You might find it useful to create templates for setting up certain types of appointments and meetings. If you prefer to use a set of appointment properties that differ from the Outlook 2007 default properties, you can use a template that contains your preferred settings and then create each new appointment or meeting from that template. For example, if you have regular meetings with the same group of people, you can set up a template in which those individuals are already selected on the Scheduling page so that you don’t have to assemble the list each time you schedule a meeting. Perhaps you prefer to have Outlook 2007 issue a reminder an hour before each appointment rather than the default of 15 minutes.

You can create templates for appointments and meetings the same way you create e-mail templates. Open a new appointment form or meeting request, and then fill in all the data that will be standard each time you use the template. Then click the Microsoft Office Button, click Save As, and save the file as an Outlook Template. When you want to use the template, choose File, New, Choose Form, and then follow the steps outlined in "Using an E-Mail Template" earlier in this chapter. You can also click the arrow next to New on the Standard toolbar and select Choose Form to select a form.

In your Contacts folder, you’re likely to add contact entries for people who work in or belong to the same organization, business, department, or other entity. These contacts might share the same company name, address, or primary phone number. In such a case, why not create a template to save yourself the trouble of entering the information for each contact entry separately (and potentially getting it wrong)? Or, for example, you might use the same conferencing URL for all of your online meetings hosted by Microsoft Office Live Meeting. Why not create a template that specifies the URL, eliminating the chore of setting it each time you create a new contact?

As with other templates, you create a contact template by opening a new contact form and filling in the standard data. Then click the Microsoft Office Button, click Save As, and save the contact as an Outlook Template.

If you perform the same task frequently, you can create a basic task as a template and then modify it as needed for each occurrence of the task. You also can create a task template with a specific set of properties and then use it to create various tasks. For example, you could create all of your tasks with the status specified as In Progress rather than the default Not Started. Or perhaps you need to create many tasks with the same set of categories assigned to them.

In addition to creating task items from templates, you might also want to use templates to create task requests. A task request template is handy if you manage a group of people to whom you need to assign similar or identical tasks. Set up a template that incorporates the common elements, and then create each task request from the template, filling in or modifying the unique elements and addressing the request to the specific person assigned to the task.

You use the same methods described earlier for e-mail templates to create and open templates for tasks and task requests.

You can use the Outlook 2007 journal to keep track of activities such as phone calls, remote sessions, or other actions that you want to record. Why use journal templates? Any time you find yourself adding a manual journal entry for the same type of activity with the same or similar properties, consider creating a template for the action. Perhaps you frequently record journal entries for phone calls to a particular individual, account, or company that contain the same phone number or company name or log the same duration. Rather than creating a journal entry from scratch each time, create a template and use the template instead.