A Step by Step Guide to Use

Outlook/Hotmail

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Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3 Getting Started ..................................................................................................... 4 Features ............................................................................................................... 8

Email features: ........................................................................................................... 8 Contacts features ..................................................................................................... 13 Calendar features ..................................................................................................... 16 Journal features ....................................................................................................... 22 Notes features.......................................................................................................... 27

Add-ins ............................................................................................................... 28 Useful Shortcuts ................................................................................................. 29

Navigating the Outlook Toolbar ............................................................................... 29 Managing Mail ......................................................................................................... 29 Managing Contacts .................................................................................................. 30 Managing Calendar .................................................................................................. 30 Managing Journal ..................................................................................................... 30 Managing Tasks ........................................................................................................ 30

Troubleshooting in Outlook ................................................................................ 31 Outlook for Smartphones .................................................................................... 32

Outlook Web App for iPhone ................................................................................... 33

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Introduction Microsoft Outlook is a multifaceted management tool for the modern individual. It

allows individuals – professionals and others – to manage communication as well as

private information. Microsoft Outlook works with an individual’s email account – for

example, it can be linked to your Hotmail account – allowing the user to manage

contacts, send and receive emails, set up appointments and manage a calendar and

keep a record of pending as well as completed tasks.

According to statistics, about 20% of the time spent on smartphones is allocated to

the management of emails. In addition, a considerable amount of time is spent

managing emails via personal computers as well as tablets. Outlook has been designed

so that it is synced across all devices that an individual uses. As a result, emails are

accessible anytime and anywhere.

In today’s world, social media has become an important primary mode of

correspondence between individuals and Outlook is designed so that this requirement

is given sufficient attention. To this end, an Outlook account comes with built-in access

to social media accounts. That is, the updates shared by one’s contacts on their social

media are automatically shared with the Outlook user. At the same time, Outlook

ensures that the user has complete control over his or her privacy and can choose

what to share with others on social media.

Outlook makes sure that the process of checking emails is smooth and free of

unwanted promotions and spam. It automatically sorts through different kinds of

emails, allowing the user to give sufficient time to each section without wasting time

looking for specific emails or being distracted by spam. Most of all, Outlook ensures

that the user’s privacy is maintained, by not forwarding private information to other

companies and also by not imposing advertisements in the emails.

Outlook is an update to the Hotmail server, and is accessible via personal computers,

tablets, and smartphones.

Outlook Web App Outlook for Mac Outlook for Windows

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Getting Started In order to begin benefitting from the services that are offered on Outlook, simply

download the desktop application or go to www.outlook.com and sign in. If you are a

new user, you can register for a new email account. However, if you are an existing

user of Hotmail, you do not need to create a new email account on Outlook. All you

need to do is simply log in with your Hotmail credentials, and all of your information

will be transferred onto the Outlook platform. If you already have a Hotmail account,

you are strongly advised to log onto Outlook with the Hotmail account in order to have

a smooth transition to a new platform.

Once you have logged into Outlook.com using your Hotmail credentials, you have the

option of creating a new @outlook.com email address. Remember, this is optional. If

you choose not to create the new alias, you can still continue using Outlook with your

Hotmail credentials. If you do choose to change to an @outlook.com email address,

follow these instructions: log in to Outlook.com, and then click on Options cog in the

top right corner of the window.

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Next, click on “More Mail Settings.” Under “Managing your account,” you will see an

option that reads, “Create an Outlook alias.”

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Click this option and you will be taken to a window that allows you to choose an email

address that ends with @outlook.com. Once this is done, you will be able to choose

whether emails addressed to this new alias go to the main inbox folder, or to a new

folder that you can name.

On the Outlook desktop application, you must first familiarize yourself with the

Outlook toolbar and the corresponding sections on the ribbon below the toolbar:

Outlook is also available on smartphones such as iPhone, Android and Windows

Phone. On Windows Phone, you can access Outlook by going to “Start,” swiping left

on the Apps list, tapping “Settings” and then tapping “Email and Accounts.” Next, click

on “Add an account” and after selecting Outlook, enter your credentials in order to

log in. If you are using an iOS-supported device, you can access Outlook via two

methods. First, you can download the Outlook Web App from the App Store.

