It’s time to show you how to use one of the most popular applications from Office 365 – Outlook Web App. As you can see, I am currently logged in as an ordinary user, and this is confirmed by the information in this field as well as the lack of the Admin option. Even the content of the home screen will be slightly different, but that is not important for what I want to show you now.
To get started, I’ll click on the first option in this sequence to launch Outlook Web App. If you have not had the opportunity to use this program until now, the system will give you the opportunity to choose the language and set the time zone, so that after that content similar to this will appear on your screen, which means that you are ready for further work.
To begin with, it would not be bad to familiarize yourself with the new user environment, because it has changed significantly compared to the previous version. Admittedly, if you’ve already had the opportunity to use Windows 8, then it won’t be difficult for you to find your way around Office 365 either.
As with other Office Web applications, there is a link in the upper left corner that allows you to return to the home screen. This is convenient if you want to finish work and log out of the system or take a short break before logging in again. report. In the same row, but on the right side, there are links to other Office applications, and this small arrow clearly shows the one that is currently active. Unlike the classic Outlook, here the Calendar appears as a separate application, and the same applies to the list with your contacts. After that, there are options that allow you to switch to Newsfeed, SkyDrive or access one of the sites connected to your company. The only real novelty at the moment is a small square that indicates your current status. In other words, its green color means that you are ready to receive or send instant messages, although this can easily be changed. Just click on this arrow and select the appropriate status from the menu. If you do not want to use this service, select the Sign out of IM option. Don’t be confused by the fact that there is a similar option at the bottom of this menu – selecting it will log you out of the entire Office. Neither of these works for me at the moment, so I’ll just click on the free surface and close this menu that way.
On the left side of the frame there is another useful function. It allows you to create a new message in the same way as in previous versions of Outlook. In the extension of the column there are shortcuts that represent individual sections. As you can see, they are divided into two groups, although this can be changed very easily. For me, some of them are repeated, but that’s why I have the possibility to view all characteristic folders in one go. At the very bottom there is a shortcut that allows you to switch to the mode in which all planned activities are best seen in one move. It’s still empty for me, but it’s not bad to know that content like this is always at your fingertips. Of course, to return to Outlook, it is necessary to click on this option again, but I don’t believe that this will be a big problem for you.
The second column is used to display individual messages, where you can also “peek” into their content. At its top there is a search field, which means that you can enter a keyword at any time and search for content that mentions it. The icons in the next row have a similar function. This means that with one move you can display all the messages that are in the currently selected folder, but also select only those that you have not yet read (Unread). The same applies to messages that are sent directly to your address, as well as those that you have singled out as particularly important (Flagged). If there are several messages in the list, you can also sort them. This is what the options in this menu are for, and there is also an option that allows you to form the so-called conversations. This is especially convenient if you often exchange messages with the same recipient, because they will be displayed next to each other regardless of whether they arrived at different times. For now, I will not deal with individual options in detail, but I will leave it for one of the next lessons.
As soon as you select one of the messages, you will be able to see its content on the right half of the screen. In addition, additional options are available to you, such as this red cross, which represents the Delete function. Right next to it is the Flag function, which allows you to highlight those messages that for some reason are more important to you than others.
As soon as you move on to the next message, the one you just displayed will automatically get a new status. This means that Outlook will treat it as read in the future and that’s why there is only one new message in my Inbox now. If that doesn’t suit you, you can always display its content and activate the Mark as unread option. After that, the message will be marked as new again, which is also confirmed by the information from the Inbox.
Before I conclude this lesson, I would like to draw your attention to the functions found in this auxiliary menu. As you can see, the delete function can also be launched from here, but I’m sure you’ll find the next option much more interesting. It allows you to classify your messages into several categories, to mark them with different colors. In doing so, you can determine the appropriate relationships yourself and adapt them to your needs.
If you often receive messages that mean nothing to you, it would be best to mark them as junk. There is also the option to display the content of the selected message in a special frame or to send it to the press immediately. The last two options allow you to set a handling rule (Create rule) or display details related to the message itself (View message details).
If you think that the section with folders is not necessary for you, click on the double arrow and it will disappear from the screen. Of course, if you repeat this process, everything will be returned to its place again. The same applies to the arrow on the right. By choosing it, you can reduce the content display section or enlarge it again.
Finally, I just want to draw your attention to the following detail. Namely, if you remove a message using the Delete option, it will be transferred to a special folder – Deleted items, which means that you can change your mind at any time and return it to the Inbox or another folder.
I hope that you now fully understand how the new user environment works and that it will not be difficult for you to follow the lessons that follow.