Options Dialog Box in Outlook
Many of the settings that allow users to customize Outlook are found in the Options Dialog Box. This includes customizing Email, Calendar, Tasks and Contacts. Today's tip will show users the various views and options in the Options Dialog Box. This tip will show most of the dialog boxes accessible from the Options dialog Box, but provide only key information about them.
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Accessing the Options Dialog Box
While in the Inbox, click on Tools>Options. This will open the Options Dialog Box. Notice there are seven tabs across the top of the box. Each tab has several customization options on the screen that will appear when the user clicks on the tab. The tabs include "Preferences", "Mail Setup", "Mail Format", "Spelling", "Security", "Other", and "Delegates". Let's take a look at each tab and the settings available.
Preferences
On the Preferences tab, users can customize five Outlook tools.
The E-mail settings in this view are found by clicking on the Junk E-mail or E-mail Options buttons. Those dialog boxes are shown below.
The Calendar options allow users to set the reminder as a default...that is every time a new appointment or meeting is set, the reminder is turned on. The button for Calendar Options will bring up another dialog box which is shown below.
Tasks, like Calendar allows the user to set a default reminder time. There is also a Task Options button which brings up another dialog box which is shown below.
Contacts has two buttons and we'll take a look at those dialog boxes below.
Finally, Notes...there is a Note Options button and that is shown below as well.
Junk Email
Users can set email they receive as junk email by right clicking on the message and blocking the sender or setting the sender as safe. This dialog box gives users access to those lists of sends for editing. The different tabs relate to how junk mail is marked.
Email Options
Key points about this dialog box include how messages are handles and whether or not the original message is included in a reply or forward. But more importantly the two buttons, Advanced E-mail Options and Tracing Options need review.
Advanced Email Options
Here users can set how often unsent messages are AutoSaved. This is also the screen that allows users to set what kind of notification is given when new messages arrive. This includes sounds, an envelope in the notification area, and the Desktop Alert. This is the item that appears on the lower right of the screen when a new message arrives.
To change settings for the Desktop Alert, click on the Desktop Alert Settings button. If the Desktop Alert is annoying, turn it off by un checking the box.
Tracking Options
In the Tracking Options dialog box, there is one area that can be misused at times. Some users have put check-marks in the "For all messages I send, request: Read receipt" or "Deliver receipt" boxes. A check in one or both of these boxes will require the recipients of every message a user sends to mark a request for receipt dialog. This can get very annoying. That is why there is another location in Outlook to do this on a message by message basis. It will be covered in the Tip next week.
Calendar Options
The Calendar Options dialog box gives users the option of setting their calendar view and color. The Free/Busy Option button is important for UWEX users. This allows users to determine how many months out their availability is shown when folks are scheduling meetings using meeting request. On the screen that comes up the default setting is 3 months, however for most folks 6-12 months makes more sense. UWC has this area grayed out, and set to 12 months, so UWC users don't need to worry about this option.
Task Options
The Task Options dialog box allows users to set colors for tasks that are overdue and completed. It also gives users the option of what to do with tasks and which ones to display in the Task Folder.
Contact Options
The Contact Options dialog box allows users to set the order in which names are listed in Contacts, by default.
Journal Options
This controls how the Journaling feature works in Outlook. This is an advanced feature of Outlook and will be left to another CTOW.
Note Options
Default colors and size settings are available for Notes in this dialog box, as well as setting a default font for Notes.
Mail Setup Tab
This tab is usually of more interest to our IT folks than the typical user. The one item users might want to look at is the Send/Receive setting. Make sure it is checked so mail is sent immediately.
Mail Format Tab
On this tab, there are a couple items to look at. First, users can use HTML or Word as their editor in Outlook. If a user chooses to use Word, then some of the menus look different and buttons have different options in the new message window.
Stationary takes up a lot of storage space on the server, so using stationary is debatable.
One of the first things a new user should do is create a signature. It really helps recipients of the user's email know who sent the email.
Spelling Tab
On this tab, the arrow points at one of the most useful settings, "Always check spelling before sending".
Users should take a close look at the other settings to see if they want them checked or not.
The Auto Correct button can be experimented with to make sure Outlook doesn't correct words that are correct. Sometimes Outlook likes to try to think for the user.
Security Tab
The Security Tab is one that will be dealt with in a separate CTOW in the future. If users have questions about this tab, check out Microsoft Office Online.
Other Tab
This tab has several settings that are often hard to find, as this doesn't make sense as the place to find these settings. For each of the buttons outlined in Red, the dialog box they open will be shown below.
The red arrow has to do with showing the smart tag next to a person's name in a received email in the reading pane. By right clicking on it, users have lots of information available, and can easily add the individual to the contacts folder.
Navigation Pane Options
This dialog box allows the user to set the order the buttons that open the various Outlook Folders. These buttons are in the lower left navigation pane. Users can also uncheck those tools they don't use, which is the case for me with the Journal.
Advanced General Options
In this dialog box, users can set which folder to have Outlook startup in. The default is the Inbox, many use Outlook Today, but the Calendar or Contacts Folders could be selected as well.
Take a look at the other settings in the General Settings section to see if any need to be checked or un-checked.
Appearance Options gives users options for how things will look in Outlook.
The one button at the bottom that might be of interest is the "Reminder Options" button. Users can select a different sound for reminders and whether or not the reminder is displayed.
Reading Pane Options
The settings here are for determining when items in the Inbox are marked as "read".
Delegates Tab
The Delegates Tab is used to set up permissions for other users to have various levels of access to other users Mailbox. There is a past CTOW that explains this in detail. Check out Delegates and Permissions in Outlook.
There is a lot of information in this tip, which demonstrates how important it is for users to familiarize themselves with the Options Dialog Box. Come back to this tip when you can't seem to find how to change a setting. It will probably be here!