Once installed, you can tap “Get Started” and select the account that you wish to add.

If you do not wish to download the Outlook application, you can still use your account.

Simply go to Settings, tap “Mail, Contacts, Calendar,” tap “Add account” and select

Hotmail. Enter your credentials, and after selecting the services, you want to sync onto

your phone, tap “Save”.

If your smartphone is supported by Android, you can set up Outlook by searching for

Outlook in the Google Play store. Once installed, select “Get started,” select the

account, you wish to add, and sign in with your credentials. If you are unable to

download the Outlook application on your Android phone, you can follow a different

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set of steps: tap “Email,” then tap “Add account.” Enter your Outlook credentials and

then select “Manual setup.” When you see the prompt, “What type of account is

this?” select “Exchange.” Leave the “Domain” field blank, and enter your credentials

in the relevant fields. Make sure that the “Use secure connection” option is selected,

and then select “Next.” After choosing your account settings, select “Next” again. Your

Outlook account is now ready to be used.

Remember that you can also access Outlook from your phone’s web browser, by

simply going to www.outlook.com.

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Features There are four central management and productivity features that are offered by

Outlook: email, contacts, calendar and tasks. Additional features include a journal as

well as a notes section. Although these features may appear banal at first, the more

advanced features that follow these basic features ensure that the users of Outlook

are satisfied with the smooth and streamlined management that the platform

provides.

Email features:

For use in corporations, Outlook can be connected to the Microsoft Exchange server

in order to achieve optimum functionality. For use at home, Outlook can connect to

the standard mail servers using IMAP or POP3 protocols.

If you use the Outlook for Windows application on your desktop, you will be asked to

sign in with your credentials first.

On the basic level, Outlook’s email feature allows users to create messages, attach

files or messages to an email, and create distribution lists. In order to create a

message, simply click “New” and enter recipient names in the To, CC, or BCC boxes,

making sure that email addresses are separated by a semi-colon. Write the subject in

the Subject box, and after writing the email message, click send. You can also select

special sending options, such as assigning an importance level, setting a time limit on

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the availability of the email message, and deliver email at a delayed time. In order to

insert a file, simply click “Insert File” and choose the intended file, or simply drag the

document you intend to attach into the body of the email. Finally, in order to create a

distribution list, go to File, click New, and select “Distribution List.” Name this list, and

add the contacts you wish to include in this list. The list is then saved into the contacts

tab, under the name that you give it.

Advanced features are also included in the email section. With Message Recall, you

can recall messages that have not been read yet by recipients. You can also edit these

messages and send them again.

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The Message Tracking feature allows you to know when your message has been

received and read by the recipient. You can set the tracking features in the original

message, before sending it.

You can also make permanent settings by going to Options and then Mail.

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You can also include a multiple-choice question in the original message and then tally

and analyze the responses. Another unique feature is that of work delegation,

whereby an individual can assign permission to another individual to manage, send

and receive emails on the account owner’s behalf. A useful feature, known as Out of

Office Assistant, can be activated when the user is expected to be unavailable for a

given period of time. This way, those attempting to get in touch with this particular

user can wait without having to worry about the receipt of their emails.

Information protection is a vital feature on Outlook email. In this regard, the

encryption services allow the user to make sure that the message body is only visible

to the individual addressed in the email, and no one else can view the information.

The Sweep feature on Outlook emails is another useful inbox management tool. It

allows the user to clean up the inbox with one click. Open a message from the sender

whose messages you want to clean up, and click “Sweep” in the toolbar. Once this

feature is enabled, you can choose the standard operating procedures.

Four choices are available: only keep latest messages from a sender, delete messages

older than ten days, move messages older than ten days to a particular folder of your

choice, or stop cleaning up a sender’s messages. You can simply check the box that

corresponds with your needs, and you are set to use the Sweep feature. This way, your

inbox will not be clogged up by unwanted or outdated emails.

