The Outlook 2007 To-Do Bar is a place to keep track of your schedule and tasks. It features a small monthly calendar (called the Date Navigator), an appointments list, and a task list. You can perform many Outlook 2007 tasks directly within the To-Do Bar.

To-Do Bar Tasks

Organize your Outlook 2007 Inbox by creating folders to group your messages. You can group by topic, project, sender, and more.

To group messages in folders

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
   
2. Type a name for the folder.
   
3. Navigate to where you want to place the folder, and then click OK.
   
4. Drag the messages you want into the new folder.
   
5. Repeat this process for other folders.
   

Tip Use E-Mail Rules to automatically route incoming messages into your folders. See the Use E-Mail Rules to Route Messages section in this topic for more information.

Search Folders show you where messages that fall into certain categories are stored in your Mailbox. Examples of search folders include Categorized Mail, Large Mail, and Unread Mail.

To use Search Folders

• In Mail view, in the Mail pane, expand the Search Folders tree, and then click one of the default Search Folders. All messages in that category appear, along with the folder in which they are stored.
  

Note You can create new Search Folders for messages that don’t fall into default categories. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Search Folder. In the New Search Folder dialog box, click a pre-defined Search Folder, or scroll to the bottom of the dialog box and click Create a Custom Search Folder. Follow the instructions.

Another way to organize your e-mail messages is to categorize them. This means assigning category labels to your messages.

For example, you can create a Budget category and assign it to every message you have related to your team’s budget. Afterwards, you can sort all your messages by category to find all budget-related mail.

To create a new category

1. Right-click a message, point to Categorize, and then click All Categories.
   
2. In the Color Categories dialog box, click New.
   
3. In the Add New Category dialog box, type a name for your new category. (For example, Budget.)
   
4. Click the Color arrow and select a color for the new category.
   
5. Click OK, and then click OK again.
   

To apply a category to related messages

1. Right-click a (closed) budget message, point to Categorize, and then click a category (such as Budget).
   
2. Repeat this process for all related messages.
   

Now, to sort your e-mail by Categories, right-click the Arranged By bar at the top of the Inbox window, and then click Categories. Your e-mail will be arranged by categories, with uncategorized messages appearing first. Scroll down the list to see messages arranged by category.

Tips

• Assign a category to more than one message at a time by selecting multiple messages, and then applying the category. You can also apply more than one category to a single message.
  
• Assign a category to an open message by clicking Categorize on the message toolbar, and then clicking a category.
  
• Rename the default categories—Blue, Green, and so on—to names that mean something specific to you. On the Actions menu, point to Categorize, and then click All Categories.
  

It can be difficult to quickly identify messages in your Inbox. By applying colors to message headers, you can find certain messages immediately.

You can also apply flags to messages. Flags provide visual reminders of a message’s importance. In addition to creating a visual reminder, you can set flags to open messages at a predetermined time.

Once a default flag has been set you can simply click the flag in the message header to turn on the default flag. When you flag a message, it automatically appears in your To-Do Bar and Task List, making it easier to track.

To color messages

1. In Mail view, select an e-mail message to color.
   
2. On the Tools menu, click Organize.
   
3. Under Ways to Organize Inbox, click Using Colors.
   
4. Select the criteria you want, select a color, and then click Apply Color. Click the X to close the Organize box.
   

To select a new flag option

1. In Mail view, right-click the flag icon next to the message you want to flag.
   
2. Click a flag option. The message appears in your To-Do Bar so you can see when to take action.
   

Notes

• To change the default flag, right-click the flag icon, and then click Set Quick Click.
  
• To apply the default flag to a message, single-click the flag icon.
  
• To set a reminder as well, right-click the flag icon, and then click Add Reminder.
  
• To mark a flagged message as complete, click the flag icon. The flag will change to a check mark.
  

Outlook 2007 E-Mail Rules save you time and make e-mail organization easier by automatically routing incoming and outgoing messages based on criteria that you establish.

To create a new rule

1. In Mail view, on the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts.
   
2. In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, click New Rule.
   
3. Follow the Rules Wizard. When you reach the last page of the wizard, click Finish.
   
4. To activate or deactivate the new rule, in the Rules and Alerts dialog box, select or clear the check box next to the rule, and then click OK.
   

Unwanted e-mail can get through corporate filters. Help keep such mail out of your Inbox by using Junk E-Mail filters. These filters send e-mail identified as junk to a separate mail folder.

To adjust your Junk E-mail protection level

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
   
2. In the Options dialog box, on the Preferences tab, click Junk E-mail.
   
3. On the Options tab of the Junk E-mail Options dialog box, click a protection level. We recommend High to provide the greatest protection.
   

Notes

• Review the Junk E-mail folder periodically to ensure that no legitimate messages have been sent there. If they have, adjust the filter to avoid flagging such messages in the future.
  
• Use other tabs on the Junk E-mail Options dialog box to add Safe Senders, Safe Recipients, and Blocked Senders to your filter.
  
• Outlook 2007 disables links suspected of being used for “phishing.” Phishing is the use of fake e-mail messages to solicit valuable personal information. To re-enable such links, click Enable Links and other functionality (not recommended) in the InfoBar at the top of the message. You should not bypass this feature unless you are certain the links are trustworthy.
  

Concepts