13. Customize Outlook options

Practice files

No practice files are necessary to complete the practice tasks in this chapter.

Outlook 2016 is a high-powered information management system. Microsoft has set up the app to function in a way that will be of the most use to the most people, but the fact is that each of us has different working styles and different needs for our working environment.

You can configure Outlook functionality to make it the most efficient platform for the way you work. You can modify many aspects of the way Outlook handles messages, calendar items, contact records, and general operations. You make these changes from the Outlook Options dialog box. Many of the options available in the Outlook Options dialog box are discussed in context in other chapters in this book. This chapter includes information about all the available options, including a few that power users of Outlook might find particularly useful to modify.

This chapter guides you through procedures related to configuring general Office and Outlook options; configuring options for the Mail, Calendar, People, and Tasks modules; configuring search, language, and advanced options; and managing add-ins and security options.

The options in the User Interface Options and Personalize sections of the General page are shared among all the Office apps that are installed on the computer you’re working on, and include the following:

You can turn off the Mini Toolbar, which hosts common formatting commands and appears by default when you select content.

You can turn off the Live Preview feature if you find it distracting to have content formatting change when the pointer passes over a formatting command.

You can minimize or turn off the display of ScreenTips when you point to buttons.

You can specify the user name and initials you want to accompany your comments and tracked changes, and override the display of information from the account that is associated with your installation of Office.

You can choose the background graphics and color scheme (Office theme) that you want to use for all the Office apps. You can also set these on the Account page of the Backstage view.

In addition to these shared options, you can set Outlook as the default app for managing your email, calendar, and contacts. This overrides the Mail and Calendar apps that are built in to Windows.

To open the Outlook Options dialog box

1. Click the File tab to display the Backstage view.

2. In the left pane, click Options.

To display a specific page of the Outlook Options dialog box

1. Open the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the left pane, click the tab of the page that you want to display.

To close the Outlook Options dialog box

1. Do either of the following:

• To commit to any changes, click OK.

• To cancel any changes, click Cancel or click the Close button (X) in the upper-right corner of the dialog box.

To enable or disable the Mini Toolbar

1. Open the Outlook Options dialog box, and display the General page.

2. In the User Interface options section, select or clear the Show Mini Toolbar on selection check box.

To enable or disable the Live Preview feature

1. Display the General page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the User Interface options section, select or clear the Enable Live Preview check box.

To control the display of ScreenTips

1. Display the General page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the User Interface options section, display the ScreenTip style list, and then click any of the following:

• Show feature descriptions in ScreenTips

• Don’t show feature descriptions in ScreenTips

• Don’t show ScreenTips

To change the user identification that appears in comments and tracked changes

1. Display the General page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office section, do the following:

• In the User name and Initials boxes, enter the information you want to use.

• Select the Always use these values regardless of sign in to Office check box.

Outlook includes several options you can use to manage your email most effectively. To avoid losing your work, you can choose to have Outlook save messages you have created but not yet sent. When new messages arrive, you can choose to have Outlook alert you by playing a sound, briefly changing the pointer to an envelope icon, showing an envelope icon in the notification area, or any combination of these effects. You can also set default options for sending a message. For example, if you are concerned about privacy, you might choose to set the sensitivity of all new messages to Private.

The options on the Mail page are divided into 11 sections. Because this is where you’re likely to make most of your changes, we’ll take a look at each section.

Clicking either Editor Options or Spelling And Autocorrect in the Compose Messages section displays the Proofing page of the Editor Options dialog box. From the Proofing page, you can set AutoCorrect options to specify how Outlook will correct and format the content of your messages as you type them, and customize the settings for checking spelling and grammar. Because Outlook uses Word as its text editor, these options are the same as those in Word.

More extensive editing options are available on the Advanced page of the Editor Options dialog box.

The Advanced page of the Editor Options dialog box is divided into multiple sections in which you can very specifically control the way Outlook works with text:

In the Editing Options section of this page, you can turn on or off advanced editing features, such as how Outlook selects and moves text, whether to track formatting changes, and whether Overtype mode is available.

In the Cut, Copy, And Paste section, you can specify whether Outlook will apply source or destination formatting to text copied within a message, between messages, and from other apps. You can also set options for smart cut and paste (whether to automatically add and remove spaces as needed) and the Paste Options button (whether it appears after a paste operation).

In the Display section, you can set whether measurements are shown in inches, centimeters, millimeters, points, or picas; whether pixels are shown for HTML features; whether ScreenTips display keyboard shortcuts; and whether character positioning is optimized for layout rather than readability.