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In order to further rationalize the management of Outlook users’ inbox, the Instant

Actions feature is quite useful. With this feature, you can flag a spam email without

having to open it, and you can also flag important emails to be read when you are not

preoccupied with something else. To activate this feature, go to the Outlook toolbar,

select Settings, and then select “More email settings.” Under “Customizing Outlook”,

you will see an option called “Instant Actions.” Make sure the “show Instant Actions”

box is checked. By default, you can categorize an email as read or unread, and delete

the email; the options emerge when you hover the mouse over the email notification.

Clicking on “Add actions” and selecting the options that are given in the drop-down

menu can add additional actions.

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Contacts features

Having a detailed contacts list in Outlook is useful for a number of reasons. For

starters, with a proper list of contacts, you will not have to spend time memorizing

and/or typing individual email addresses. If you set up your address book as a priority

upon beginning the use of Outlook, your user experience of the application will be

more fulfilling.

In order to set up your contacts list, you can either import the details from your

Hotmail email account, or you can start a new contacts list from scratch. To set up a

list from scratch, go to the Outlook toolbar, and select “Home.” You will then see an

icon labeled “People.” Then, click “New contact” and a window will appear. Here, you

can enter the relevant details of your contact. Once you are done, you can click either

“Save and Close” or “Save and New,” if you have more than one contact to add.

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Adding contacts one by one can be an arduous and time-consuming task. If you wish

to import contacts from your Hotmail account, you can select the “export contacts”

option and after making sure that you have selected the “save file” option, click “Ok.”

Next, go to Outlook, click “File” and then “Open.” Click “Import” and select the

relevant file that was exported from Hotmail. Follow the prompts and check the

relevant box that corresponds to the file, and once the process is done, click “Finish.”

Now your Hotmail contacts have been imported into your Outlook account.

Once your contacts list is set up, you can also create contact groups. This setting is

very helpful in cases where the same message has to be sent to a group of people. If,

instead, a contact group is addressed, communication can be quicker and easier.

To set up a Contact Group, go to the Outlook toolbar and go to “Home.” Click “New

Contact Group” and then name the group. Then, select “Add Members,” after which

you can either select “From Outlook Contacts” or just add contacts manually. Once

you have added the relevant contacts, click “OK.” The Group Contacts feature is very

versatile. Once created, you can email the whole group at once, add a personal note

about the group, or set up a meeting with only the members of a particular group.

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With Outlook, you have a considerable amount of control over how your contacts are

managed. In order to configure your contact options even further, go to “File” and

then “Options.” Select “People” and then follow the prompt that reads, “Change how

you work with contacts.” The options that are available allow you to decide the format

in which contacts’ names are presented, and whether or not photos from your

contacts’ social media are displayed.

Using Outlook, you can also connect to your social media accounts, including

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can add contacts from your social media

connections, manage your own social media content, and accept or deny requests

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from your Outlook account, without having to go to the social media platform in

question.

To manage social media, click “Settings” on the top right corner of your window and

then “more email settings.” Under “Reading email,” you will find “content from third-

party networks. Under “Showing additional content,” click “Manage connections.”

Now, you can discover what social media accounts are connected to your Outlook

account, and even configure settings that pertain to your privacy.

Calendar features

A key tenet of productivity is time management, and Outlook ensures that this tenet

is achieved by providing one of the most useful Calendar interfaces. With an Outlook

account, you can create as well as manage your calendars, schedule appointments,

create events, and even share this information with your contacts.

To begin, go to Calendar. The default view is set to a monthly calendar, and you can

choose a different view by going to the “Arrange” section in “Home.” You can switch

to a Work Week view, or a Week view. Once you have decided upon a view that suits

your needs, you can proceed to make specific changes to your calendar.

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There is a lot you can do in order to change the appearance of your calendar. In the

Outlook toolbar, go to “View” and select the appropriate feature you wish to edit. For

example, you can change the color of your calendar entries. You can also add other

views that stand by your main calendar’s side. You can open, for example, a to-do bar

that shows up to the right of the window. Here, you can view your daily to-do tasks

together with the time frame assigned to each task. You can also choose a daily view,

a task list supplement, and a reading view.

