Designing & Shaping email in Outlook 365
This is a guide on designing and shaping email in Outlook.
Creating & using templates
Outlook offers a number of templates that can be used to speed up the writing of your emails inside the My Templates gallery. In this video, you're also going to see how to create your own customized email template. You can insert a template into your newly opened email easily by firstly clicking the View Template option in the Message tab in a newly drafted email. Now that I've clicked this, a window has appeared titled My Templates, and we have different templates that we can enter into our email. At the top of the template is the title of the template, and underneath the title we can see text that will be inserted if we click on that template. I can add a template's text to this email easily by simply clicking on the template I want to add.
Now that I've clicked this template, I can see the text added to the body of my email. I can create a new template by clicking the '+ Template' button below the templates I can see. Now that I've clicked that, I can type in a new title for my new templates with the keys on my keyboard, as Title is already selected. Now that I've typed in a new title for this template, I can click underneath to type in a body for the template, which will be inserted into the body of the email when I click on this template. Now that I've typed in the text that I want to be inserted for this template, I can click Save below to save the template.
Now that I've clicked Save, I can see the template in the options under My Templates. You can edit a template by firstly hovering your mouse over the template that you want to edit. Once you do this, you'll see two icons appear in the upper right corner of the template. You can click the icon that looks like a pencil on a page to edit the template. Now that I've clicked this icon, we can change this template by either changing its title, or by clicking in the body section and editing the body of the template. Now that I've edited this template, I can click Save to save the changes that I've made. We can now see that this template has been edited and includes the additional text that we've added to it.
You can easily delete a template by once again hovering your mouse over the template that you want to delete and by clicking the icon in the upper right corner that looks like a bin to delete the template. It's possible to create your own custom templates to quickly structure frequently sent emails. Email templates can contain predefined text, images, styles, colors, recipients, email subjects, and even attachments.
To do this, first I'll open another drafted email that I have opened by hovering my mouse over the Outlook icon, then by clicking on the drafted email's thumbnail image. [Video description begins] He hovers over the Outlook icon in the taskbar. Thumbnails of each opened Outlook windows appear above the taskbar. [Video description ends]
This email has been formatted already and I want to save it as a custom template.
To do this, first I'll click the File tab in the top left corner of the newly drafted email. [Video description begins] The File backstage view opens with the navigation menu on the left, with options such as Info, Save As, Options, and so on. The content of the selected option is displayed on the right. [Video description ends]
Now that I've clicked File, I'll need to click Save As.
Now that I've click Save As, a window has appeared titled Save As. [Video description begins] The File Explorer window titled 'Save As' opens with the navigation menu on the left, the File name and Save as type fields at the bottom, and the "Save" and "Cancel" buttons on the bottom right. [Video description ends]
I can save this template, but first I want to rename it so I'll use the keys on my keyboard to change the name of this file. If I want to save this as a template, I'll need to click Save as file type first, then select a different option from the dropdown menu. This time, I'll need to select Outlook Template to save this email as a template. Now, I'll click Save. To create a custom email using this template, I can simply click the New Items option in the New group in the top left corner of the Outlook interface that's behind this newly drafted email. First, I'll click on the interface to bring it forward. Now that I've clicked on it, I'll click New Items to create a new email with this template. Now that I've clicked that, I'll need to hover my mouse over More Items in the dropdown menu.
Now I'll click Choose form. [Video description begins] A Choose Form window opens and displays a Look in dropdown menu, a list of forms or templates, the Display name and File name fields, and the Open, Cancel, and Advanced buttons on the bottom right. [Video description ends]
Now that I've clicked Choose form, I'll need to select the dropdown menu by clicking the arrow pointing downward next to Look in. Now I'll need to select User Templates in File System, as this is a template we've saved in our file system. Now that I've done this, I can see the title of the template that we've created and I can click on it. Now, I can click Open to create a new email using this template. We can see that the template has been created in the interface. The template included our signature, and when we create a new email, our signature is automatically included as well.
