Exercise Caution When Opening Attachments  Exercise caution with attachments in e-mail. Users should disable auto-opening or previewing of email attachments in their mail programs. Users should never open attachments from an unknown origin, or that appear suspicious in any way.  Attachments should be scanned with anti-virus software before opening.
Update Your Anti-Virus Product  It is important for users to update their anti-virus software. Some anti-virus software vendors have released updated information, tools, or virus databases to help prevent and combat this worm.  Contact your Campus Network Services for information.

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Over-the-limit message
I got a message from the System Administrator that said my mailbox was approaching the maximum space limit and I need to clean it up. What do I do?  See How to Prevent Online Clutter.

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General Outlook FAQs   - Back to Top

Email
Can anyone else read my e-mail?
What is Spam?
How do I create a distribution list?
How do I send a distribution list to someone else?
What is a signature and how to create and use one (or more)?
How do I create an Outlook vCard? (and keep it from showing only Global address information)
How do I attach a routing receipt to a Word document?
How do I keep embedded HTML from showing up when sending to a Listserv?
How can a save several email messages into a single file?
What does the red squiggly line in the To: field of a message mean?  
How do I color code an incoming messages from a VIP?   
How can I automatically delete "junk" mail from my mailbox?   
College Policy on Spam

Calendar
How do I share Folders (such as Calendar or Inbox) with another person?
Why can't I type in the notes section of my calendar?
How do I put my classroom and office time in the Outlook calendar?
How do I create calendar entries?

General
How can I make a Contact from an e-mail sent to me
What is an Autosignature and how can I make one?
How much can I store on the Exchange server?   How do I request more space and how do I conserve space?
How do I see the size of my folders?
How do I eliminate items from my Sent Folder.
How do I Delete messages in your inbox permanently without having them go through the deleted file?
How do I recover mail that has been "emptied" from my deleted items folder?
How Do I add the Size Field to my Inbox and Sent items box?

Home Access
How can I access my e-mail and calendar from home.
Why can't I read some attachments from my OWA (web browser client)?
Why can't I view subfolders from my OWA (web browser client)
What can't I see new mail from my OWA?

Advanced Topics
How do I increase my connection speed when accessing Outlook remotely?
Can voting buttons be used in conjunction with a meeting invitation?

Can anyone else see my e-mail?

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What is Spam?

What is Spam?

"Spamming" is the practice of flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it.  Most Spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services.  

Rene Ramos - College Webmaster

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How do I share folders (such as Calendar or Inbox) with another person?

1. If the Folder List is not visible, click the View menu, click Folder List, and then select the folder you want to share with another person.
2. Right-click the folder you want to share, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
3. Click the Permissions tab.
4. Click Add.
5. In the Type name or select from list box, type or select the name of the person you want to grant sharing permissions to.
6. Click Add, and then click OK.
7. In the Name box, click the name of the person you just added.
8. In the Roles box, click the permissions you want.

Tip   To set permissions for all your Outlook folders simultaneously, use the options on the Delegates tab (on the Tools menu, click Options).
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Jim Schenk -College Network and Internet Services

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How do I create a distribution list?

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Distribution List.
   In the Name box, type a name.

The distribution list is saved in your Contacts folder by the name you give it

2. Click Select Members. In the Show names from the list, click the address book that contains the e-mail addresses you want in your distribution list.
3. In the Type name or select from list box, type a name you want to include. In the list below, select the name, and then click Add.
4. If you want to include Internet addresses that are not part of one of your address books, click the Add New button.
5. Click Save and Close.

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How do I send a distribution list to someone else?

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Jim Schenk - College Network and Internet Services

How do I create a Contact from an e-mail

1. Open the e-mail message.
2. Right-click on the sender's e-mail address.
3. Choose Create New Contact
4. A new Contact window will appear with the sender's e-mail address already filled out.  Sometimes you will need to type the person's name in the appropriate box.
5. Add any other information you choose and click Save and Close.

And alternative way is to drag the e-mail message from the Inbox to the Contact folder (or icon on the shortcut bar).  This will open a new Contact window with the e-mail address already filled in.  Correct the Name and add any other information.  The e-mail message that appears in the bottom of the Contact window can be deleted.

