repeat these steps for each person, group, or standard subject line you want to add to the button. - 13 - Send an Office Document Without Opening Outlook Ever need to get that important Word document to your boss in a hurry? Here's how you can do it without even opening Outlook. 1. On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click Mail Recipient (as Attachment). 2. Fill in the Receipts, Subject, and message boxes and click Send. Or if you have Word: 1. On the Standard toolbar, click E-mail. 2. In the To and Cc boxes, enter the recipient names separated by semicolons. 3. By default, the name of the document appears in the Subject box. If you want, you can type your own subject name. 4. Click Send a Copy. Using this tip is a lot easier than going into Outlook, creating a new message, and browsing for the attachment on your hard drive. Please Note: This tip also works in Excel and PowerPoint. - 14 - Distributing Calendar Appointment Files 1. Click on Calendar under appropriate folder in Folder List. 2. Click on New icon in toolbar. 3. Enter data as you would in setting up any Appointment or Meeting: Subject, Location, Start/End Date/Time, check Reminder and set Reminder timer. 4. From menu choose File, 5. Click on Save As…, 6. Navigate using Explorer window to path where file will be saved, 7. Choose vCalendar Format (*.vcs) in Save as type drop-down menu, Alternatively, iCalendar Format (*.ics) can also be chosen as Save as type) 8. Click on Save. Such files can be posted to web sites or attached to an e-mail to be forwarded to people that might have been overlooked or not part of a distribution list. The files only need to be opened (clicked on) for the information in the file to populate a New Appointment template. User then only needs to click on Save and Close to put appointment in Calendar. Please Note: Both file formats, .vcs and .ics, can be edited with with any text editor. - 15 - Turning On/Off AutoComplete E-mail Addresses 1. 2. 3. 4. On the Tools menu, click Options. Then click the E-mail Options button on the Preferences property sheet. Click on the Advanced E-mail Options button. Check or uncheck the Suggest names while completing To, Cc and Bcc fields. After typing the first three characters in either field a list (if more than 1 item contains first three characters) will appear showing possible choices. To remove one address from the list so that it won't be suggested again, open a new message and begin typing in the address. Use the up and down arrow keys to select the address to be removed from the addresses suggested. When the address to be removed is highlighted, hit the Delete key. To correct a single auto-complete entry add a second entry that uses the same first three letters as the original, and then delete the incorrect entry. In a new e-mail message, in the To box, type the correct name (the first three letters must be the same as the old incorrect one). In the CC box, type the first three letters of the recipient to reveal the auto-correct name list with both entries now showing. Use the arrow keys to move the selection to the incorrect entry, and then press the Delete key. To remove all the saved addresses, delete the .NK2 file where Outlook stores them. The file is normally located in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook folder for each Outlook profile. Some of these folders are hidden so you will need to turn on the unhide file feature to in Windows Explorer to see them (Click Tools, select Folder Options, select the View tab, the click Show Hidden Files and Folders button under Hidden Files and Folders). - 16 - Use vCards to Send Your Business Contact Information Outlook supports the use of vCards, the Internet standard for creating and sharing virtual business cards. By adding a vCard to your e-mail signature, you can include your business contact information with each e-mail message you send. If you receive a vCard and would like to save the information it contains, simply double-click it, and it will open as a contact item that you can easily save to your Contacts folder. To include a vCard with your e-mail signature: 1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab. 2. Under Signature, click Signatures, and then click New. 3. Select the options you want, and then click Next. Under vCard options, select a vCard from the list or click New vCard from Contact. - 17 - Add Contacts Quickly If you receive an e-mail message from a person whom you want to add to your Outlook contact list, here's a quick way to do it: 1. Open the e-mail message that contains the name you want to add to your contact list. 2. In the From box, right-click the name you want to make into a contact, and then click Add to Contacts on the Shortcut menu. This creates a new contact with that person's name and e-mail address already filled in. You can also fill in any additional information you have about that person, such as a phone or fax number, and then save it in your Contacts folder for easy access. - 18 - Give E-mail a Fresh Look in Outlook If you use HTML as your new message format in Outlook, you can use stationery to change the background and fonts used in the message. First, make sure you are using HTML as your default message format. To do this: 1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab. 2. In the Send in this message format list, select HTML, and click OK. Now, whenever you want to use stationery to give your e-mail a custom look: 1. Click Inbox. 