We can edit this template or any predefined template that we've created and saved, just like we'd edit a normal email. I'll go ahead and click and drag to select text that I want to remove being the second signature, and I'll remove it using the keys on my keyboard. Now, I'll make some changes to the spacing using the keys on my keyboard to make the email look the way that I want it to look. Now that I've done that, I can click Send to send this email.
Customizing background & theme
In Outlook, you can quickly apply themes to your messages in order to change the design of fonts and colors. In this video, you're also going to see how to change the background of your emails. It's possible to use themes to change the overall appearance of an email. You can apply a new theme to your email by simply clicking on the Options tab at the top of the newly drafted email, then by selecting the Themes icon in the Themes group in the top left corner of the ribbon. Now that I've clicked the Themes icon, I can see different themes that I can apply to this email. If I click on one of the themes, we'll be able to see it applied to the email. We can see the fonts changed, and we can also see the color of the colored text changed. We can change the colors of this theme by clicking the Colors option in the Themes group.
Now that I've clicked the Colors option, we can see different sets of colors that we can use for our theme. I can see that the colored font in this email has changed colors according to the theme we've selected. We can also change the font of the theme by clicking the Fonts icon, then by selecting a different option in the dropdown menu. Now that I've selected that, the font in this theme has changed. You can also add effects by clicking the Effects option, then by selecting an effect in this menu. I don't want to apply effect, so I'll click away from this menu to exit it without selecting an effect. It's also possible to reset your theme, browse for more themes, and also save your current theme, all in the Themes icon by clicking it in the Themes group. Now that I've clicked the Themes icon, I can see options to Reset to Theme from Template, Browse for Themes, or Save the Current Theme.
I want to reset the theme from template, so I'll go ahead and click Reset to Theme from Templates. It's also possible to change the background of your Outlook email. To do this, you can click the Page Color icon in the Themes group. I can see various different colors, including Theme Colors and Standard Colors. If I hover my mouse over one of these colors, we can see a preview of it applied to the background, and I can click to apply it. There's also options in the Page Color icon including No Color, which will remove the color. We can select More Colors, which will open a menu of more colors, or we can select Fill Effects to use a fill effect as the background. I'll select No Color to remove the color from the background.
Inserting QuickParts
Quick Parts can be used to store pieces of content that can then be quickly inserted into the body of your email. In this video, you're going to see how to quickly create an email in Outlook thanks to Quick Parts. Quick Parts can be used to store and reuse pieces of content and are useful for quickly building out an email using reusable items such as lists. To enter a Quick Part, first I'll click Quick Parts in the Text group. Now, I want to insert an AutoText that I've already created, so I'll hover my mouse over AutoText. I can see the list of departments I want to insert, so I'll go ahead and click List of departments. I can now see that list inserted into the body of my email. You can create a Quick Part AutoText by firstly clicking at the end of the text that you want to select to make the AutoText Quick Part, then by clicking and dragging to select the text.
Once you've done this, you can click the Quick Parts option in the Text group in the ribbon. Once you've done that, you can click Save Selection to Quick Part gallery. Now that I've click Save Selection to Quick Part gallery, a window has appeared titled Create New Building Block. I can change the name of this Quick Part by using the keys on my keyboard. Now that I've changed the name, I'll need to change the Gallery to AutoText to make this a Quick Part AutoText. I'll click the arrow pointing downward next to where it reads Quick Parts and I'll select AutoText. Below that, we have the Category option where we can click the arrow pointing downward, then select Create New category if we want to create a new category.
I'll click General, as I want this to fit into the General category. Below that we can click next to where it reads Description and add a description for this. I don't want to add a description, so I'll skip that option and leave it blank as it's not required. We can also see that it's being saved in NormalEmail. Below that we can see Options. Options is set to Insert content only. If I click the arrow pointing downward, I can choose to insert content in its own paragraph or insert content in its own page. I don't want either of those options, so I'll click Insert content only to leave it on this selection, and I'll click OK to save the change.
