Microsoft ’s Outlook 2011 ( ) is n’t just the same old Entourage 2008 e - mail program repackaged with a sleek new surface . From consolidated inboxes to Quick Look reenforcement , there are just as many improvements under the hood as there are on the surface . But despite the redesign , Microsoft made certain to retain many of the bonus and shortcut that made Entourage a power user tool . Here are some favorites you might have drop :
1. Keyboard shortcut savvy
Like Entourage , Outlook lets you get at many options directly from your keyboard . Some keyboard shortcuts have change ( see our Outlook 2011 keyboard shortcut cheating sheet ) , but many have n’t , including such gems as Shift - Command - O , which promptly divulge all unread messages . verify you ’re take advantage of these useful single :
Flag your messagesWhen you ’ve selected a message from your mail tilt , Control-1 through Control-4 will flag it for a follow - up today , tomorrow , this hebdomad , or next week .
Hide or reveal the viewing paneCommand- ( back slash ) show or hides the viewing pane to the right of the subject matter list . Command - Shift- ( back slash ) appearance or hides it below the message inclination .
From Anzac Day to Ramadan, Outlook 2011 lets you automatically populate your calendar with holidays from major religions and countries across the globe.
post shortcutsTo response to a message , select it in the subject matter list and press Command - R. To forward a message , wardrobe Command - J. When you ’re done composing a message , press Command - Return to send it .
2. Trash on a schedule
beset by warnings that your e - mail business relationship is over its size of it point of accumulation ? Let Outlook take out the trash for you . Under tool - > Run Schedule - > Edit Schedules , you could tell Outlook when to empty your Deleted Items brochure , whether that ’s every hour , every week , or just every time you quit the programme .
3. A custom calendar
Not everyone works from nine to five . Under Preferences - > Calendar , you’re able to delimit what days of the calendar week you work , and for what hours . And since it never hurts to acknowledge when you’re able to ask your next sidereal day off , Outlook will automatically add holidays for the U.S. and other countries to your calendar . You ’ll rule that feature under File - > Import ; just select Holidays from the list that appears .
From Anzac Day to Ramadan , Outlook 2011 lets you automatically populate your calendar with holidays from major religions and countries across the ball .
Modern addition for Outlook 2011 , invitations that get via Es - mail will also display your calendar for the date and time of the invitation alongside the body of the content . you may see at a glance whether the merging to which you ’ve been invite conflict with the preparation session you set up last week , or whether you ’re free to look .
4. A built-in typing assistant
The same AutoCorrect lineament that fixes your fumble - finger typo in Word can save you time in Outlook . By editing AutoCorrect ’s database , you could narrow down short combinations of varsity letter that will automatically expand into complete words . Go to Preferences - > AutoCorrect to bestow to the tilt of terms . ( In suite 2008 , this was under tool - > AutoCorrect . ) If you despair of having to type “ Kyrgyzstan ” 50 times in that all - of import research summary , just go down it to instantly expand from “ kyr . ” This trick could hold open your sanity — and spare you from a likely cause of carpal tunnel syndrome .
5. Your secret identity
Entourage 2008 let you swop between multiple identicalness ( cortege - > Switch Identity ) , allowing you to keep personal correspondence and oeuvre messages and note of hand separate . Outlook 2011 can do this too , but where Entourage allow you switch identities within the program itself , the process in Outlook is a scrap foxy . You ’ll have to launch the Microsoft Database Utility , which hangs out in the /Applications / Microsoft Office 2011 / Office booklet . Better yet , zipper right to it by prevail down the selection key fruit before you open Outlook . Once in the Database Utility , you’re able to produce , rename , delete , and switch between identities just like you did in retinue .
Nathan Alderman is a writer , editor , and scrupulous reader of software documentation in Alexandria , Va.