Setting up appointments with Outlook calendar is very simple. In the toolbar, click

“Appointment.” You can then enter the details such as the Subject, Location, Date and

Time, as well as a note that gives more detail about the appointment, directions, or

anything related to the appointment that you desire to add. If you wish to invite

people, then this appointment will have to be converted into a meeting; this is also an

easy task to perform. Simply click “Invite Attendees” from the Appointment toolbar,

and add the email addresses of the people you wish to invite. You can either type

addresses by hand, or you can select individuals from your address book.

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Once you have addressed the meeting to all attendees, you can create even more

options for your own convenience. For example, you can choose to request responses

from the invitees, or even allow new time proposals in case not all invitees can agree

on a given time. If you hover your mouse over the date of the meeting on your

calendar, the details of this meeting will show up. When you right-click in the box, a

set of available options will appear and you can then decide your course of action. You

can set up your own status (for example, you can set yourself up as “busy” for the

duration of the appointment or meeting), edit notes, add invitees, and even set

reminders.

Outlook allows users to not only create appointments and meetings, but also edit or

cancel existing meetings, and track the responses of the invitees. To move a meeting

or an appointment, simply open the event from your Calendar and after making the

necessary changes, click “Send update” so that your invitees can be updated about

changes in location and/or time. Once this update is sent, your invitees will have to

accept the invitation again, and you should therefore receive a confirmation from

them when they do respond to the updated details. In the toolbar, you can click

“Tracking” in order to view responses from the invitees. Acceptances as well as

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pending responses will show up. Finally, if for some reason you need to cancel a

meeting, you can simply do so by clicking “Cancel Meeting” in the toolbar. A

notification will be automatically sent to your invitees and you will not have to inform

each of them individually.

At times, a meeting or appointment is repeated over several weeks. In this case, you

can set up the “Recurrence” option from the Appointment ribbon so that you do not

need to add an appointment manually for each recurring week. A window will appear

when you click “Recurrence” and you can simply add the details as well as the

frequency of the meeting or appointment.

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Suppose you have an appointment and you need a particular document for the

duration of your appointment. You can attach this document to your appointment

page for easy access. Simply select “Insert” from the toolbar and from the ribbon that

opens up, select “Attach file” and select the relevant file. Now that the file has been

added to your appointment page, you will be able to open it easily. You can attach a

file as it is, as a hyperlink, or simply copy the text of the file into the appointment notes

page.

There are a number of changes that you can make to your personal Outlook calendar.

You can, for example, set your work hours, weeks, and days, change the time zone

and the temperature notation for the weather update, and you can also set a default

color for your calendar entries.

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Another important feature for Outlook calendars is that of sharing the calendar with

a co-worker or affiliate. In order to do this, go to the Home tab, find the section that

reads “Share” and click “Share Calendar.” A window will appear where you can add

the email addresses of the individuals you wish to share the calendar with. You can

then send this sharing update and also make changes to the calendar before doing so.

Once this is done, you as well as the individual or individuals you share the calendar

with, can manage and modify the calendar.

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Journal features

An important feature of the Outlook Journal is its ability to automatically record

certain forms of communication, all of which you can configure first. In order to turn

the Journal feature on, you must click the Journal icon in the Outlook toolbar, and click

“Yes” when prompted to turn the feature on. After this, a dialog box will appear where

you can manage the Journal settings that correspond to your needs. You can select

the kinds of events you want to be recorded. You can also choose to record emails,

meeting requests, and other events that people in your contacts list may have invited

you to. Once you have made the relevant selections in the dialog box, click “OK” in

order to proceed. The Journal will appear and it will be programmed to automatically

record the forms of correspondence you previously selected.

You can now view and access your communications without having to search for them

in your inbox.

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Tasks features

The Tasks features on Outlook provide a reliable user interface that ensures a to-do

list is not only maintained but also followed and completed.

To get started, open the Tasks view on Outlook’s Home tab. On the left hand side, you

will notice a list of options under “My Tasks”, namely “To-do list” and “Tasks.” If you

right click on “My Tasks” you can also create a unique folder of specific tasks. For

example, you can create a Home Tasks list and a Work Tasks list.