Now that I've clicked OK, I can click Quick Parts in the Text group again, then I can hover my mouse over AutoText and I can see the new Quick Part AutoText saved, and if we click on this it will insert it into the body of our email. I don't want to do that as this text is already contained in the body of our email. It's also possible to edit and delete AutoText. Deleting an AutoText Quick Part will not delete content already inserted in the email. If I right click on this AutoText, I'll have options to Insert at Current Document Position, Insert at Beginning of Document, Insert at End of Document, Edit Properties, Organize and Delete, or Add Gallery to Quick Access Toolbar. I'll click Organize and Delete.
Now that I've done this, the Building Block Organizer window has opened. In the Building Block Organizer, I can edit properties of one of my AutoText or Quick Parts, delete, or insert. [Video description begins] The Building Blocks Organizer window dislays the Buidling blocks list on the left, and the preview of the selected building block on the right. [Video description ends]
If I click Edit Properties while I have this AutoText selected, I can open the Modify Building Block window and I can change, for example, the name or another property to do with this AutoText. Now that I've renamed this AutoText, I'll go ahead and click OK. A dialog box has appeared asking if we want to redefine the building block entry - I'll click Yes. Now that I've done this, we can see the name has been changed for this AutoText. To delete an AutoText, you can simply click on the AutoText, then click Delete from the options below. Now that I've done this, a dialog box has once again appeared asking if we're sure we want to delete the selected building block. I'll go ahead and click Yes.
Inserting icons & equations
If you want to insert symbols, icons or equations in your emails, Outlook has the tools you need. You can browse the equation tools to create simple and complex calculations and insert icons to stylize graphic elements to your message. It's possible to build out an email using icons and equations. It's useful when you're looking to insert calculations or stylized imagery. To access the icon gallery, you can simply click the Insert tab at the top of the interface in the newly drafted email, then you can click the Icons icon in the Illustrations group in the ribbon. Now that I've done this, the Icons gallery has appeared.
To insert an icon, I can simply click on the icon that I want to insert. If I want to insert more than one icon, I can simply click to select the other icon. We can now see that two icons will be inserted, indicated by the number 2 on the Insert button in the bottom right corner of the window. I'll go ahead and click Insert these icons. It's possible to edit icons like regular shapes. You can manually resize an icon by clicking on the dot on the border of the icon, then by dragging it to make it smaller or larger in your email. You can also change the graphic style by clicking on the icon, then by using the Graphics Styles group in the ribbon. If I click on another style, it will change the icon to that style. If I don't like any of the three styles shown here, I can click the arrow pointing downward to view more styles, or click the arrow in the bottom right corner of this to view all of the styles.
Now, I can select the style that I want. We can also change the shape fill by clicking Graphics Fill, then by selecting a different color from the menu that appears. We can change the graphics outline by clicking the Graphics Outline icon, then by selecting a different outline from the menu that appears. And we can add a graphics effect by clicking on Graphics Effect, then by selecting a graphics effect from the menu. I'll go ahead and click away from this menu as I don't want to add an effect now. You can remove an icon just like you would regular text. If you click to select an icon, you can simply push the Backspace key on your keyboard to delete it.
Using equations is also simple. To access the equations gallery, once again I'll need to click Insert at the top of the newly drafted email, then select Equation from the Symbols group in the ribbon. I can click the arrow pointing downward next to the equation option, and I can see the option to insert a new equation. There's also an option to Save Selection to Equation Gallery. If we already have an equation in the email, we can use this by clicking and dragging to select the equation, then by clicking this button. I'll go ahead and click Insert New Equation. Text has appeared in our email reading "Type equation here". I can click the arrow pointing downward next to this equation that we've inserted to see equation option.
We can see that we can save as a new equation, set to professional, set to linear, set all to professional, set all the linear, change the display, or use justification options. I'll click away from this to exit it. We also have options in the ribbon in relation to setting up this equation. We have a Tools group which allows us to click an Equation button to insert another equation. We have the Professional option, the Linear option, and the Normal Text option in Tools. In the Symbols group, we can add symbols for the equation. And in the Structures group, we can add different structures including fractions, e scripts, radicals, integrals, large operators, brackets, functions, accents, limits and logs, operator, and matrix.