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Charlie Howse, CNS director, Medical Center Campus

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There is a red squiggly line under the person's name that I am sending my message to.  What does this mean?

There are many similar user names in the MDCC address book.  If Outlook needs help determining which user you are referring to, it will alert you with a red squiggly line.  This lets you know you need to right-click on the user name to pick from a list of possibilities.  The next time you insert that same person's name in a message, the line will be green letting you know the system automatically picked the last person you used from the list of possibilities.  If you haven't ever seen the red or green line, it could mean this feature is turned off on your machine.  In order to make sure it is on, click tools-options-email-advanced options.  You will find an option there called automatic name checking.  This will turn on the red and green line feature.

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How do I access my e-mail and calendar from home?

After establishing your Internet connection with your ISP, open your Web browser and go to http://email.mdcc.edu

Log on to the system using your college UserID and password.
More help

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Why can't I read some attachments from my OWA (web browser client).

Some attachment file types are not supported from the Web browser.  If you have trouble reading an attachment from home, you should wait and open the attachment from your Outlook client at M-DCC.

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Why can't I see subfolders from my OWA (Web browser client)

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How do I create an Outlook vCard?

A. Microsoft Outlook supports the use of vCards, the Internet standard for creating and sharing virtual business cards. In Outlook, as well as other e-mail applications and personal information managers, you can save a contact as a vCard or save vCards sent in e-mail messages.

To create a vCard to be attached to all outgoing messages perform the following under Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000:

1. Create a new contact in Contacts of what you want your expanded vCard to look like. Remember this will go to everyone you send mail to so don't include personal information such as home number, address unless you really want to!  Note:  Microsoft has acknowledged a problem with this procedure in Office 2000.  See Work Around.
2. From the Tools menu select Options
3. Select the 'Mail Format' tab
4. Click the 'Signature Picker..' button
5. Click New to create a new signature
6. Enter a name for the signature and click Next
7. Enter text to be displayed and click 'New vCard from Contact'
8. Select the contact and click Add. Click OK
9. Select the new vCard from the dropdown list and click OK
10. Click OK to the Signature Picker
11. Click OK to the main options dialog
12. All outgoing mail will now have your signature and vCard attached.

Making Changes:   If you want to make changes to this vCard, you can not just change the Contact information.  This will not work, according to Microsoft.  Resolution:  

1. Open the Outlook Contact that serves as your current vCard
2. On the File Menu, choose Export to vCard file.
3. Select the current vCard file and click Save.  When asked if you want to replace the existing file, click Yes.
4. Close the Contact Record.

Work Around:
Microsoft has acknowledge a problem with creating a vCard straight from this existing contact in Office 2000.  Symptoms:  When you create a vCard from a contact who is also in the Global Address book (such as all M-DCC employees, the vCard pulls the information from the Global address list instead of the expanded contact.)  Because of this, there are a few more steps you need to take when making your Contact.

Open the contact.

1. Click the Address Book icon next to the e-mail field. Click the New button.
2. In the New Entry window, click In this contact only.
3. Click Internet Address and click OK.
4. Type in your name and email address in the Display Name and E-mail address fields.  Click Ok. 
5. This creates a "one-off address" for you that is separate from your listing in the Global Address book. 

Bill Fiddes - College Network and Internet Services
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How do I attach a routing receipt to a Word document?

As a user of both Microsoft Outlook and Word, you have the capability to create a Word document and attach a routing slip to it.  This feature will allow you to control the viewing of the document by prompting you to build a list of who should see the document and in what order the recipients should see it.  In addition, Word will track who made changes to the document and the date and time they altered the document.   

How do I create a routing recipient list?

1. Create the Word document and save it.
2. Click File, trace to Send To then select Routing Recipient.
3. From the Routing Slip click the Address button.
4. This brings up the Global Address list.  Select all the recipients for the document.  At this point, it does not matter what order the recipients are in.
5. After selecting the recipients you can put them in the correct order by selecting a person’s name in the To block and clicking the up or down arrow to change the order the recipients see the document.
6. In the Subject area type in the subject for the E-mail message.  If you do not put a subject here it will say “Routing:  document name here”. 
7. In the message text area insert the text for the E-mail message.  If you do not put anything here it will give the recipient directions on how to continue routing the document. 
8. On the bottom left in the Route to Recipients area select either One after another or All at once.
9. On the bottom right place a check mark in the box if you want the document returned to you when it has completed the route and if you want to tract the documents status.
10. If you choose to track the status you will receive a message every time someone finishes with the document and it moves along to the next person on the list.