To change the default message format

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Compose messages section, expand the Compose messages in this format list, and then click HTML, Rich Text, or Plain Text.

You can display the Reading Pane in any Outlook module. It is most useful in the Mail module, of course, but can also come in handy in certain views of other modules.

By default, Outlook does not mark a message as read when you preview it in the Reading Pane, but does so when you select another message. You can change these default settings by selecting or clearing the Mark Items As Read When Viewed In The Reading Pane and Mark Item As Read When Selection Changes check boxes in the Reading Pane dialog box.

With the Single Key Reading feature, which is turned on by default, you can move up or down in the Reading Pane one page at a time by pressing the Spacebar. When you reach the end of a message, pressing the Spacebar again displays the first page of the next message. If you find it distracting, you can turn it off by clearing the Single Key Reading Using Space Bar check box in the Reading Pane dialog box.

When forwarding a message, you can attach the original message (as a separate message) or include the original message text in your response and optionally indent it or indent it and insert a vertical line to the left of the original message text block. When replying to a message, you have all the same options and additionally can choose to not include the original message text in your response.

To configure the inclusion of original message content in a message reply

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Replies and forwards section, expand the When replying to a message list, and then click any of the following:

• Do not include original message

• Attach original message

• Include original message text

• Include and indent original message text

• Prefix each line of the original message

3. If you choose Prefix Each Line Of The Original Message, the Preface Each Line In A Plain-Text Message With box becomes active. Enter the character or characters you want to prepend to each line of the original message (include a space after the character for readability).

To configure the inclusion of original message content in a forwarded message

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Replies and forwards section, expand the When forwarding a message list, and then click any of the following:

• Attach original message

• Include original message text

• Include and indent original message text

• Prefix each line of the original message

3. If you choose Prefix Each Line Of The Original Message, the Preface Each Line In A Plain-Text Message with box becomes active. Enter the character or characters you want to prepend to each line of the original message (include a space after the character for readability).

By default, Outlook saves the first draft of a message three minutes after you begin composing the message, and resaves the message every three minutes thereafter. You can choose to save message drafts as frequently as once per minute or as infrequently as every 99 minutes, or choose to turn off the message draft saving feature.

The default location for saved message drafts is the Drafts folder, which is a top-level mailbox folder that appears in the Folder Pane at the same level as your Inbox. You can alternatively save message drafts in your Inbox, in the Sent Items folder, or in the Outbox.

To change how frequently Outlook saves message drafts

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Save messages section, do either of the following:

• To save drafts more or less often, in the Automatically save items that have not been sent box, enter or select the number of minutes.

• To turn off the automatic saving of message drafts, clear the Automatically save items that have not been sent check box.

To change the folder in which Outlook saves message drafts

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Save messages section, expand the Save to this folder list, and then click any of the following:

• Drafts

• Inbox

• Sent Mail

• Outbox

An important option to note in this section is the Commas Can Be Used To Separate Multiple Message Recipients option. Until you select this check box, you must separate email addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc boxes by using semicolons.

To send messages to multiple recipient addresses separated by commas

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Send messages section, select the Commas can be used to separate multiple message recipients check box.

To modify the display of matching recipients

1. Display the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Send messages section, do either of the following:

• To reset the list of suggestions, click the Empty Auto-Complete List button.

• To stop Outlook from suggesting recipients, clear the Use Auto-Complete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines check box.

MailTips are an extremely useful feature that are designed to alert you to situations that might affect whether you want to send a message. For example, MailTips can warn you when you’re composing a message to a sender who is currently out of the office, has a full mailbox, or is external to your organization. MailTips can also alert you when you’re composing a message to a large distribution group, when a message is too large for you to send or for the recipient to receive, and when you reply to all recipients of a message that you were Bcc’d on.

Your Exchange administrator can turn specific MailTips on and off, and can also configure custom MailTips for your organization. MailTips are displayed for your information only; they don’t stop you from sending an email message, but they do let you know if the message might not reach the intended recipient (or might reach more recipients than you intend).

MailTips settings are specific to each Exchange account that you have configured Outlook to connect to. You set your MailTips preferences for each account by selecting that account in the Apply To This Account list at the top of the dialog box.

Delivery receipts can be a useful tool when you send an important message and need to know whether it’s reached its intended recipient. (However, not all types of email accounts support all types of receipts.) When you receive a message that has a read receipt request attached, Outlook prompts you to confirm whether you want to send a read receipt. You can make this choice for each individual message or select the Never Send A Read Receipt option to refuse all read receipt requests.