If I click the arrow pointing downward under Fraction, I can, for example, click one of these options for fraction. Now that I've created the fraction, I can click in the box on the fraction, then use the keys on my keyboard to populate it with text. Now that I've clicked, I've pushed 1 on the top half of the fraction, and if I click in the box underneath it I can push 4 to make the fraction 1/4 in this equation box. I can click away from this to show it without the box around it, as it will be shown in the drafted email.
We can make this equation bigger by clicking and dragging to select it, then by making it bigger using the font size option in the Basic Text group. If I click the arrow pointing downward, I can then select a bigger size to increase the size of the equation. You can edit this equation as normal text with most tools in the Basic Text group. To remove this equation, first I'll click on the equation again. Now, I'll click on the three dots that appear in the upper left corner of the equation box. Now that I've selected that, I could push Backspace on my keyboard to delete the equation.
Inserting 3D models
With Outlook, you can insert 3D models into your emails. In this video, you're going to see how to insert a 3-dimensional image and use 3D model tools. It's possible to insert one or more 3D models into emails from a computer or stock gallery. The insertion of 3D models might take time because the files are quite big. To insert a 3D model into your email. First, you'll want to click Insert at the top of your newly drafted email, then select 3D Models from the Illustrations group. You can click the arrow pointing downward next to 3D Models for more options.
Now that I've clicked the arrow pointing downward, I can insert a 3D model from This Device if I have one saved on this device, or from Stock 3D Models. I'll select Stock 3D Models. A window has appeared of Online 3D Models. We have a search bar at the top of this window where we can search for 3D models, and then underneath that we have different categories of 3D models that we can choose from. I can click one of the categories to view the 3D models in this category. Now that have clicked the Chemistry category, we can see that Chemistry has been searched in the search bar. If I don't see any of the 3D models that I want to insert, I can click the scroll bar and drag it downward to view other 3D models that I can insert into the email.
Once I find a 3D model that I want to insert, I can simply click on the 3D model, then I can click the Insert button at the bottom of this menu. You can insert more than one 3D model by clicking on another 3D model. You'll see the number of 3D models that will be inserted indicated by the number next to the word Insert on the button. I don't want to insert two 3D models as it may take a little bit too long, as these files are big, so I'll click one of the 3D models to deselect it. Now I'll click Insert. Now that I've clicked insert, we can see that the 3D model has been inserted into our email. If we click the center of the 3D model, we can drag it and view it from a different angle.
Now that I've let go, the 3D model has been set to a different angle. At the top of the interface, we have tools in the ribbon in relation to the 3D model, including an Adjust group with a 3D Models tool, which if we click will allow us to insert a 3D model from This Device or from Stock 3D Models. I'll click away from this menu to exit it. We also have a Reset 3D Model option, which if we click, we can choose to Reset the 3D Model, or Reset 3D Model and Size. I'll click away from this to exit. We also have different 3D model views in the 3D Model Views group. I can see different views, and if I have my mouse over the view, I can see a demo of the view and I can click it to change the view.
I can see other views by clicking the arrow pointing downward to the right of the views, or I can view all the views by clicking the arrow pointing downward in the bottom right corner of these views. I can then click on a view that I want to select, and that view will remain in the 3D model. We also have an Accessibility group, which allows us to add alt text.
If we choose to add alt text, we can click Alt text, then type in the alt text. [Video description begins] The Alt Text side pane opens on the right with a text field. [Video description ends]
I'll go ahead and click the X to exit this. We also have an Arrange group. In the Arrange group, we have a Position Object option. If we click Position, we can choose where we want this 3D model to be contained in relation with the text in the body of our email. I'll click away from this to exit it. We also have a Wrap Text option. We can click this, then we have options of how we want this 3D model to be wrapped in text. I'll click away from this to exit it. We also have a Bring Forward option which will bring this forward, a Send Backward option which will send this backward, a Selection Pane option which will display all of the objects in the email, an Align option which allows us to align the object, and a Group option which allows us to group the object or 3D model with other objects in the email.