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Why doesn't my Browser show mail that was received after I logged on?

The Inbox on the OWA Web client does not refresh itself when you read or delete mail, nor when new mail comes in.  They need to click the Reload or Refresh button on their browser. 

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Mailbox Increase Request

In order to contain the high cost of storing mail messages, the M-DCC Executive Committee has recommended a default mailbox size of 40 megabytes per user. More storage space is available if you need it; however, this is only a temporary solution. The best solution for your crowded mailbox is to delete any unwanted mail from your Inbox and from your Sent Items folder. Mail with attachments (indicated by a paper clip) take up the most space. You can also save any attachments you need to your network (H:) drive. In the meantime, please submit a  Request for More Storage Space.

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How do I eliminate items from my Sent Folder.

You can set your Sent item to NOT be saved  automatically.

1. From the Tools Menu choose Options then click the E-mail button.  If you don't want your Sent items to be saved automatically, uncheck  "Save copies of messages in the Sent Items Folder."

   If you prefer to Save Copies of your Sent items, you need to periodically delete them from your Sent Items folder.  Otherwise, they will accumulate indefinitely.

1. Click the Sent Items Folder (The Sent Items folder can be found under My Shortcuts on the Outlook Bar on the left side of your screen, or from the Folder list) 

2. Select items to be deleted.  You can select multiple items by holding down the CTRL key ( non-contiguous items)  or the Shift key ( continguous items)

3. Press the <Delete> key on your keyboard or choose Edit/Delete from the Menu bar.

4. Items deleted from the Sent Items folder will go into the Delete items folder and will not save any space until they are permanently deleted from the Deleted items folder.

Deleting messages in your inbox permanently without having them go through the deleted file?

1.  Click on the message(s) and then hold the shift key while you click on the delete icon on the toolbar or the popup menu.
2.  You will then be asked if you want to delete these items permanently.
3.  Answer yes.

Ed Eisel
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How do I recover mail that has been "emptied" from my deleted items folder?

1. Click on your deleted items box
2. Click on tools
3. Click on "Recover Deleted Items"
4. Scroll through the list of messages and highlight the messages you wish to recover

Click on the second button at the top to recover the items (these mail messages will be placed in your deleted items box)

1. You can now move the recovered items from the "deleted items" and move them to your inbox or any folders you may have created
   

*** This will only recover items that were removed from the deleted items in the last 30 days. After that they are gone for good.

Jim Schenk - College Network and Internet Services
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How do I put my classroom and office time in the Outlook calendar?

To create an entry for my classroom hours:

1. From the gray Outlook bar or the folder list pick calendar.  In the Outlook Calendar Screen select the top left toolbar button that is new appointment.
2. Type “In Class” in the subject of the appointment then hit tab (or click in location with the mouse). 
3. Type the room number in the location area of the appointment.
4. Click the black down pointing arrow next to the start date and select the appropriate date.  Repeat for end date, start time and end time.
5. If you want a reminder, click in the white box next to the word reminder then click the black down pointing arrow next to the length of time that the reminder should activate.
6. In the block that says show time as make sure it says Busy.  This is time when you are in class and unavailable for meetings.
7. In order to add this classroom time to the calendar for the entire semester without entering each individual day click the large Recurrence button in the center of the toolbar. 
8. When the appointment recurrence screen comes up the start time, end time and duration should already be there in the top portion of the screen.  The second block should already say weekly, every one week on whatever day of the week you have selected.  Make sure that Monday, Wednesday and Friday all have check marks next to them.  One will probably be selected already, check the others then in part three of the screen put in the last day of class in the end by block.