2. On the Actions menu, point to New Mail Message Using, and then click More Stationery. 3. In the Select a Stationery box, select the one you want to use and click OK. - 19 - Create a Meeting Request with a Contact To quickly schedule a meeting with an Outlook contact or members of a distribution list: 1. Open your Contacts folder, and drag a contact or distribution list onto the Calendar icon on your Outlook Shortcuts bar. This will automatically create a new meeting request addressed to the person or group. 2. Enter start and end times for your meeting, and select any other options you want. Then click Send. Please Note: You can also drag contacts into your Inbox to create new messages addressed to them or into your Tasks folder to assign them a task. - 20 - Forward Outlook Contacts to Others Here's a quick way to send one of your colleagues or friends a contact from your Contacts folder: 1. In your Contacts folder, right-click the contact you want to send, and then choose Forward from the shortcut menu. Outlook will automatically create a new message with that contact included as an attachment. 2. Enter the recipient's address. Then fill in any other information you want, and click Send. When your e-mail message arrives, the recipient simply drags the attached contact to the Contacts icon on the Outlook Shortcuts bar and the contact will be added to that person's Contacts list. - 21 - Drag Addresses Between To, Cc, and Bcc Fields in Outlook When composing or replying to an e-mail message in Outlook, you can easily rearrange the names of the people receiving the message by dragging their e-mail addresses between the To, Cc, and Bcc address fields. Just select the name or names you want to move and drag them into the destination field. Please Note: If you have errant semicolons in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, you can remove all them by pressing ALT+K. - 22 - Double-Click to Create a New Message in Outlook Here's a fast way to create a new e-mail message in Outlook: Double-click a blank area of the Inbox and a new message will automatically open up. Please Note: This tip also works in the blank areas of the Contacts, Tasks, and Notes folders. - 23 - Display Week Numbers in the Outlook Date Navigator 1. On the Tools menu, click Options. 2. Then click the Calendar Options button on the Preferences property sheet. 3. In the Calendar Options panel, click the checkbox next to Show Week Numbers in the Date Navigator. 4. Then click OK. The week numbers will now appear next to the first day of the week in the Date Navigator. - 24 - Printing Envelopes Using Outlook 1. In Outlook, open your list of contacts, and then click the contact card that you want to print. 2. On the Actions menu, click New Letter to Contact. Word starts, and the Letter Wizard appears. 3. Click Finish. The wizard adds the contact information to a new, blank document. 4. On the Tools menu in Word, point to Letters and Mailings and then click Envelopes and Labels. 5. As needed, set the options provided by the Envelopes and Labels dialog box and then print your envelope. - 25 - Preview Messages Without Sending Read Receipt When you get a new message in Outlook, the sender and subject (along with other information) appear in bold type. When you click on the message, the text remains bold until you switch to a different message. You can change the way Outlook handles this display. 1. On the Tools menu, click Options. 2. Click on the Other tab, then click on the Preview Pane option. 3. By default, Mark item as read when selection changes is checked. Uncheck this, and leave unchecked, Mark messages as read in preview window. 4. If you choose, in the field beside Wait, tell Outlook how long you want the message to appear in bold type. If you want the bold to disappear as soon as you click on the message, type 0 (zero). Note that this option works only if you have the Preview Pane feature toggled on (View | Preview Pane) and you have checked Mark messages as read in preview window. - 26 - Assign Tasks to Coworkers To assign a task to a coworker, open it, then select Assign Task from the Task menu. In the email message that appears, type the appropriate e-mail address (or click on the To button to choose a contact). To track progress on the task, check the box labeled Keep an Updated Copy of this Task on my Task List. To request that you be notified when the task is complete, check the box labeled Send Me a Status Report when this Task Is Complete. Add any notes you want to