To the right of this option, we have a Pan & Zoom option which allows us to pan and zoom to focus on different areas of the 3D model. If I click this, we can then see options to pan and zoom, and we can change the height in the Shape Height section by clicking in and changing it with our keyboard or by using the up or down arrows. Or we can change the width by clicking in Shape Width then changing the number, or by using the up or down arrows. You can also manually resize the item by firstly ensuring that you've clicked on the item so that you can see the dots on the corner of the item, then by clicking on the dot and dragging them to make it either bigger or smaller.
Even after resizing the 3D model, you can still click the icon in the center of the 3D model and drag to change its angle. To reset a 3D model, you can simply click the Reset 3D Model icon in the Adjust group. Now that I click this, we can see that the 3D model has been reset, but it's still the same size.
If we want to reset the 3D model and its size, we can click the arrow pointing downward, then click Reset 3D Model and Size. [Video description begins] The arrow of the Reset 3D Model option. [Video description ends]
We can now see that the 3D model has been returned to its original size and angle. To remove a 3D model, you can simply click to select the 3D model if it's not already selected, then push the Backspace key on your keyboard.
Using signatures
Creating a signature will allow you to attach certain information at the end of every message you send. In this video, you'll see how to create a signature, insert it into your emails, as well as how to switch signatures and manage them. It's possible to create a mail signature that can be formatted as regular text and can also include a business card, image or hyperlink, and you can create a different signature for different kinds of emails, for example one to new emails and another one to replies or forwards, or one for people internally in your company and another for people outside of your company with less contact information.
To access this, we need to click the Insert tab, then click the Signature icon in the Include group at the top left corner of the interface. Now that I've done this, I can see a signature that's already been created and if I click it, it will populate the signature in the email and I have a Signatures option.
If I click the Signatures option, it will open a Signatures and Stationery window. [Video description begins] The Signatures and Stationery window opens in the E-mail Signature tab, and displays the sections Select signature to edit, Choose default signature, and Edit signature. The OK and Cancel buttons are on the bottom right. [Video description ends]
Now that the Signatures and Stationery window is open, I can see a window that reads 'Select signature to edit'. We can see that a signature is selected titled 'John', and we have buttons to delete, create a new, save or rename a signature below.
I'll go ahead and click New as I want to create a new signature. [Video description begins] A New Signature window opens with a text field, and the OK and Cancel buttons. [Video description ends]
I'll need to type a name for the signature. This signature will be the same as the other signature that we can see in the interface, but this time I don't want it to include any contact information as it's going to be for people outside of my organization. I'll go ahead and click where it reads 'Type a name for this signature'. Now that I've typed in a name for the new signature, I can click OK. The new signature name has been listed in the box underneath where it allows us to select the signature to edit and has been selected. I can go ahead and edit the signature's properties by clicking in the box underneath where it reads 'Edit signature'. Now that I've clicked in this box, I can type the text I want the signature to contain.
Now that I've type the text I want the signature to contain, I can edit the text as normal text using the tools above this box. I want this text to be bold and underlined, so firstly I'll click at the end of the text, now I'll click and drag to select the text. Now that the text is selected, Ican make it bold by clicking the Bold icon in the tools above the text, and I can make it underlined by clicking the Underlined icon in the tools above the text. I also want the text above the selected text to be blue. To change the text, I'll click at the end of the text. Now I'll click and drag to select it. Now that the text is selected, I'll click where it reads 'Automatic' and shows an arrow pointing downward, as this is the font color options.
Once I've clicked this, I can click a blue color or any color I'd like to change the font to. Now that I've click this color, we can see the color change in the Edit signature box. You can also change things like the font by clicking the arrow pointing downward next to where it reads the font's name, the size by clicking the arrow downward next to where it reads the font size. Next to the colors options, you have alignment options where you can align the signature to the left, to the center or to the right. You can also access your business card library by clicking Business Card to reference any business cards you might have, and you can insert images by clicking the Insert images icon to the right of the Business Card icon.