Once you select a folder, you can add a task by one of two methods: if you want to

add a quick task, you can simply click the box that says, “Type a new task,” or you can

click the “Task” icon on the ribbon. A bigger window will appear, where you can add

more details about your task. You can set due dates, reminders, and priorities as well

as any notes pertaining to the task at hand. Once these details are filled, you can click

the “Save and Close” icon, or you can make use of the other options available on the

ribbon. You can, for example, mark a task as “complete,” or you can assign the task to

other contacts.

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If a task is expected to occur regularly, you can set up a “Recurrence” setting so that

you don’t have to add the task manually every time it repeats.

When you have added a few tasks, you can go to the earlier window and view a list of

your tasks. You can make some basic edits to the list of tasks, but for more detailed

and particular changes, you will have to double click the task in question. A window

corresponding to the “Details” icon will appear, and here you can add further

information such as billing information, company information, and more.

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When you choose to mark a task as recurring, a dialog box will appear which will look

similar to the one that appears when a meeting or an appointment is set up as

recurring. Normally, a task will recur even if the task for the current week is not

completed. In order to avoid this, you can change the setting in the dialog box so that

the recurrence does not occur unless the current task is marked as completed.

In order to assign the task to someone else, go to the Management section in the

ribbon and select “Assign task.” You can either type in the contact’s email address, or

choose it from the address book that you have set up. The task will then be emailed

to them. You can also send a message with the task so that the recipient can

understand the specific details about the task. The recipient of the task will have the

option to either accept or decline the task that you have forwarded, and you will be

notified of their decision.

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Once a task has been completed, you can mark it as completed and choose to remove

it from the list. To mark a task as completed, you can simply click the red flag next to

the task in question. For other options, you can also right-click the task and choose

whatever option corresponds to your needs.

When the amount of tasks in your management window appears too overwhelming,

you can click “Change view” and view, for example, only those tasks that have been

completed, or you can view tasks that are overdue, or due soon. This allows better

visuals and management without the danger of overseeing or mistaking an incomplete

task as completed.

In order to make specific changes to how your Outlook Tasks experience is shaped,

you can go to “File” and then “Options,” where you can select “Tasks” and check the

relevant boxes in the dialog box. In this way, Outlook can help you ensure that your

productivity is optimized to the best possible level.

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Notes features

One final important feature provided by Outlook is that of Notes. These can be used

for a variety of reasons, for example, as quick reminders, or as important details from

a meeting that can be later reviewed and organized.

Working with Notes is simple. Go to Home on the Outlook toolbar, and in the “New”

section of the ribbon, select “Note.” A note resembling a sticky note or a post-it will

appear, and you can simply add the details you wish to add. The note will remain

floating on your desktop until you click the cross in the upper right corner. Even when

you have clicked the cross, the note will show up in the Notes section on Outlook.

You can choose the way in which your notes are arranged. For example, you can

organize them alphabetically, according to category, or according to the date, they

were created or modified. You can also change the color and size of your notes.

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Add-ins Outlook is compatible with Add-ins that help improve your user experience with

Outlook. To view and manage the Add-ins, go to Options and select Add-ins from the

drop-down menu. Four categories exist: Active Application Add-ins, Inactive

Application Add-ins, Document related Add-ins, and Disabled Application Add-ins. The

checked Add-ins are the ones installed and running on Outlook, whereas the Disabled

Add-ins are those that are installed but not loaded. You can manage the Add-ins that

are loaded by simply checking and unchecking the relevant boxes.

Some Add-ins exist in your Outlook program by default, while others can be

downloaded from third-party resources. The default Add-ins include Outlook Social

Connector, Exchange Unified Messaging, OneNote Notes about Outlook Items, and

Microsoft Exchange Add-in, among others.

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Useful Shortcuts Once you have set up the central features of Outlook to suit your needs, and once you

have become familiar with the management tools on offer, you can become even

more productive by employing some useful keyboard shortcuts. In the following

paragraphs, you will find keyboard shortcuts that correspond to different features on

the Outlook application.

