Outlook 2003 Tutorial

Introduction to Outlook 2003

Tip: Also check out our Outlook 2007 Tutorial.

This tutorial gives you a quick overview of Outlook 2003, and the coverage of our tutorials. Outlook 2003's system requirements are also discussed in detail. Meet Outlook 2003

Installing Outlook 2003 and Basic Overview

Installing Microsoft Outlook 2003 In these tutorials, we will show you how to install Outlook 2003 on your computer; then, give you a brief overview of the new "Outlook in System Tray" feature, and cover Microsoft's Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP).

Installing Outlook 2003 | Outlook in System Tray | Microsoft's CEIP Program.

Setting Up an Email Account and Importing Data

Setting up and importing email accounts/contacts in Outlook 2003 These tutorials will guide you through the process of setting up an email account in Outlook 2003. Alternatively, or additionally, how to import email account settings from Outlook Express or Eudora. Finally, you will learn how to easily import your old emails and contacts (address books) in Outlook 2003.

Setup an Email Account | Import Email Account Settings | Import Emails and Contacts | Change password

This series of Outlook tutorials was updated to show you how to setup popular email services in Outlook 2003, including Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail Plus, Google's Gmail service, and AOL Mail.

• Setup Hotmail in Outlook
• Setup Yahoo! Mail in Outlook
• Setup Gmail in Outlook
• Setup AOL Mail in Outlook

Email Signatures

Create an email signature in Outlook This tutorial explains how to setup an automatic email signature in Outlook 2003 - (although improved, the process of adding email signatures is very similar in Outlook 2007). Creating an email signature and associating it with one or more email accounts will spare you from having to type your signature on every outgoing email, and a consistent signature also establishes a level of professionalism.

Add an email signature in Outlook 2003

Outlook 2003 lets you manage multiple signatures, and associate email signatures to one or more email accounts; you can even have two separate email signatures for the same email account: one signature for the new email messages you compose, and another signature for that email account when you reply to emails or forward emails. While all new emails should display your full email signature, replies and forwards can use an abridged version of that signature.

Interface

In this tutorial, you will familiarize yourself with Outlook's "interface" (task pane, navigation pane and reading pane), discover Outlook Today, learn how to customize it, and read a brief overview on customizing Outlook's interface.

Outlook 2003's Interface | "Outlook Today"

Toolbars

Interface and toolbars in Outlook 2003 Next, you will discover Outlook 2003's three standard toolbars (Standard, Web, and Advanced), and see how to easily customize them on-the-fly.

The Standard Toolbar | The Advanced Toolbar | The Web Toolbar | Customize Outlook's Toolbars

Address Books and Contacts

Address Book and Contacts in Outlook 2003 These tutorials will explain how to use and manage address books and contacts in Outlook 2003, how to create contacts and distribution lists, and how to export your contacts (to use them with another Outlook installation for example).

Outlook's Address Book | Finding Contacts | Backup or Export Contacts

Email Distribution Lists

Email distribution list icon in Outlook 2003 Outlook 2003 lets you easily reach groups of people with a single click, by using email distribution lists (or "mailing lists"). These tutorials will show you how to create distribution lists in Outlook, how to add contacts and how to send emails to distribution lists.

Create Email Distribution Lists | Add Contacts to Distribution Lists | Send Emails to Distribution Lists

Receiving Emails

Sending and receiving emails with Outlook 2003 We will teach you how to read, reply and forward emails, let you discover Outlook 2003's iconography, and introduce you to Outlook's New Mail Desktop Alert.

Outlook 2003's Email Icons | The New Mail Desktop Alert

Using Favorite Folders

To help you deal with an increasing amount of email folders, Outlook 2003 enables you to isolate frequently used folders as "Favorite Folders", which are visible above standard email folders from the Mail tab.

Using Favorite Folders in Outlook 2003

Using Multiple Profiles in Outlook 2003

Using multiple profiles in Outlook 2003 Outlook 2003 allows you to use multiple Profiles (or Identity, as they are called in Outlook Express), even for the same Windows user. By using several profiles (a personal and business profile for example), emails and contacts are separated in different data files.

Using Multiple Profiles in Outlook 2003

Personal PST Files, Email Archiving and Outlook AutoArchive

AutoArchiving old emails in Outlook 2003 Microsoft Outlook stores its data in PST files, or personal data files; but what are they exactly, and how are they used? To maximize its performance, Outlook 2003 AutoArchives its old emails regularly - to keep your Outlook.pst PST file at a reasonable size. You also have the option to manually archive your emails, notes, etc. These tutorials will show you how AutoArchive works, and how to configure the AutoArchive settings.

Personal PST Files | Archiving Manually | Outlook AutoArchive | Outlook AutoArchive Settings

Customizing Your Email Accounts

How to customize your email accounts in Outlook 2003 Outlook 2003 will use default settings when you setup email accounts, we will show you how to customize Outlook's settings. These settings include your display name, email account name, ports used and server timeouts, as well as authentication options.

General Settings | Outgoing Server Settings | Connection Settings | Advanced Settings

General Email Options

General email options in Outlook 2003 General Email Options cover Outlook 2003's basic behavior when handling email, drafts and addressing options, and Tracking options (to handle read and delivery receipts).

General Email Options | Advanced Email Options | Advanced Email Options (2) | Tracking Options

Mail Setup Options

Mail Setup options in Outlook 2003 Outlook 2003's Mail Setup options enable you to define how Outlook sends and receives emails (email checks periodicity, and automated checks on a per email account basis), as well as behavior with dial-up Internet connections (like automatic connection/disconnection).

Outlook 2003's Mail Setup Options | Send / Receive Options | Data Files Options

Spelling Options

Customizing spelling options in Outlook 2003 Outlook 2003 comes with a built-in spell-checker, which supports multiple languages; the Spelling Options allow you to configure spelling, grammar, and AutoCorrect options (and when to ignore spelling errors), as well as add words to a custom dictionary.

Outlook 2003's Spelling Options | AutoCorrect Options | Custom Dictionary

Outlook 2003's Customize Dialog

Outlook 2003's Customize Dialog is the central location where menu and toolbar options are grouped. This powerful tool empowers you to customize menus and toolbars beyond the basic, and even let you create your own menus and toolbars.

Customize Dialog: Toolbars | Customize Dialog: Commands | Customize Dialog: Options

Setting Outlook 2003 as Windows' Default Email Client

Setting Outlook 2003 as the default email client on Windows This tutorial shows you how to set Outlook 2003 as the default mail handler on Windows, that is, the default program that will handle any operation involving composing emails. We will show you how to set Outlook as the default email client both from Outlook itself, and from Windows, by using the Control Panel's Internet Options.

Set Outlook as default email client