To the right of the Insert images icon, you have a Hyperlink icon which you can click to create hyperlinks within your signature. In the upper right section of this, you can choose what default signatures you want to use and configure your signatures. At the top, you can select which email account you want to choose the settings for. Right now we only have [email protected] added to this Outlook client, so it's the only account that we can change. If we click the arrow pointing downward next to this contact, we'll see that the list is empty. If we had any other email addresses added to this client, we'd be able to see them in this list and click them to view and edit their signatures. I'll go ahead and click away from this window to close it.
Underneath this, we have the New messages option, which allows us to choose which signature we want used as default when we create a new message. I'll go ahead and click the arrow pointing downward, and I'll select a signature that I want used for that. Underneath that option, we have the Replies/forwards option, which allows us to delegate which signature we want when we reply or forward an email. I'll go ahead and click the arrow pointing downward again and switch this to the other signature that we had saved in our account previous. Now that I've done this, I can click OK to save the changes that I've made. I'll close this email by clicking the X in the top right corner of it. A dialog box is open asking if I want to save a draft of this message, I'll click No.
Now, if I click the New Email option in the New group in the top left corner of the interface, now that I've clicked New Email we can see the signature added at the bottom of the new email. If I want to change this signature to the new signature that we've created, I can use the signature icon in the Include group in the Message tab. If I click this option, I can then click the new signature that we've created. Now that we've done that, we can see that the previous signature has been replaced with a new signature that we've created.
To remove a signature, you can simply click the signature icon again in the Include group, then select Signatures from the menu that appears. Now that I've selected that, I can delete the signature by clicking on the signature, then by clicking Delete in the options underneath the window that reads 'Select signature to edit'. Now that I've done this, a dialog box has appeared asking if we're sure we want to delete the selected signature. It's letting us know that all email accounts that are using that signature will no longer have a signature. I'll go ahead and click Yes.
Customizing reply & forward messages
In Outlook, when you try to reply or forward an email message, the original message is included below the new message. In this video, you're going to see how to change how the original message appears in replies and forwards. By default, when you reply or forward an email, the original message is included below the new message. If I click on this email and I click the Reply option in the upper right corner of the email, I can see my drafted email above the original email that I'm replying to below.
If I want to change this, I can access the Replies and forwards menu by firstly clicking File in the top left corner of the interface to access the backstage view, then by clicking Options in the menu on the left-hand side. [Video description begins] The Outlook Options window opens with a navigation menu on the left, with options such as General (selected by default), Mail, Calendar, Advanced, and so on. The content of the selected option is displayed in the main panel. The OK and Cancel buttons are on the bottom right. [Video description ends]
Now that I've clicked Options, I'll need to click Mail on the left-hand column. Now, I'll need to use the scroll bar by clicking it and dragging it downward to scroll downward in this menu. I can now see the Replies and forwards menu. At the top of the Replies and forwards menu, we have the options to Open replies and forwards in a new window, Close original message window when replying or forwarding, Preface comments with, and if we select this option, we have the option to type in a custom text to preface comments with by clicking in this text box and using the keys on our keyboard. I don't want to do this, so I'll select this box again to deselect the option. Underneath these options, we have the 'When replying to a message' option.
If we click the box adjacent to where it reads 'When replying to a message', we have options to not include the original message, attach the original message, include original message text, include an indent original message text, and prefix each line of the original message. By default, Include original message text is selected. That's why we can see the original message's text when we clicked Reply. I'm going to select Do not include original message. Now that I've changed this setting, I can click OK in this menu to validate the change. I'll go ahead and discard this reply that we previously drafted by clicking the Discard button in the upper right corner of the email.
Now that I've done this, I can click the Reply button on the same email again. Now, we can see a newly drafted email reply, but it does not contain the text from the original message below. You can also easily configure your forwarded emails. To do this once again I'll click the File option to access the backstage view. Now I'll click Options. Now that I've clicked Options, I can see that I'm on General and I'll need to click Mail underneath General. Now that I've done that, I can use the scroll bar by clicking the scroll bar and dragging it downward until I can see Replies and forwards. Under Replies and forwards, I can see options relevant to when forwarding a message.