Navigating the Outlook Toolbar

The first set of shortcuts is designed to assist you as you navigate around different

sections in the Outlook toolbar. Alt + A will open the Action drop-down menu. Alt + E

opens up the Edit drop-down menu. Alt + F opens the File drop-down menu. Alt + G

opens the Go drop-down menu. Alt + H opens the Help drop-down menu. Alt + I opens

the Find tool bar as well as the Insert drop-down menu. Alt + N opens the Accounts

drop-down menu. Alt + O opens the Format drop-down menu.

The same combination of keys, when pressed while Calendar is in use, will help you

switch to Today calendar view. Alt + T will open the Tools drop-down menu. Alt + V

will open the View drop-down menu. Pressing Ctrl and 6 will take you to the Folders

list, while Ctrl + 7 will take you to the Shortcuts. Ctrl + A allows you to select all of the

text at a given point. Ctrl + D deletes a selected item such as a contact or a Calendar

entry. Ctrl + O lets you open a file or a folder. Ctrl + P allows you to print an email

message, calendar entry, notes, or any other text. If you require further assistance

from the Outlook program, you can press F1 and an Outlook Help window will appear.

Finally, it is always a good idea to check your emails for spelling errors before

forwarding them to recipients, and F7 automatically activates spellcheck for your text.

Managing Mail

The second set of keyboard shortcuts corresponds to the composition and

management of emails. While writing your email, there are some shortcuts that can

help you navigate between fields without having to use the mouse. Alt + B opens the

Address Book within the BCC field, while Alt + C opens the Address Book within the CC

field selected. Alt + J takes you to the Subject field. In order to make sure that you

have addressed an email to the right individuals, you can press Alt + K. This will check

the names in the To, CC, or BCC fields so that they correspond to the Address Book.

This is particularly useful if you enter the email addresses manually in the first place.

Alt + L lets you use the Reply All option. In order to choose some of the advanced

Message options discussed in the earlier chapter, press Alt + P. Alt + R takes you to a

Reply message. The same command, when opened within the Calendar view, switches

to the Work Week view on Calendar. To send an email without having to click the Send

button, press Alt + S. When Alt + W is pressed while email is open, it allows you to

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forward an email item to a chosen recipient. Ctrl + F performs the same function.

When Alt and W are pressed while Calendar is in use, the view switches to a Weekly

calendar view. If you find yourself on the Tasks page and wish to go to Mail, press Ctrl

+ 1. If you select and open a message, you can mark it as read by pressing Ctrl + Q. If

you wish to mark a message as unread, press Ctrl + U. If you are composing an email

message and require a break before finishing the message, you can save your work in

the Drafts folder by pressing Ctrl + S. Finally, once you have read a message and wish

to flag it for a follow up, press Ctrl + Shift + G.

Managing Contacts

There are also a handful of shortcuts that pertain to the management of Contacts. To

go to Contacts, press Ctrl + 3. To open the Address Book, you can also press Ctrl + Shift

+ B, and to add a new contact’s details, you can press Ctrl + Shift + C. If you wish to

create a new Distribution List, press Ctrl + Shift + L. Finally, if you are working on any

of the Outlook features and wish to find a particular contact, simply press F11 and the

“Find a contact” dialog box will appear.

Managing Calendar

Some useful keyboard shortcuts also exist for use with the Calendar feature on

Outlook. To go to Calendar, press Ctrl + 2. As mentioned in some previous shortcuts,

you can easily switch between various Calendar views. To switch to the Daily calendar

view, press Alt + D, and Alt + M in order to switch to monthly calendar view. To open

or create a new Appointment, press Ctrl + Shift + A. To create a new meeting, press

Ctrl + Shift + Q.

Managing Journal

If you are managing your Journal on Outlook, you can benefit from some shortcuts. To

go to Journal, press Ctrl + 8. If you are viewing a message, task or a contact for

example, and you wish to create a new Journal entry from the selected information,

you can press Ctrl + J. To simply open a new Journal entry, press Ctrl + Shift + J.

Managing Tasks

To go to the Tasks section on Outlook, press Ctrl + 4. Once there, you can create a new

task by using Ctrl + Shift + K. To go to the Notes section, press Ctrl + 5. To begin a new

note, press Ctrl + Shift + N.

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Troubleshooting in Outlook At times, Outlook may stop responding for an unknown reason. It may hang up or

even crash. In this case, you can run a quick troubleshooting procedure to discover

the root of the problem and take steps to fix the issue.