attach to the task, then click on the Send button. - 27 - Use Keyboard Shortcuts Once you discover keyboard shortcuts, you may find it tough to use your computer without them. Here are three important keyboard shortcuts that you can use to manage e-mail messages in your Outlook Inbox:    Press CTRL + D to delete the current e-mail message. Press CTRL + R to reply to the current e-mail message. Press CTRL + F to forward the current e-mail message. You can also manage junk e-mail in your Outlook 2002 Inbox with the following keyboard shortcuts. If the Junk E-mail feature hasn't been enabled in Outlook, perform the following steps first: 1. On the Tools menu, click Organize and then click Junk E-Mail. 2. Set options for handling junk mail and/or adult content messages, and then click Turn on. You can now use the following shortcuts to manage your junk e-mail:   Press ALT + A, J, J to add the current e-mail message's sender to your Junk Senders List. Press ALT + A, J, A to add the current e-mail message's sender to your Adult Content Senders List. After running one of these commands, press CTRL + D to delete the current e-mail message. - 28 - Accessing Address Books and Recipients If a program tries to reference any type of recipient information by using the Outlook object model, a dialog box is displayed that asks you to confirm access to this information. You can allow access to the Address Book or recipient information for up to ten minutes after you receive the dialog box. This allows features, such as mobile device synchronization, to be completed. If you decide not to allow access to your Address Book or recipient information, you receive the E_FAIL return code for all of these messages in the C or C++ programming languages. You receive the confirmation dialog box when a solution tries to programmatically access the following features of the Outlook object model:    The AddressEntries collection or any AddressEntry object. The Recipients collection or any Recipient object. The following properties of a ContactItem object: Email1.Address Email1.AddressType Email1.DisplayName Email1.EntryID Email2.Address Email2.AddressType Email2.DisplayName Email2.EntryID Email3.Address Email3.AddressType Email3.DisplayName Email3.EntryID NetMeetingAlias ReferredBy  The following properties of a MailItem object: SentOnBehalfOfName SenderName ReceivedByName ReceivedOnBehalfOfName ReplyRecipientNames To Cc Bcc  The following properties of a AppointmentItem object: Organizer RequiredAttendees - 29 - OptionalAttendees Resources NetMeetingOrganizerAlias  The following properties of a TaskItem object: ContactNames Contacts Delegator Owner StatusUpdateRecipients StatusOnCompletionRecipients        The GetMember method of a DistListItem object. The ContactNames property of a JournalItem object. The SenderName property of a MeetingItem object. The SenderName property of a PostItem object. The GetRecipientFromID property of a Namespace object. The Execute method of an Action object. The Formula property of a UserProperty object. - 30 - How to Back Up, Restore, or Move Outlook Data (Q287070) The information in this article applies to:  Microsoft Outlook 2002 SUMMARY This article describes how to back up data that you created in Outlook 2002 including messages, contacts, appointments, tasks, notes, and journal entries. Outlook stores data in Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) folders. MAPI folders can be stored in a file on your hard disk called a personal folders (.pst) file, or if you are using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server, the data can be stored in a mailbox on the server. This article covers the following topics:       How to make a backup copy of a personal folders (.pst) file. How to export personal folders (.pst) file data. How to import personal folders (.pst) file data. How to back up data on a Microsoft Exchange Server. How to back up Personal Address Books. How to back up Outlook Settings Files. When you back up data that you created in Outlook, you can restore the data if it is ever lost or damaged due to a hardware failure or other unexpected events. It also allows you to move or transfer the data to a different hard disk on the same computer or on a different computer by backing up the data from the original hard disk, and then restoring it to the new hard disk. MORE INFORMATION How to Make a Backup Copy of a Personal Folders (.pst) File If you are not using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server, Outlook stores all of its data in a personal folders (.pst) file. If you want to back up or export a particular folder, such as a Contacts or a Calendar folder, use the steps in the, "How to Import and Export Personal Folders (.pst) File Data" section in this article. Use the following steps to back up the entire personal folders (.pst) file: - 31 - 1. Close any message-related programs such as Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, or Windows Messaging. 