Enhance Message Content in Microsoft Outlook 2016

Practice tasks

The practice file for these tasks is located in the Outlook2016SBS\Ch04 folder.

Important

As you work through the practice tasks in this book, you will create Outlook items that might be used as practice files for tasks in later chapters. If you haven’t created specific items that are referenced in later chapters, you can substitute items of your own.

Personalize default message formatting

Start Outlook, and then complete the following tasks:

1. Display the Personal Stationery tab of the Signatures and Stationery dialog box.
2. Set the default fonts for new messages and responses to the font, font size, and font color that you want to use.
3. Open the Theme or Stationery dialog box. Look through the available themes and stationery pages. Consider the effects of using one of these in your daily correspondence. If you identify a theme or stationery background that you feel would enhance your messages, select it and click OK to apply the setting. Otherwise, click Cancel.
4. If you chose a theme in step 3, review the Font options and select the font option you want to use. Then close the dialog box.

5. Display your Inbox, and do the following to test your settings:

   • Create a new email message and enter some text.
   • Respond to a received email message and enter some text.
   • If you don’t like the results of your selections, close the unsent messages, repeat this set of tasks, and modify the settings.
6. When you’re happy with the results, close the unsent messages and delete the message drafts, if prompted to do so.

Apply thematic elements to individual messages

Display your Inbox, and then complete the following tasks:

1. Create a new email message.
2. From the practice file folder, open the ApplyThemes document in Word and display it in Print Layout view.
3. In the ApplyThemes document, select the text starting with Office Procedures and continuing through the website URL. Then copy the text to the Clipboard.
4. Return to the message composition window that you opened in step 1, and paste the copied content into the message content pane. Notice that the text formatting changes immediately.
5. Adjust the size of the message composition window so you can see all the content. Then display the Options tab of the window.
6. In the Themes group, display the Colors menu. (Ensure that you can still see the headings of the message with the menu open.) Point to different color schemes to display a live preview of their effects on the message content. Then click a color scheme you like. In the message, notice the formatting that has changed.
7. In the Themes group, display the Fonts menu. Point to different font sets to preview them in the message, and then click a font set that you like. Notice the changes in the message content.
8. Display the Format Text tab of the message composition window.
9. From the Styles group, display the Style Set gallery. Point to different style sets to preview their effects on the message, and then click a style set you like. Notice the changes in the message content.
10. If you want to, enter SBS style test in the Subject box, and then send the message to yourself. Otherwise, close the message composition window without saving or sending the message.

Create and use automatic signatures

Display your Inbox, and then complete the following tasks:

1. Display the E-mail Signature tab of the Signatures and Stationery dialog box.
2. Create an email signature that is appropriate to your primary email account. It could be as simple as your name, or could also include contact information, a company slogan, a favorite saying, or other text. Assign an appropriate name to the email signature.
3. If Outlook doesn’t automatically do so, assign the signature to new messages from the email account you created it for.
4. Close the dialog box, and display your Inbox.
5. Create a new email message from your primary account, and verify that the signature appears in the message.
6. From the message composition window, redisplay the E-mail Signature tab of the Signatures and Stationery dialog box.
7. Select the signature that you created in step 2, and make any changes that you want. For example, you might want to add information, apply formatting, insert fancy text from a Word document, or insert an image.
8. Close the dialog box and return to the message composition window you opened in step 5.
9. Delete the original email signature from the message, and then manually insert the updated signature.
10. Close the message window without sending or saving the message.
11. If you want to create other signatures or assign the signature you created in step 2 to responses or to other accounts, do so at this time.

Incorporate images in messages

There are no practice tasks for this topic.

Change message settings and delivery options

Display your Inbox, and then complete the following tasks:

1. Create a new email message, and do the following:

   • In the To box, enter your own email address.
   • In the Subject box, enter Lunch preference.
   • In the message content pane, enter What do you want to eat for lunch?

2. Using any of the procedures described in this chapter, do the following:

   • Set the message importance to Low.
   • Set the sensitivity to Confidential.
   • Add custom voting buttons to the message that allow you to vote for Pizza, Salad, or Sandwiches.
   • Request a delivery receipt and a read receipt.
   • Set the message to expire in about an hour.
   • Flag the message for follow-up by the recipient, and set a reminder for a time about a half hour away.

3. Send the message, and then do the following:

   • Watch for the message receipts.
   • When the message arrives, vote for your lunch preference.
   • When the reminder appears, dismiss it.
   • After the message expires, notice the changes in the message list and in the message window.