Hi reader,
MS
Office Outlook is not an alien to us. We use it as a communication channel
between us to bosses, subordinates, peers, customers, suppliers and etc. The
message is delivered fast, reliable and convenient. Outlook could become our
information storage if all the emails are kept in this application. Whenever we
need those information, we can always refer back to the said email in the
computer.
How
much emails you receive in a day? Mine is not so bad... between 10 to 20. I
still have time to open, read, reply or delete the emails received for the day.
I have seen people who received tenths of emails per day. They don't even have
a second to read all those emails because they are always on mobile, in the
meetings or may be on vacations. Usually for people like this, we have to call
or send text message to him/ her to inform that we have sent them an email.
Today I would like to share on how to
find a message in MS Outlook in many ways and faster ways. Besides receiving
and sending information, Outlook has other capabilities which we might not
aware of.
Find a message
If your Outlook store hundreds of
records, searching information could be lengthy. The Outlook has few ways to
speed up the searching process.
Using Search Functions
1. Instant Search. Instant search function can be found on the upper right
or middle of the pane. (example: the red rectangle box)
You can type any word you need to find
and outlook will highlight the words it found. So the searching time becomes
faster. After you finished searching, you can clear the word by click the ’x’ beside
the search box.
2. Expand Query Builder. Expand query builder function can be found on
the right of the instant search box (display in orange color)
Just by typing word in any boxes,
Outlook will display the result of the searched and hide all non-related
emails. The selection of messages become narrow and we can find the required
message easier.
Another good search function is to use
a Recent Search where Outlook will
display up to 10 of your most recent search. This function is very much
suitable for things that you had recently searched may be in a day.
Using Color Category
In Outlook we can use Color Category
for message identification such as to contacts, appointments and tasks.
This will help us to quickly identify them and associate them with related
items.
For Example, I have assigned a Green Category for this person and Outlook adds in the Green Category bar on the message.
We can change the name of color
category to something else for example Staff or Peers. This re-name is only
applicable for the first time using the specific color category. Don't worry;
we still chance to change the name of the used color category by opening the Color
Category box.
At this box, we can rename, create or
delete the color category.
Another very helpful tips using colors is assign a Quick Click category to a message. With a single click, you can assign a color category to an item in your inbox or any message list. Before you can assign the quick click, you must have renamed all the color categories to match your need.
On your message, you right click your mouse and select 'Set Quick Click' as the picture above and make your selection.
Once you have assigned the color
category to the message, you can now sort you messages according to the color
as shown below. This will help you to search the message quite fast as well.
From the color category view, I am more
pleasant viewing my messages because it is colorful and....of course I could
not escape from checking emails of the red color category from now on.
That's
all some tips to speed up the searching of messages. I will come back with more
tips later....bye