2. Click Start , point to Settings , and then click Control Panel . 3. Double-click the Mail icon. 4. Click the Show Profiles button. 5. Click the appropriate profile, and then click Properties 6. Click the Data Files button. 7. Click the Personal Folders Service that you want to back up. By default, the this service is called Personal Folders , however it may have been named something else. NOTE : You may have more than one Personal Folders service in your profile. If this is true, you must back up each set of personal folders (.pst) files separately. If there are not any Personal Folders services in your profile and you have been able to store information such as messages, contacts, or appointments in Outlook, then your information is most likely being stored in a mailbox on an Exchange Server. If this is true, see the "How to Back Up Data When You Use Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server" section in this article. If there are not any personal folders (.pst) files in the list of services and you are not storing information in an Exchange Server mailbox, you can only use Outlook can to browse files, and the features in Outlook that store data can not be used. If this is the case, there is not any data to backup. 8. Click Settings , and note the path and file name that is listed. NOTE : The personal folders (.pst) file contains all data stored in Outlook 2002, and it can be too large to place on a floppy disk. If this is true, use a CD-ROM Re-Writeable, a Zip drive, or a SyQuest drive. You can reduce the size of a personal folders (.pst) file when you click Compact Now . This is useful if you plan to back up the personal folders (.pst) file to a floppy disk. 9. Close all of the Properties windows. 10. Make a copy of the file you noted in step 5 by using Windows Explorer or My Computer . If you need to restore a personal folders (.pst) file from a removable media, such as a floppy disk drive, a Zip drive, a CD-ROM Re-Writeable drive, a magnetic tape drive, or any other storage media, copy the backup copy of the file that you created with the previous steps. You should do this from the storage media back to the computer hard disk, folder and name that you noted in step 5 of the previous steps. - 32 - How to Export Personal Folders (.pst) File Data Use the following steps to export an individual folder such as Contacts folder or a Calendar folder: 1. On the File menu, click Import And Export . If the menu item is not available, hover your pointer over the chevrons at the bottom of the menu, and then click Import and Export . 2. Click Export To File , and then click Next . 3. Click Personal Folder File (.pst) , and then click Next . 4. Click the folder that you want to export, and then click Next . 5. Click the Browse button, and then select the location to save the file. 6. In the File Name box, type a descriptive file name, and then click OK . 7. Click Finish . How to Import Personal Folders (.pst) File Data Use the following steps to import a personal folders (.pst) file into Outlook: 1. On the File menu, click Import And Export . If the menu item is not available, hover your pointer over the chevrons at the bottom of the menu, and then click Import and Export . 2. Click Import from another program or file. , and then click Next . 3. Click Personal Folder File (.pst) , and then click Next . 4. Type the path and the name of the personal folders (.pst) file that you want to import, and then click Next . 5. Select the folder that you want to import, or select the top of the hierarchy to import everything, and then click Finish . How to Back Up Data On a Microsoft Exchange Server When Outlook information is stored on an Exchange Server, it is typically backed up at the server. For more information about how to back up or restore information that is stored on an Exchange Server, contact your Exchange Server administrator. If you use Outlook with Exchange Server, you can choose to have Outlook store information on the Exchange Server or in a set of personal folders (.pst) file on your hard disk. Use the following steps to determine where Outlook currently stores your data. 1. On the Tools menu, click Email Accounts - 33 - 2. Click View or Change Existing Email Accounts , and then click Next . 3. Verify the Deliver new mail to the following location. option. If the option contains the word "Mailbox" followed by an e-mail name, Outlook stores data in folders on the Exchange Server. If the field contains the words Personal Folder or another name of a set of personal folders (.pst) file, Outlook stores new messages, contacts, appointments, and such in the personal folders (.pst) file on your hard disk. If your data is being stored in a set of personal folders (.pst) file on your hard disk, and you want to back up the data, see the "How to Make a Back Up Copy of a Personal Folders (.pst) File" section in this article. How to Back Up Personal Address Books Although contact information can be kept either in an Exchange Server mailbox or personal folders (.pst) file, and is accessed through the Outlook Address Book, the Personal Address Book creates a file that is stored on your hard disk. To assure that this address book is backed up, you must include any files with the .pab extension in your backup process. Use the following steps to locate your Personal Address Book file: 1. If you are running Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98: Click Start , point to Find , and then click Files or Folders . If you are running Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me): Click Start , point to Search , and then click For Files or Folders . 