We refer to the window in which you create or manage a task as the task window. Like the contact, message, and calendar item windows, the task window contains its own commands, arranged on the Ribbon instead of on menus and toolbars.

In this exercise, you will take a tour of the task window elements that differ from the contact, message, and calendar item window elements discussed in earlier chapters. There are no practice files for this exercise.

The creators of Outlook 2007 must have had a lot to do—they seem to have been somewhat obsessed with task management. You can view and manage your tasks from more places than ever before. Whereas in previous versions of Outlook, your tasks were available only from certain pages, you can now view your task list from anywhere in Outlook on the new To-Do Bar, as well as in the Tasks module, in the Calendar module, and on the Outlook Today page.

In the Tasks module, the available views of your task list include:

Other than Task Timeline, all of these views are list views. In views displaying only selected tasks, the words (Filter Applied) appear on the folder banner at the top of the Tasks pane. You can reorder the tasks in any list view by clicking the heading of the field you want to sort on, and you can display the Reading Pane in any view by pointing to Reading Pane on the View menu and then clicking Right or Bottom.

You can quickly switch between views by selecting the view option you want in the Current View list in the Navigation Pane or on the Advanced toolbar. The Current View list is displayed by default in the Tasks module. You can hide or display it by pointing to Navigation Pane on the View menu, and then clicking Current View Pane.

You can keep your task list close at hand by displaying it on the To-Do Bar. The To-Do Bar Task List displays tasks grouped and sorted by due date (although you can also sort it by category, start date, folder, type, or importance, or create a custom arrangement). You can scroll the list to display all your tasks, or collapse the groups you don’t want to view. To increase the space available for your task list, you can close the Date Navigator or show fewer or no appointments.

You can minimize the To-Do Bar so that it displays only your next appointment (if you choose to display appointments) and the number of open tasks due today (if you choose to display tasks). You can switch between views of the To-Do Bar by clicking the Minimize or Maximize button on its header.

When you view your calendar in Day view or Week view, the Daily Task List at the bottom of the program window displays the tasks due each day, including the category and task type. In Day view, the start date, due date, and reminder time also appear. If you don’t see the Daily Task List under the Calendar pane in one of these views, point to Daily Task List on the View menu, and then click Normal. Like the Navigation Pane and the To-Do Bar, you can minimize the Daily Task List so that it displays only the number of active and completed tasks and provides more space for you to work. You can switch between views of the Daily Task List by clicking the Minimize or Maximize button on its header.

If you use your task list diligently, you will frequently add tasks to it. You can create one-time or recurring tasks from scratch in different ways, or add an existing Outlook item (such as a message) to the task list by flagging it for follow-up. Regardless of how or where you create a task, all tasks are available in the Tasks module and the To-Do Bar Task List.

The only information you must include when creating a task is the subject. You can also specify the following:

You can attach files to tasks, and you can include text, tables, charts, illustrations, hyperlinks, and other content in the task window content pane by using the same commands you use in other Outlook item windows and in other 2007 Office system programs, such as Microsoft Office Word. You can also set standard Outlook item options such as recurrence, color category, reminders, and privacy.

To quickly create a new task, you can type the task subject in the Type A New Task box at the top of either the To-Do Bar Task List or the To-Do List in the Tasks module, and then press Enter. Outlook adds the new task to the list of tasks due today. From any view of the task list, you can assign the task to a category, change the due date, add a reminder, mark the task as complete, or delete the task entirely. To access these commands, right-click the task name, category, or flag, and then click the option you want.

To create a task with more detail, on the Standard toolbar, click Task in the New list (or if you’re in the Tasks module, click the New Task button) to open a task window. There you can specify the start date, due date, status, and priority of the task, set a reminder, add billing information, or assign the task to someone else.

Outlook doesn’t automatically set a reminder for tasks as it does for calendar items. To automatically set reminders for time-limited tasks, click Options on the Tools menu, click Task Options, select the Set Reminders On Tasks With Due Dates check box, and click OK. Set the default reminder time in the Tasks area of the Options dialog box, and then click OK.

In the Task Options dialog box, you can also change the color in which Outlook displays overdue and completed tasks.

When the reminder date and time arrive, a reminder window opens on your screen. If you have completed the task, click Dismiss to reset the reminder to None. If you haven’t yet completed the task and would like to be reminded again at a later time, click the reminder time you want in the Snooze list, and then click Snooze. You can also open the task window directly from the reminder window by clicking Open Item. You can make changes of any type as though you had opened the task from the Tasks pane, and then close the task window to effect those changes.

Sometimes you might want to include information from an e-mail message, appointment, or other item on your task list, to ensure that you complete any necessary follow-up work by a certain date. In Outlook 2007, you can create a task from almost any item by dragging it to the Tasks button in the Navigation Pane.

In this exercise, you will create and update tasks from the To-Do Bar Task List and from the Tasks pane. There are no practice files for this exercise.

You can assign tasks from your Outlook task list to other people within your organization (and other people can assign tasks to you). When you assign a task, Outlook sends a task request, similar to a meeting request, to the person you designated. He or she can accept or decline the task assignment by clicking the corresponding button in the Reading Pane or in the task window header. You can’t assign tasks you have created from other Outlook items; you can assign only those you create as tasks.

When you assign a task, you can choose whether to keep a copy of the task on your own task list or transfer it entirely to the assignee’s task list. Either way, the task remains on your own task list until accepted, so you won’t lose track of it. (If the recipient declines the task, you can return it to your task list or reassign it.)

Outlook indicates assigned tasks in your task list by an outstretched hand on the task icon, similar to that of a shared folder in Windows Explorer.

After you assign a task to someone else, ownership of the task transfers to that person, and you can no longer update the information in the task window. (The assignee becomes the task owner and you become the task originator.) If you keep a copy of the task on your task list, you can follow the progress as the assignee updates the task status and details, and you can communicate information about the task to the owner by sending status reports. Unless you choose otherwise, Outlook automatically sends you a status report on an assigned task when the assignee marks the task as complete.

To delegate a task to another Outlook user:

To reclaim a declined task:

You can view the status of tasks you have assigned to other people by displaying your task list in Assignment view.

To update the status of tasks assigned to you by other people:

To send a status report about a task:

When you complete a task, you can remove it from your task list by deleting it or by marking it as complete. When you delete a task, it moves first to the Deleted Items folder, and is permanently deleted when you empty that folder. No record of it remains on your task list. If you want to retain a record of your completed tasks, mark the task as complete by clicking the flag in the To-Do Bar Task List, clicking the flag column so that a selected check box appears in the Tasks pane, or changing the % Complete setting to 100%.

After you mark an instance of a recurring task as complete, Outlook generates a new instance of the task at whatever interval you specified when creating the task.

If a task has a reminder and you’d like to keep the task on your task list but stop the reminder from appearing, you can change or remove the reminder by right-clicking the task, clicking Add Reminder, and then selecting the reminder options you want. In this exercise, you will mark a task as complete, stop a reminder from appearing, and then delete a task.