To change these options, once again I'll click the arrow pointing downward adjacent to the text reading 'When forwarding a message'. I can see other options, including Attach original message, Include original message in text - which is selected automatically, Include an indent original message text, and Prefix each line of the original message. I'll go ahead and click Include an indent original message text. Now that I've done this, I can click OK to apply the change. I'll discard this replied email that we were using before by clicking the Discard button. Now, if I click the Forward option to forward this email, we can see that there's an indent before the original message in the email.
Setting the importance of messages
In Outlook, you can set the importance of outgoing messages in order to inform if they have high or low importance. In this video, you're going to see how to assign policies to your emails as well as follow up flags. It's possible to add an importance mark to your message, which can tell recipients if they have a high or low importance. To do this, you can use the options in the Tags group. To set high importance you can click the High Importance option, and to set low importance you can click the Low Importance option. I'll click High Importance to mark this message with high importance, and we can see that that's marked with a box around the option. It's also possible to set a flag to remind you to follow up on this item later.
You can set a flag to your message by clicking the Follow Up button above the High Importance and Low Importance buttons in the Tags group. Now that I've clicked this, we have options including Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, No Date, Custom, and we can Add a Reminder. I can set a reminder to follow up on this this week by clicking the This week option. We can see text at the top of this message letting us know that this message has been flagged and that we need to follow up on it by May 7th, 2021. It's also possible to assign an archive or retention policy to automatically archive or delete selected items.
To do this, you can click the Assign Policy icon in the Tags group. Now that I've done this, I can see options to retain for 1 month then delete, 1 week then delete, 1 year then delete, 5 years then delete, 6 months then delete, never delete, or we can use a folder policy. There's also a More Retention Policies option which allows us to choose from a list of all available retention policies. I'll go ahead and select 1 week for now. We can see text at the top of this email letting us know that this message will be saved in the Sent Items folder for 1 week. The policy will not be sent to any recipients that you send the email to. You can access advanced options by clicking the arrow in the bottom right corner of the Tags group.
Now that I've done this, a window has opened reading Properties. We can change different properties in relation to the tags on this message. We have Settings, where we can change the importance of the message, which is now set to High. We have Sensitivity options, where if we click the arrow pointing downward we can see Personal, Private, and Confidential sensitivity options. I'll go ahead and select Private to mark this as private. Underneath that, we have a 'Do not AutoArchive this item', and in the upper right we have some security settings which we can access.
Below this, we have Voting and Tracking options, including using voting buttons, requesting a delivery receipt for the message, requesting a read receipt for the message. Below that, again we have Delivery options, which allows us to have replies sent to someone specific, mark the message to not be delivered before a certain time, have the message expire after a certain time, and we have the option selected automatically which saves a copy of the sent message. Underneath that, we have a Contacts section, and underneath that again we have a Category section.
Now that I've changed the sensitivity, I'll go ahead and close this menu to return to the message. I'll now click in the To section and populate it with someone who I want to send the email to, and I'll click in the Subject line to write a subject for this email. Now that I've typed the subject in, I'll click in the body of the email to draft my email.
Now that I've drafted my email, I'll send the email with the tag set up on it. [Video description begins] The Outlook main interface now displays, and includes a folder pane on the left, a message pane in the center, and a reading pane on the right. [Video description ends]
If I go to my Sent Items by clicking the Send Items folder in the folders pane on the left side of the interface, I can see the message and I can see all of the tags in the upper right corner of the message. I can click on it to open the message, and I can see all of the notifications and information at the top of the email, including our retention policy, its expiration date, when the item will expire, its sensitivity and its importance.
Creating automatic replies
In Outlook, you can use automatic replies to notify others that you're out of the office, on vacation, or not available to respond to messages. In this video, you're going to see how to create and manage automatic replies.
