Introduction

Once you start using Outlook regularly, it can be difficult to keep up with all your messages. Fortunately, there are several features that can help you manage and organize your messages.
In this lesson, you'll learn how to create folders, apply categories, and set rules. We'll also talk about using flags to manage your messages and how to delete messages from your inbox.
Outlook gives you many different tools for managing your email, including folders, rules, categories, and more.

Using Folders

Folders can help keep your messages organized. There are four default folders in Mail view: Inbox, Drafts, Sent Items, and Deleted Items. Just like the folders on your computer, folders in Outlook can be nested to create multiple layers of organization. For example, you might create several folders within the Inbox folder to keep track of the different types of messages you receive.

• To access folder commands, locate and select the Folder tab on the Ribbon. The Folder tab will appear.

To Create a New Folder:

Before you create a new folder, you must select the desired location for that folder. In our example, we'll create a folder within the Inbox folder to help organize messages containing important memos.

1. Locate and select the Folder tab on the Ribbon. The Folder tab will appear.
2. Select the desired location for the folder and then click the New Folder command.
3. The Create New Folder dialog box will appear. Type the name for the folder and click OK.
4. The folder will be created in the selected location.

Using Categories

Categories can make it easier to find and organize your messages. Applying a category is much like moving a message to a folder, but with one important difference: you can apply multiple categories to any message. For example, if you received a message about an upcoming sales meeting, you could apply both the Sales and Meetings categories. Categories are designed to work any way you want—it's easy to rename categories, choose new category colors, and even create new categories.

To Customize Categories:

Outlook 2010 offers six default categories. You may want to customize these categories before you start using them to organize your messages, as the default categories may not prove to be especially helpful in sorting your mail.

1. Locate and select the Categorize command on the Ribbon, then select All Categories... from the drop-down menu.
2. The Color Categories dialog box will appear.
3. Select the desired category and then click the Rename button. In this example, we'll rename one of the default categories to help organize messages about upcoming staff meetings.
4. Type the new name for the category. You can also select a new color if you prefer. Once you're satisfied with the changes, click OK.
5. The customized category will appear in the categories list.

To Apply a Category:

1. Select the desired message, then click the Categorize command on the Ribbon.
2. Select the desired category from the drop-down menu.
3. The category will be applied to the message and visible in both the View and Reading panes.

To Filter Messages by Categories:

Once you've applied categories to some of your messages, you can easily view all the messages in any given category by using a filter. For example, you may wish to view messages in the Meetings category so that you can see everything that pertains to an upcoming meeting.

1. Locate and select the Filter E-mail command on the Ribbon, hover over Categorized, and then select the desired category from the drop-down menu.
2. Messages matching the selected category will appear in the View pane.

Applying Rules

Rules can save you a lot of time by automatically performing commands like moving or deleting messages as they arrive. For example, if you always move emails from a certain person to a folder, you could create a rule to do this automatically. You can create rules that look for a specific sender, recipient, subject, or specific words that are contained in the body of the email.

To Create a New Rule:

1. Locate and select the Rules command on the Ribbon and then select Manage Rules & Alerts... from the drop-down menu.
2. The Rules and Alerts dialog box will appear.
3. Click the New Rule... button.
4. The Rules Wizard will appear. Follow the instructions to create a new rule.

To Apply a Flag:

1. Select the desired message and then click the Follow Up command on the Ribbon.
2. Choose the deadline for the task from the drop-down menu.
3. The flag will be applied. To mark the task as complete, click the flag and then select Mark Complete from the drop-down menu.

To Delete Messages Permanently:

When you delete messages from your inbox, they are first moved to the Deleted Items folder, which is similar to the Recycle Bin on your computer. To delete messages permanently, you will need to empty the Deleted Items folder.

1. Locate and right-click the Deleted Items folder in the Navigation pane, then select Empty Folder from the drop-down menu.
2. A confirmation dialog box will appear. Click Yes to continue.
3. The messages will be permanently deleted.

Challenge!

1. Create a new folder within your Inbox folder.
2. Customize a category and then apply it to an email message.
3. Use the Rule Wizard to create a new rule.