Microsoft Outlook 2000

It has many options which could not be found in other emailing services, like scheduling meetings, and it will show times and all by itself that can be changed by the person according to his/her needs, it has calendar feature which is very helpful to set reminders for specific meetings and occasions, you can customize the interface by creating your own, you can flags the emails according to their importance and after you done you can just remove the flags, you can create as many folders according to your need, and most important it keeps all the coming and going email ids in its library so next time you do not need to type whole email id it will catch up automatically.

Microsoft outlook 2000 is the very good for use as compare to its previous version, you can configure any email address including the official email address to and this is the main advantage of this software using outlook you will never miss any single email from any email address it is really best software who is carrying many email ids specially official email which can also be configured in this software and you will directly get notified for every mail that are configured with the outlook.

I am very happy with this software and I would definitely reccomand this to every people who is having more than 1 email ids.

To avoid sending an email without Subject in outlook, Here you go……

·        Open your outlook.

·        Press Alt+F11. This opens the Visual Basic editor.

·        Press Ctrl+R which in turn open Project-Project 1 (left side).

·        On the Left Pane, one can see "Project1", expand this to find "Microsoft Outlook Objects",    expand this to find "This Outlook Session".

·        Double click on "This Outlook Session ".  It will open up a code pane.

·        Copy and Paste the following code snippet in the code Pane and save it. *

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)

Dim strSubject As String

strSubject = Item.Subject

If Len(Trim(strSubject)) = 0 Then

Prompt$ = "Missing Subject!  Do you want to send anyway (Y/N)?"

If MsgBox(Prompt$, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbMsgBoxSetForeground, "Check for Subject") = vbNo Then

Cancel = True

End If

End If

End Sub                                                                             
                                                 

Now whenever you send an email without subject, it will raise a pop-up to remind you.

In a nutshell, the difference between Microsoft Outlook Express and Microsoft Outlook itself, is that Microsoft Outlook Express is the email component of Microsoft Outlook, stripped down to the basics and offered free with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Outlook 2000 is a full-featured, powerful PIM (Personal Information Manager), and is a component of the Microsoft Office 2000 suite of software programs. If you don't want all of Office, you can buy Microsoft Outlook 2000 as a stand-alone program at most computer stores.

Microsoft Outlook 2000 includes an email client as part of its feature set, so that Microsoft Office users can send and receive email. It's this email client (minus many features) which was named ''Microsoft Outlook Express'' and included as a freebie with Microsoft Internet Explorer, so that Internet Explorer users could send and receive email.

Outlook Express is a basic email client. It's all you need if you only send a few messages a week. You can send and receive email from multiple accounts, use HTML formatting in your messages, and create some basic rules for filtering your email.

Outlook 2000 was built on the skeleton of Microsoft Schedule, an anemic calendar program which shipped with early versions of Microsoft Windows. Outlook has developed into a huge, powerful PIM that has more features than most users will probably ever need.

Microsoft Outlook 2000 has all the features you'd expect in a comprehensive PIM: a calendar, task manager, contacts manager, journal and a notebook. However, where the program really shines is in the way it enables you to integrate all these modules with various forms of communication.

For example, you can track all the communications (fax, mail, email, phone calls, meetings, appointments etc), you have with a client. You can forward tasks to other people and set up meetings or Net-meetings with them. You can track all the work you do in Microsoft Office with the journal. Not only can you integrate all Microsoft Outlook's modules, but you can also integrate the work you do on the Internet into the program.

Microsoft Outlook users are spoiled by the program's power and versatility: if you want to do something and discover you can't do it, you tend to become petulant.

The major benefit of using Outlook 2000 is that it plays nicely (mostly) with other MS Office programs like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. The other big benefit is that you don't have to leave Outlook to do anything else on your computer. If you display the Outlook Bar on the side of your screen, you can create shortcuts which let you access anything on your computer, from email folders to other programs, all at a single click.

So if you only get a few email messages a day, are happy with Microsoft Outlook Express and already own a PIM, then installing Microsoft Outlook 2000 would be overkill.

On the other hand, if you're becoming frazzled and are losing track of the commitments you've made, the more powerful program could be a fine investment in your sanity.

