MSOutlook.info » Mail Composing

Save attachment changes with original message

Roady [MVP] — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:45:20 +0000

Every now and then I receive messages with attachments which need some small changes before they are ready (they get printed or forwarded afterwards). I really don't have a need to save these attachments to my disk as well but Outlook insists on saving them there. Is there a way that I can save the changed attachments directly to the original messages?

Mail Merge with Distribution List as source

Roady [MVP] — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:38:44 +0000

I've got a long Distribution List (or Contact Group as they are called now in Outlook 2010) to which I want to send a message to. As I don't want to use the BCC field and actually also a bit interested to to personalize the messages, I wanted to use the Distribution List as the source for my Mail Merge. Is this even possible?

Always reply in HTML format

Roady [MVP] — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:27:54 +0000

I've set my default message format to HTML but when I reply to a Plain Text message, it still doesn't come up in HTML format. This for instance really messes up my signature which includes some formatting and a picture. It there any way to force Outlook to always reply in HTML format?

Remove underline and changing hyperlinks color

Roady [MVP] — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:22:42 +0000

By default, whenever I create a hyperlink, Outlook turns the text color into blue and underlines it. Is there any way I can remove this default underline and change the color for instance into our company's color (green)?

Reset or keep formatting when pasting to email

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:23:48 +0000

Whenever I copy something from another email or application such as an Internet page and paste that in my message, the formatting never really blends in with what I have already. On the other hand, when I have some carefully formatted text from Word and paste that into a new message, a lot of formatting is lost or messed up. How can I control the formatting of my pasted text?

Process your mail quicker with keyboard shortcuts

Roady [MVP] — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:51:11 +0000

While message rules can help to automatically file the bulk of your messages directly into the correct folder, processing your mail is of course more than just moving it. Instead of using your mouse, you can move, flag, categorize, etc your mail via a keyboard shortcut which is often quicker (and more accurate when for instance in a train). Which ones are you using?

Propose New Time missing from Meeting Request

Roady [MVP] — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:49:00 +0000

I was just sent an invite to a recurring meeting. I want to propose a new time, but only Accept, Decline, Tentative and Respond buttons show on the ribbon. I then added all three Propose New Time icons to the Quick Access Toolbar, but they are gray. Why can't I propose a new time?

Opening OWA messages in a new tab

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:13:31 +0000

When I open a message in Outlook Web Access (OWA) via a double click or create a new message, this message is opened in a separate window. This basically "detaches" it from the current browser window and makes it hard to find back when I switch between applications. Can I open it in a new tab instead so that I can group all my OWA activity together?

Sending from an additional Exchange address

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:30:29 +0000

I've got an Exchange mailboxes which holds multiple email addresses. I can receive mail sent to any of these addresses just fine, but I cannot find a way to choose which address to send out with. I've tried setting the From field with another address but that got automatically replaced with my default address or a bounce message saying that I don't have permission to do so. How can I send out a message with one of my mailbox aliases?

Meeting request holds no details for receiver

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:34:54 +0000

I've sent out a meeting request but some recipients complained that the message was empty. I know that at least one of them is not using Outlook but Mozilla Thunderbird. I use Outlook 2010 myself. Is there anything I can do to solve this other than sending out regular email messages with the meeting details instead of actual meeting requests?

Colorful emoticons and smiley faces in Outlook

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:40:00 +0000

This might be a touchy subject for fanatic or business level Outlook users but I wanted to ask this anyway. I know that Outlook supports emoticons as when I type :-) Outlook converts it to ☺ and it also does this for :-( and :-|. However, these are of course very old fashioned looking and quite limiting in choice. I could insert an image each time, but an autoconvert feature such as in Windows Live Messenger and Skype would be better. Anyway, how can I improve Outlook's emoticon support?

You may have been BCCed warning

Roady [MVP] — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:57:46 +0000

On occasion, I receive emails which are sent to multiple people. To keep the conversation intact, I use the Reply All button to respond. Only afterwards, I realized that I was only a BCC recipient in the original message and thus I now reveal myself to the rest which the original sender obviously did not want. As this can be quite embarrassing not only to me but also to the original sender, is there any way that Outlook can warn me that I was only a BCC recipient for the email?

Brighten up your OOF for the holidays

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:43:00 +0000

The weather doesn’t really seem to play along this Summer; it’s either lots of rain or draught, no sun at all or a bit too much sun and of course, for some of you it’s Winter now! But even though the weather might be a bit gloomy, it doesn't mean that your Out of Office messages (OOF) have to be the same. While you can maintain a serious business style OOF message for the outside world, how about a more cheerful notification message for your colleagues hard at (doing your) work?

Always reply with the same email address

Roady [MVP] — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:03:08 +0000

I've got multiple email accounts but I actually only use 1 address to send my mails from. As Outlook always automatically uses the account that the message has been received with for sending as well, I need to change the account each time. How can I make Outlook always use the address of my default account instead?

Backup and Restore Quick Parts

Roady [MVP] — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:44:27 +0000

I've created a couple Quick Part text templates in Outlook which I use to quickly answer some common questions.

As I have spent quite some time creating them, I'd hate to lose them either when something goes wrong or when I get a new computer.

How can I make a backup of these Quick Parts?