Customizing Microsoft Outlook Different people have different needs and they can customize Microsoft Outlook accordingly. Under the File menu, there are plenty of options available with Microsoft Outlook that you can use to customize your copy of Outlook as you wish.
How to customize Microsoft Outlook
From the many features available under File > Options, I always use the following configuration options:
Related Article: How to change how much email to keep offline in Outlook
Enable Live Preview in Outlook
Generally, this option enables you to view how your email will appear when you hover over different formatting styles. This helps you preview in real time before you actually apply the formatting to the selection. Enabling the option saves you plenty of time. The option is selected by default.
Enable Spelling in Outlook
Always Check Spelling before Sending Enabling Always Check Spelling before Sending helps you check for spelling automatically as soon as you hit the Send button. This helps especially if you forget to check to spell manually. While you are there, you should also make sure you enable Ignore Original Messages in Reply or Forward. The second option saves you from the additional trouble of going through the mistakes that others made while sending messages to you.
Indent Original Messages upon Reply & Forward
The tradition has always been to include and indent the original messages in replies and forwards. While including the original message helps others grab the context, indenting makes it clear as to which part is the original. The default choice is Include Text. Change it to “Include and Indent”.
Set up Time Zone in Outlook
Setting up a time zone helps you deal better with meetings and other events. It is even better when you specify two different time zones – one for your local time and the other one for your client’s time zone.
The options for setting up time zones can be found under the Calendar section of File -> Options. It might also be helpful to give each time zone you create a custom name (label) so that it’s easier to understand in calendars.
Auto Add Contacts to Address Book in Outlook
You can add contacts to your address book even if you forget to add them manually by enabling this option. If you type in a contact name in To, CC, or BCC and that contact is not present in your address book, Outlook will add it and you can categorize and group it later. This feature is in the Contacts section of File -> Options. The contacts Outlook adds to your address book using this feature will be visible under Suggested Contacts when you’re in Contacts View.
Delay Sending Of Emails in Outlook
The default configuration for Outlook is to send emails as soon as you hit Send. Of course, this requires you to be connected to the Internet when you click Send. However, there may be times when you want to delay sending an email so you can make changes or additions. To do this, uncheck the “Send Immediately When Connected” option under Advanced in File -> Options. This will ensure that your message stays in your Outbox until the next scheduled Send/Receive.
Microsoft Outlook provides many customization options to fit your needs. What are some of the options you use regularly?
Hello, My name is Shari & I am a writer for the ‘Outlook AppIns’ blog. I’m a CSIT graduate & I’ve been working in the IT industry for 3 years.