It’s unlikely that you’ll need to change any of these options, but they are available in the event that you want to.

Many Outlook users will want to configure the days and times that constitute the work week. You do this in the Work Time section of the Calendar page. The times you specify as work hours (on the days you specify as work days) are available in Outlook for other users to schedule meetings with you. Specifying the first day of your work week controls the Work Week view of the calendar.

In the Calendar Options section, you can set the default reminder time for new appointments and meetings, control the Propose New Times settings, add the holidays of many countries or regions and religions to your calendar, specify the level of calendar detail available to co-workers (as a group and individually) when they check your free/busy status, configure an additional calendar, control the format of external meeting requests, and control the display of the reminder icon for appointments and meetings.

The Display Options section includes options for configuring the appearance and functionality of calendars. Of note in this section are the limits for the minimum and maximum number of calendars that can be displayed in Schedule view.

The Time Zone section includes options for displaying a label at the top of the time column in Day view, Work Week view, and Week view, and for managing a second time zone.

The Scheduling Assistant section of the Calendar page includes options for managing the display of information on the Scheduling Assistant page of a meeting window. (The Scheduling Assistant is available only for Exchange accounts.)

In the Automatic Accept Or Decline section, you can click the Auto Accept/Decline button, which opens a dialog box in which you can configure Outlook to process meeting requests without your input.

In the Weather section, you can control whether the calendar header displays the Weather Bar, and whether it shows temperatures in Celsius or in Fahrenheit.

To modify the default display of reminders

1. Display the Calendar page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Calendar options section, do either of the following:

• To change the default reminder time, expand the Default reminders list, and then click an option from 0 minutes to 2 weeks.

• To have reminders off by default, clear the Default reminders check box.

To remove the Propose New Time option from meeting requests

1. Display the Calendar page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Calendar options section, clear the Allow attendees to propose new times for meetings check box.

To display a visual indicator for calendar items that have reminders

1. Display the Calendar page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Calendar options section, select the Show bell icon on the calendar for appointments and meetings with reminders check box.

From the Groups page of the Outlook Options dialog box, you can control the display of group headers in Outlook.

To specify the format of full names in contact records

1. Display the People page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Names and filing section, expand the Default “Full Name” order list, and then click one of the following:

• First (Middle) Last

• Last First

• First Last1 Last2

To specify the format of the filing order of contact records

1. Display the People page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Names and filing section, expand the Default “File As” order list, and then click one of the following:

• Last, First

• First Last

• Company

• Last, First (Company)

• Company (Last, First)

To control the display of social network photos in messages and contact records

1. Display the People page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Online status and photographs section, select or clear the Show user photographs when available check box.

3. After you close the Outlook Options dialog box, restart Outlook to effect the change.

Clicking the Indexing Options button in the Sources section of the Search page displays options for controlling the indexing scope.

Options on the Language page control the dictionaries that are used by Outlook when it checks the spelling and grammar of message content, in addition to controlling language options for button labels, tab names, Help content, and ScreenTips. To use a language other than the standard Windows language, you must install a language pack. Language packs are available for download from office.microsoft.com and might also be supplied to you through Windows Update.

The Outlook Panes section of the Advanced page includes options for customizing the Navigation Bar and Reading Pane. The same Reading Pane dialog box is available in the Outlook Panes section of the Mail page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

The Outlook Start And Exit section includes options for setting the default folder (the folder you first view when you start Outlook) and for emptying the Deleted Items folders (of all configured accounts) when you exit Outlook. Note that this option is not turned on by default. If you need to manage the size of your mailbox, selecting this option is a good starting point.

From the AutoArchive section, you can open the AutoArchive dialog box. In this dialog box, you can configure automatic archival operations separate from those that might be managed by your organization’s Exchange administrator. The AutoArchive feature is turned off by default.

From the Reminders section, you can configure the display of task reminders and the accompanying audio signal.

From the Export section of the Advanced page, you can start the Import And Export wizard that you can use to move information between Outlook and other apps.

You can use Outlook 2016 as an RSS feed reader; feeds that you subscribe to appear in the RSS Feeds folder. In the RSS Feeds section of the Advanced page, you can configure settings for the display and synchronization of RSS feeds.

From the Send And Receive section of the Advanced page, you can configure options for synchronizing Outlook with email servers when online and offline.

The Developers, International Options, and Display sections of the Advanced page include options that will probably be used only by advanced Outlook users. The International Options section includes options for using English message flags and headers when working in another language, setting encoding for outgoing messages and business cards, managing international domain names in email addresses, and combining non-Latin and English characters in email messages and addresses.