2. Type *.pab , click My Computer in the Look In box, and then click Find Now . Note the location of the .pab file, and include it in your backup. If you need to restore this address book either to the same computer or a different computer, use the following steps: 1. Close any message-related programs such as Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, or Windows Messaging. 2. Click Start , point to Settings , and then click Control Panel . 3. Double-click the Mail icon. 4. Click the Show Profiles button. 5. Click the appropriate profile, and then click Properties 6. Click the Email Accounts button. 7. Click Add a New Directory or Address Book , and then click Next - 34 - 8. Click Additional Address Books , and then click Next . 9. Click Personal Address Book , and then click Next . 10. Type the path and the name of the Personal Address Book file that you want to restore, click Apply , and then click OK . 11. Click Close , and click then OK . For additional information about how to configure profiles and services, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q289467 OL2002: (CW) User Profiles and Information Services How to Automate the Back Up of Personal Folders (.pst) Files with the Personal Folder Backup Utility Microsoft has released a utility to automate the backup of your personal folders (.pst) file. The utility can be downloaded from the following Microsoft Web site: http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/pfbackup.aspx For additional information about the Personal Folder Backup utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q238782 OL2000: How to Automatically Backup Your Personal Folders File How to Back Up Outlook Settings Files If you have customized settings that you want to replicate on another computer by using Outlook, you may want to include the following files in your back up as well as the personal folders (.pst) file:   Outcmd.dat - This file stores toolbar and menu settings. < Profile Name >.fav - This is your Favorites file that includes the settings for the Outlook bar. < Profile Name >.htm - This file stores the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) autosignature. < Profile Name >.rtf - This file stores the Microsoft Outlook Rich Text Format (RTF) Autosignature. < Profile Name >.txt - This file stores the plain text format Autosignature. < Profile Name >.nk2 - This file stores the NickNames for AutoComplete.     NOTE : If you use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, signatures are stored in the Normal.dot file as Autotext entries. You should back up this file also. Custom views are integrated to the folders on which they were created. If you export items from one personal folders (.pst) file to another, your custom views are not maintained. - 35 - Outlook Files and Associated Extensions Type of File Personal Folders Outlook Bar shortcuts Rules Wizard rules Nicknames Customized toolbar settings Customized system folder views Macros and VBA programs Signatures Stationary Templates Dictionary Stores a reference to which extensions (addins) you have loaded. Name or Extension .pst files .fav files .rwz files .nick files outcmd.dat Views.dat VbaProject.otm .rtf, .htm, and .txt files .htm files .oft files .dic files extend.dat files Undisclosed Recipients Have you ever wanted to send an email to a group of people -- but need to prevent the individuals in the group from seeing each other's email addresses? You can do this by sending an email to "undisclosed recipients". To do so:  Launch your email program, and click the button to create a new email message.  In the 'To' address field enter 'Undisclosed Recipients' followed by your e-mail address in braces [ ]. For example: 'Undisclosed Recipients ' Side note: If you leave the TO: field blank, the email may bounce as some service providers may filter mark the mail as spam.  In the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field, enter the e-mail addresses of those to whom you are sending the message. If you are entering the addresses manually (I.E.: you are not selecting email addresses from an address book), make sure you enter a semi-colon (;) between each email address. - 36 - Side note: If you use Outlook or Outlook Express and your BCC field is not present, you can reveal the BCC field by clicking View -> All Headers in your New Message window. - 37 -