To create and manage your automatic replies, you can click File in the top left corner of the interface to access the backstage view, then click Automatic Replies under Account Information. [Video description begins] The File backstage view opens in the Account Information page, with the navigation menu on the left. [Video description ends]
Now that we've done that, we can see a window that's appeared titled Automatic Replies, and we can see 'Do not send automatic replies' is selected. I'll go ahead and select 'Send automatic replies' to change this. Now that we've done that, we've activated our automatic replies and we have more available options below. I can click the box next to where it reads 'Only send during this time range' to set a specific time range I want automatic replies to be sent for. I'll go ahead and click that option. Now that I've done that, I can set the start time and date by clicking the arrow pointing downward and selecting a date on the calendar. I want these to start today, so I'll leave this as is and click away to exit. I can also set the start time by clicking the arrow pointing downward, then by selecting a time in the menu. So I'll scroll up by clicking the scroll bar and dragging it upward.
Now, I'll select a time that's before right now. We can also set an end time by clicking the arrow pointing downward adjacent to End time, then by selecting an end time date, and I can click the arrow pointing downward adjacent to End time showing the time, and I can select a different time as well. Below this, we have options that read 'Inside My Organization' and another tab that reads 'Outside My Organization'. This allows us to set up different out of office messages for people who are sending us a message from either inside our organization or from outside our organization. I'll go ahead and leave the Inside my organization option selected, and I'll click in the box below to draft my out of office message.
Now that I've drafted my message, I can edit it as regular text by clicking and dragging to highlight the text I want to edit. I can change the size by clicking the arrow pointing downward then by selecting a different size. We also have options to change the font by clicking the arrow pointing downward next to the font, then by selecting a different font. I'll click away from that menu as I don't want to do that for now. We can make specific text bold by, for example, clicking to deselect the highlighted text, now I'll click and drag to select the text and I'll click the Bold icon. We can now see that that text is bold. We can also make it italic, underline it, change the font color, add bullets, add numbering, decrease indent position, or increase indent position.
If we click Outside My Organization, we can now set up our message for people who email us outside of our organization. We also have the option to deactivate the auto reply to anyone outside our organization by clicking the box with the checkmark in it to deselect it. Below that, we can choose to only send automatic replies to people who are contacts, or we can choose to have them sent to anyone outside of our organization. I'll leave that on Anyone outside my organization and I'll go ahead and click in the box to draft the message. In the bottom left corner, we have a Rules button where we can change some options in relation to rules, or we can click OK to validate, or Cancel. I'll go ahead and click OK to activate the changes that I've made.
We can now see that automatic replies are on and are being sent in the Automatic Replies section under Account Information. Now that I've done this, I'm going to test my automatic replies by firstly clicking the arrow pointing to the left to exit backstage view.
Now I'll send myself an email, which I have drafted below minimized, by hovering my mouse over the Outlook icon, now I'll click the drafted email that I had minimized. [Video description begins] He hovers over the icon in the taskbar, then clicks on one of the thumbnails of opened Outlook windows that appears above. [Video description ends]
Now that I can see this, I'll go ahead and click Send to send this to my email address. We can see that an automatic reply has been sent to Lisa's inbox and I can click on it to view the automatic reply to make sure it looks the way I want it to. I'll go ahead and click the X in the top right corner to exit this. You can always edit the automatic reply by once again clicking File on the top left corner of the interface to access the backstage view, then by clicking the Automatic Replies option. Now you can simply make a change to the text anywhere you want.
For example, if I wanted to remove the date that I was coming back, I could click and drag to select it, then push the Backspace key on my keyboard and push the Backspace key a couple more times to format it. Now I'll click OK to accept the change. A notification is asking if we also want to change the message for people outside of our organization. I'll go ahead and click No. And we've edited our automatic out of office reply. We can always turn this off easily and simply by either clicking the Turn off option that shows next to the Automatic Replies icon, or by clicking Automatic Replies, then by clicking Do not send automatic replies and clicking OK to validate. We can now see that Automatic Replies is no longer on, and turning them off is no longer an option under Account Information.