The first step is to investigate the add-ins for possible issues. If you are using Windows

XP, click Start and then click Run. If, on the other hand, you are using Windows Vista

or Windows 7, click Start. In the dialog box that appears, type “Outlook /safe” and

then click “OK.” Once the issue gets fixed, go to Outlook and click File, then click

Options and then click “Add-ins.” Select “COM Add-ins” and then “Go.” Uncheck all

the boxes and then click “OK” and then restart Outlook. If no issue occurs, then you

do indeed have an issue with one of your add-ins. To find out which add-in is the

culprit, start checking the box for each add-in one by one so that it runs and when an

add-on crashes, you can know that this is the one causing Outlook to crash.

If the cause of your Outlook crash is not an Add-in, you can run Outlook diagnostics.

Go to Control Panel and then click “Add or Remove Programs” on Windows XP, and

“Programs and Features” on Windows Vista or Windows 7. In the list of programs that

show up, right-click Microsoft Office and then click “Repair.”

At times, the cause of Outlook’s crash lies in the Personal Storage Table, or PST. This

causes a broken inbox where all of your information is stored. If the aforementioned

methods do not fix the issue with Outlook, then a PST corruption is most likely the

cause of trouble. In order to fix this issue, you will have to run troubleshooting

software downloaded from the Internet. One of the most popular tools in this regard

is known as the Outlook Inbox Repair Tool.

If the Outlook crash persists, you can also contact Outlook support, by simply going to

the Outlook toolbar and selection “Help,” followed by “Contact Us.”

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Outlook for Smartphones Once you have chosen a specific set of settings on the Outlook application installed on

your personal computer, you can also sync your details with your smartphone. Simply

download the Outlook Web Application from the App Store for iPhone, and Google

Play for Android.

For protection of information, you can set up a passcode on the Outlook Web App on

your phone. This is in addition to the Username and Password you used when setting

up the application on your phone initially. This feature helps to make sure that nobody

but yourself can access the information stored in Outlook on your smartphone.

If your Outlook account is affiliated with an organization, and if the organization in

question has enabled Contact Sync for your account, you can turn this function on. As

a result, the contacts in your personal address list will the synced with your Outlook

application and be available on all devices and applications that are affiliated with your

Outlook account.

Another important default feature of the Outlook Web Application is that of Offline

access. By virtue of this feature, your Inbox, Contacts, Calendar, Drafts and five recent

Messages folders will be downloaded and then synced for offline access. The five

Message folders will be automatically selected based on the amount of time spent on

each folder. If you wish to change the Message folders that will be made accessible,

you can choose the five folders you wish to save by going to Options.

For more specific details on the Outlook Web App for the two main platforms, see

below.

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Outlook Web App for iPhone

Once you have installed the Outlook Web App from the App Store, you will see the

following icon.

First, you will be asked to sign in with your credentials.

Once you have signed in, you can easily switch between Email, Calendar, Contacts,

Tasks, and Notes by tapping the icon in the bottom left corner. Any meetings that you

have scheduled for a particular day will automatically show up on the Calendar tile, so

you don’t actually have to view the whole Calendar in order to figure out your

commitments for the day. Outlook Web App is voice-enabled that is if you hold the

icon in the lower left corner for a few seconds, you can give voice commands in order

to make the management of your information smoother.

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When you open your inbox, you will see a list view of the messages. You can swipe

one or even multiple ribbons to the left in order to mark the messages or even to flag

them. To compose a new email, you can press the ‘+’ icon in the bottom bar.

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You can view, manage, edit as well as create new Calendars using the Web App.

You can also tap “People” in order to view your contacts and even to manage them,

or add new ones.

Overall management tools are made available to you when you tap Options.

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There are certain management options that are not available on the Web App and

must be tweaked, if you desire, on the desktop application. These include account

settings, your account password, Inbox settings, delivery reports, retention policies, a

number of email and calendar settings, junk email settings, and addition or removal

of Add-ins. These settings must be configured on the personal computer of the user.

Outlook Web App for Android has the same features as its iOS counterpart.

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