Gone are the days when letters (snail-mails) used to be much awaited.Aaj kal E-mails ka bol bala hai.No more kabootar ja ja from Maine Pyar Kiya, but Andekhi anjaani si pagli si diwaani si, jaaney wo kaisi hogi rey from Mujhsey Dosti Karogey, (though the former created waves in the industry and latter could not prove its mettle..). The whole point is e-mails play a vital role in ones day-to-day life ( I am updated about the reviews and ratings I get in MS.com) and to manage something so important in your life, you need to select the best of the E-mail clients.

Much is said about the technicalities and the operation of MS Outlook 2000.A brief summary can be got from Ranjran’s review on it dated, 23-March -02 (more than a year ago). I am here to mark the hidden features I had encountered during my association with it and which is of immense importance but usually go unnoticed.

These are a few of its favorite highlights:

• Option to store the mails in the web-server.

  
  




• Rules

  
  




• Office Clip Board

  
  




• Data Files

  
  




• Instant messaging (Microsoft Exchange Messenger)

  
  




• Forms

  
  




• Message Timeline

  
  




• View-Filter

  
  

1-Location to download the messages

The most commonly assumed standard of any e-mail client is that it downloads the mails from the server completely, in the sense deletes them from the server and is now ready in your hard disk. But if you want to access the mails from a different place , what do you do? The general answer is that store the important files in a special folder on the server.

That is one way out, but better(according to me) ways are given below:

1) There are four main options in the side panel.

Archive Folders

Mail Box

Outlook today [Personal Folders] (p.f)

Public Folders

While configuring the outlook 2000 during the setup, if you have selected “no” as an option for not leaving mails in the server, then all the messages will be erased from it and receive them in the inbox in Personal Folders. The flow is from mail-box inbox->to personal folder inbox, provided the p.f is not collapsed and is in expansible form.(ie- the subdirectories are visible).

If the p.f is collapsed, then the mails get stored in the server (mail-box) itself without sending it down to p.f.

2) The second option is to reconfigure the outlook settings by going to

Tools->Options->Mail-SetUp(tab)->Email-Accounts(button)->view or change existing e-mail accounts (radio-button)->Next(button)

In the combo-box pertaining to the location to deliver the new – messages, select the entry mail-box if you want to keep the messages in the server itself . The other two options are –archive folders and personal folders or even a new data file.

Rules

These are the user defined specifications and conditions. Right-click on a message and select ‘create rule’. The three steps that you come across are:

1) Selection of the conditions. (There are many- eg: selecting the sender’s name, the subject, sensitivity and so on)

2) Selection of the Actions. to be done on the messages that satisfy the above conditions. (eg: moving it to the specified folder, forwarding (as an attachment or plain) to single/multiple persons, permanent deletion, and asking the server to auto-reply the sender with a customized message (provided you are online) and so on).

3) Selecting the Exceptions if any. (ie overriding the created rule in specific scenario)

We can switch off/on the rules as and when required.

Views/Message timelines

I won’t consider “views” as the veiled features ‘coz most of us are aware of it. It gives the user the power to handle the fields which he intends to see in a particular order or so (define views option).

Message timeline is a kind of view that serves the purpose of screening the messages w.r.t time and gives the idea of relativity among other messages. This is helpful in identifying the core time during which there is maximum amount of incoming messages. Hence, need to start the outlook approximately at that time resulting in efficient usage of internet time.

Office Clipboard/messenger/Visual Basic

The fact that it is an MS (read it Microsoft no MouthShut) product,we can enjoy the benefits from other MS applications-office clipboard, the addresses from the msn messenger,and creation of the forms and macros.

Office clipboard is my constant companion as it has everything which needs to be pasted to my folder documents from my other applications.

There are still oodles of other facets of MS-Outlook whose add-ons are to be explored (by me) and which may prove to be beneficial. A diminutive support can facilitate an upshot in its elevated performance.

Sending and receiving mails is not the only criteria based on which one can judge an e-mail client. It’s the cumulative presentment and handling of the user data be it messages, signatures, tables, forms etc that needs to be taken care of. And in my opinion Outlook 2000 is a complete e-mail client which makes its presence felt. (flicked it from the catch line of raymonds and ????)

