Microsoft Outlook : Getting started

12. More about sending messages

a) Formatting messages

Outlook allows you to add formatting to a message in a similar way to using a word processor using different fonts, colours, bold and underlined text etc. You can also add bullets, centre or indent text. Take care when sending formatted messages outside the Town, as people using different mail systems may not see your message as you intended.

Select the formatting options you require from the buttons on the formatting toolbar which is displayed in the message window, in the same way you would in Microsoft Word. Do not use too many different formats in your message or it may be difficult to read.

b) Checking spelling

You can check the spelling of your message before sending it.

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  From the Tools menu in the new message window, select Spelling…
  
  
  
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  Outlook will check the spelling of the whole of your message and suggest correct spellings for any words not in its dictionary wherever possible.
  
  
  
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  Select the correct spelling from the options offered and click Change or choose Ignore if the word is correctly spelt, but not recognised by Outlook.
  
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  If all spelling in the message is correct Outlook will display a message that the spelling check is complete.
  
  
  
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  To check the spelling on an individual word, select the word by double-clicking it, before selecting Spelling…
  

c) Options for sending messages

The toolbar in the new message window allows you to change options for individual messages.

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  To send a message as high priority click on the exclamation mark (!) icon
  
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  To send a message as low priority click on the downward arrow
  

Many other options are available from the main option window. Click on the Options button to display this.

You can set message priority in this window, and select delivery and read receipts. More advanced options are also available, but not covered in this guide.
You can change the default options for all messages you send using the Tools menu item Options… and selecting the Email options under the Preferences tab. Options are set up by default to contain settings, which are suitable for most staff. Care should be taken if you make changes to any of these options, as these may not have the result you wish.

d) Read Receipts

A commonly used option is to set up a read receipt. This is useful if you want to know if someone has read your message. However, you should note that depending on the options the recipient has set, they may choose not to send the read receipt message

To set up a read receipt for a single message:

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  With the new message window open, select the Options button as described above
  
  
  
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  In the Options window, check the Request a Read Receipt for this message box.
  
  
  
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  Click Close
  

To set up read receipts for all messages:

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  From the Tools menu select Options.
  
  
  
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  Under the Preferences tab (selected by default) click on the Email Options button.
  
  
  
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  In the Window that is displayed, click on the Tracking Options button.
  
  
  
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  In the Tracking option window, check the Read Receipt box.
  

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  This window also allows you to select the options for sending a read receipt – the default option is to prompt before doing so.
  

13. Email Quota

All email accounts have a storage quota on the Exchange server. You can store as much as you like locally on your hard disk in a Personal Folder - the only limit being the amount of space on your hard disk.

As your server disk usage approaches the quota limit you will start to receive warning messages. You should delete any unwanted messages or move them to local folders.
To check the amount of quota you have left:

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  In the folder list right-click on Outlook Today - (Mailbox - NAME). This is your top-level folder on the server.
  
  
  
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  Click on Properties for Outlook Today... at the bottom of the pop-up menu.
  

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  In the Properties window that appears, under the General tab (which is selected by default) click on the Folder Size... button in the lower left. You will then be shown a complete breakdown of how much space is used in each of your folders on the server.
  

Overall size of Outlook account on Exchange server

14. Deleting messages

Messages you no longer need should be deleted to prevent your quota on the mail server filling up. There are several stages in deleting items from the server so they no longer count in your quota.

You can delete a message by clicking the delete button on the message window toolbar. Outlook will then open the next/previous unread message depending on the options set in Tools/Options/Email Options.
You can also delete a message from the folder contents list by selecting it and clicking the delete button in the main Outlook window.
To delete multiple messages:

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  Use shift-click to select a block of messages.
  

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  Use ctrl-click to select several individual messages.
  

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  When all the messages are selected click the Delete button.
  
  
  

a) Deleted Items folder

When you select the Delete option messages are not permanently deleted immediately, but are moved to the Deleted Items folder, in the same way that you put files in the Recycle Bin on your PC desktop.

Messages moved to the Deleted Items folder will remain there - and continue to count in your quota - until you choose to permanently delete them.
To permanently delete a message from this folder:

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  Select the Deleted Items folder in the folder list
  
  
  
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  Select the message, or messages, to delete. Click the Delete button on the standard toolbar
  
  
  

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  You will be prompted to confirm that you want to permanently delete the message
  

To delete all messages in the Deleted Items folder:

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  From the Tools menu select Empty ‘Deleted Items’ folder
  
  
  
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  You will be prompted to confirm that you want to permanently delete all items.
  

b) Recovering Deleted files

Items deleted from the Deleted Items folder are moved to the Deleted Items cache. These are still stored on the mail server, but do not count towards your quota. Items remain in the cache for 14 days. If you have accidentally deleted an item that you need you can retrieve it from the cache during this time.

To recover a deleted item from the cache:

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  Select the Deleted Items folder
  
  
  
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  From the Tools menu select Recover Deleted Items
  
  
  

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  A window showing all your items in the cache is displayed
  

Recover Selected Item button

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  Select the items you want to recover. Then click the Recover Selected Item button on the toolbar
  
  
  
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  The recovered item is moved back to the Deleted Item Folder
  

Note: Once an item had been deleted from the Deleted Items Cache it is not possible to recover this from backup.