The Other section of the Advanced page includes useful options for setting the default color category and confirming the permanent deletion of items. From this section, you can also import group schedules that you created in a previous version of Outlook.

To automatically empty your Deleted Items folders

1. Display the Advanced page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Outlook start and exit section, select the Empty Deleted Items folders when exiting Outlook check box.

To automatically archive items

1. Display the Advanced page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the AutoArchive section, click the AutoArchive Settings button.

3. In the AutoArchive dialog box, select the Run AutoArchive every check box, and then in the adjacent box, enter or select the frequency.

4. In the During AutoArchive section, review the options and configure the settings to meet your needs. Then click OK.

There are several sources of add-ins:

You can purchase add-ins from third-party vendors; for example, you can purchase an add-in that allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts to Outlook commands that don’t already have them.

You can download free add-ins from the Microsoft website or other websites.

When installing a third-party app, it might install an add-in that allows it to interact with Microsoft Office 2016 apps.

Information about the add-ins that are installed on your computer, and access to manage them, is available from the Add-ins page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

Each type of add-in has its own management interface. You can add and remove add-ins, turn off installed add-ins, and enable add-ins that have been disabled.

Many add-ins install themselves, but to use some add-ins, you must first install them on your computer and then load them into your computer’s memory.

To managed installed COM add-ins

1. Display the Add-Ins page of the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. In the Manage list at the bottom of the page, click COM Add-ins. Then click the adjacent Go button.

3. In the COM Add-ins dialog box, do any of the following, and then click OK:

• To enable an add-in, select its check box.

• To disable an add-in, clear its check box.

• To remove an add-in, click the add-in name, and then click Remove.

To install a COM add-in

1. Display the COM Add-ins dialog box.

2. In the dialog box, click Add or Add New.

3. In the Add Add-in dialog box, navigate to the folder where the add-in you want to install is stored, and double-click its name.

4. In the list of available add-ins in the COM Add-ins dialog box, select the check box of the new add-in, and then click OK to make the add-in available for use in Outlook.

The Trust Center settings aren’t exposed directly on the page; you must click a button next to a warning informing you that you shouldn’t change any of the settings. It’s certainly true that if you don’t take care when modifying the Trust Center settings, you could expose Outlook, your computer, and your network to malicious software. It’s more common to modify these settings in Word than in Outlook, but review the available settings so you can evaluate whether any of them would be appropriate to change in your specific situation.

The Trust Center has the following seven pages of options that you can configure:

Trusted Publishers

Privacy Options

Email Security

Attachment Handling

Automatic Download

Macro Settings

Programmatic Access

When you first open the Trust Center, the Automatic Download page is active. As in the Outlook Options dialog box, you click a page tab name in the left pane to display that page in the right pane.

Most pages display options that are very specific to the page name. When you’re working in Outlook, some circumstances will send you directly to this dialog box—for example, if you open a file that contains macros, and then click the info bar to enable them, Outlook takes you to the Macro Settings page.

Some, but not all, of the Trust Center pages include buttons that you can click to reset that set of options to the defaults, so take care when making changes; if you’re uncertain whether you should invoke a change, click Cancel to close the Trust Center without committing to the changes.

As with options in the Outlook Options dialog box, you should take the time to familiarize yourself with the Trust Center settings so you know what changes it is possible to make, in the event that it is appropriate to do so in your computing environment.

To open the Trust Center

1. In the left pane of the Outlook Options dialog box, click the Trust Center page tab.

2. On the Trust Center page, click the Trust Center Settings button.

Configure general Office and Outlook options

Configure message options

Configure calendar options

Configure contact and task options

Configure search and language options

Configure advanced options

Manage add-ins and security options

1. Open the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. Explore each page of the dialog box.

3. On the General, Mail, Calendar, Groups, People, Tasks, Search, Language, and Advanced pages, do the following:

• Notice the sections and the options in each section.

• Note the options that apply only to the current file.

• Modify the options on the page as necessary to fit the way you work.

4. Close the Outlook Options dialog box.

1. Open the Outlook Options dialog box.

2. Display the Add-ins page, and then do the following:

• Review the add-ins that are installed on your computer.

• Notice the types of add-ins that are active, and display the dialog box for that type of add-in.

• Notice add-ins that are turned on or off, and modify the setting if you want to.

• Close the dialog box.

3. Display the Trust Center page, and then do the following:

• Open the Trust Center.

• Review the settings on each page of the Trust Center, but don’t make any changes.

• Close the Trust Center.

4. Close the Outlook Options dialog box.