MS-ites are invited to add more to this.

The Microsoft Outlook Express is one of the best open email facility that you can hope to lay your hands on!!! Just double click on the Outlook Express icon and the mailbox opens for you. Just click on ''new mail'' and the message box is ready for filling your message. The glorious part is you can put in your message offline(It translates to saving mega-bucks on your dial-up connection!!) Click on ''Send'' and your message is ready to fly to its destination.If U r online,it will fly away in no time.If u r offline it will patiently wait in the outbox till you go online!! Well,put in hundreds of the mail in the outbox...Just one click is sufficient to send them all... OR you may have one common message say a new year greeting for hundreds of friends in your organisation.Well..Just leave it to Outlook Express.Just put the email addresses in the ''To''or ''CC'' or BCC''.And here again the addressbook helps you do it in a jiffy.And lo behold;The msg is gone in a fraction of a minute...And u save mega-bucks by being online for a very short time.. Well,if anyone wants to know more about the exciting but simple facilities in outlook express they are free to contact me...lol!!!

The reason why am writing this review is because I have identified a small issue/bottleneck in MouthShut. If you comment on a review, the people may not even read it if they have already rated the same. A members review of Eudora prompted me to write this one.

Scope of this review

This review is not going to talk about how mails are sent and what is Outlook, its going to churn out some of the main features of MS Outlook that I like

Microsoft Outlook as a Mail Client

Perhaps the most compelling reason in using MS Outlook would be that its from the Microsoft stable and you are working mostly on Microsoft Operating Systems. But believe me, Outlook is the most efficient mail client I have come across.

Major Features of Outlook

1.Multiple Account Support

It has multiple account support and can even configure your Hotmail account. I have configured my Outlook to get my official mail (Corporate Account), personal mail (VSNL) account and Hotmail account (which are mainly junk)

2.Flexible Views

You can view your mails grouped by the sender, or the subject or date. You can view the folder as a list as well.

3.Rules wizard

Helps you to move mail from a group or a person automatically to specific folders. You don't have to manually drag and drop MouthShut mails to MouthShut mails folder!!!

4.Auto archival facility

If the mailbox becomes too big, MS Outlook automatically moves it to archive folder. You can specify after what period archival has to be done.

5.JunkMail/Adult blocking

Blocks/Deletes junk-mails based on a definition specified by you. Specify different coloring for these mails for easy identification and removal.

6.Address/Alias Management

Creation of distribution list and contact management support. Distribution list is a set of people to whom you send mail together. You can specify alias for you friends to identify them easily.

7.Contact Mgmt & Phone Dialer

There is a comprehensive contact management support. Almost all the details of contacts can be captured and stored. Eg Home/Off/HP number, two email id's, full address etc. You can call up any contact directly using MS (If that facility is available for you). You can initiate NetMeeting(Will write a review about it soon) with a person by clicking on online-collaboration.

8.Browser integration

You can type a address and browse using Outlook Express. You can see you incoming mails on the left while you are browsing. Normal email alerts like 'Beeps' and message boxes are also available.

9.Expedia Integration

Expedia is the online Maps/Utilities portal, where you can books cars, flights, hotels and everything else under the sun.

Its very impressive, check it out. Go to contacts, select a contact and click on find map, and it will show a detailed map of the city/country of the contact, click on hotel details and you can immediately book a hotel room (Available in XP and needs Expedia Online, but its a great option)

10.Find And Advanced Find

If you are a person who has the habit of keeping all the mails you get, this option is essentiatly a life saver. If you want to find a particular mail from someone, and you have forgotten the person's name and you vaguely remember the context of the mail, just invoke find/advance find and type in the word, eg if the mail was about New years ever, instruct Outlook to find all mails that have 'New year' in the subject or message body. And, in no time you can get the mail you were looking for.

There are zillions of other features and I know that I am not writing a user manual for Outlook (Kidding). If time permits, I will edit this review and put in some more information.

For a Outlook user like me (Using it for the past 4 years) I don’t find any advantage is using Eudora. Maybe cos I have not used Eudora, but the thing is I don't want to use it. Outlook gives me what ever I need/expect from a Mail client.

Rgds

RR

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