To create an entry for my classroom hours:

1. From the gray Outlook bar or the folder list pick calendar.  In the Outlook Calendar Screen select the top left toolbar button that is new appointment.
2. Type “In Class” in the subject of the appointment then hit tab (or click in location with the mouse). 
3. Type the room number in the location area of the appointment.
4. Click the black down pointing arrow next to the start date and select the appropriate date.  Repeat for end date, start time and end time.
5. If you want a reminder, click in the white box next to the word reminder then click the black down pointing arrow next to the length of time that the reminder should activate.
6. In the block that says show time as make sure it says Busy.  This is time when you are in class and unavailable for meetings.
7. In order to add this classroom time to the calendar for the entire semester without entering each individual day click the large Recurrence button in the center of the toolbar. 
8. When the appointment recurrence screen comes up the start time, end time and duration should already be there in the top portion of the screen.  The second block should already say weekly, every one week on whatever day of the week you have selected.  Make sure that Monday, Wednesday and Friday all have check marks next to them.  One will probably be selected already, check the others then in part three of the screen put in the last day of class in the end by block.  

How do I create Calendar Entries?

How do I create calendar entries? 

There are three types of calendar entries that can be created in Outlook:  Appointments, Events and Meetings.  All three entry types are created in the same Outlook screen and depending on the preferences selected Outlook automatically considers the entry an appointment, event or meeting.  What is the difference between the three entry types?  An appointment is an entry that is less than one full day and relates only to you.  An event is an entry that is a minimum of one full day but could be more.  A meeting is an entry where you are in charge of inviting others to attend. 

To create an appointment:

1. In the Outlook Calendar Screen select the top left toolbar button that is new appointment.
2. Type the subject of the appointment then hit tab (or click in location with the mouse). 
3. Type the location of the appointment.
4. Click the black down pointing arrow next to the start date and select the appropriate date.  Repeat for end date, start time and end time.
5. If you want a reminder, click in the white box next to the word reminder then click the black down pointing arrow next to the length of time that the reminder should activate.

To create an event:

1. In the Outlook Calendar Screen select actions and trace down to new appointment. 

2.  Type the subject of the event then hit tab (or click in location with the mouse). 
3. Type the location of the event.
4.  Click the black down pointing arrow next to the start date and select the appropriate date.  Repeat for end date. 
5. Click the white box next to the words “all day event”.

6. If you want a reminder, click in the white box next to the word reminder then click the black down pointing arrow next to the length of time that the reminder should activate.

To create a meeting:

1. In the Outlook Calendar Screen select actions and trace down to new appointment.
2.  Type the subject of the meeting then hit tab (or click in location with the mouse). 
3. Type the location of the meeting.
4. Click the black down pointing arrow next to the start date and select the appropriate date.  Repeat for end date, start time and end time.
5. If you want a reminder, click in the check white box next to the word reminder then click the black down pointing arrow next to the length of time that the reminder should activate.
6. Click the button on the toolbar to invite attendees.
7. A “To” field will appear above the subject line.  Click the “To” button and a dialog box for the address book will appear.  Address the meeting to the “Required” attendees and the “Optional” attendees then click the “OK” button in the bottom left corner. 

To find out who is available for the meeting:

1. Click the Attendee Availability tab above the meeting subject but below the toolbar.
2. All attendees will be listed on the left of the screen with a color-coded graph next to their name.  Light blue reflects a tentative appointment in that time slot, dark blue is busy, purple is out of the office.  If the space is white the person is free and if there are stripes all the way across a persons line it means outlook cannot find any information on that person. The green vertical line is the meeting start time and the end time is the red vertical line.  If the meeting time is good for everyone you will see all white between the green and red vertical lines. 
3. If the meeting time is not good for everyone, there is an AutoPick button on the bottom left side with a double arrow button on the left and a double arrow button on the right.  The double arrow on the left will pick a meeting time that is good for everyone starting at the currently selected meeting time and working back until it gets to today.  The double arrow on the right will pick a meeting time that is good for everyone starting at the currently selected meeting time and working out into the future.
4. When you find a good meeting time, click the send button on the top left.

When you receive a meeting invitation:

1.   Meeting invitations arrive in the inbox like any other piece of mail.  The icon for a meeting is an envelope with two heads in front of it.  Double click to open the invitation.  Three buttons appear at the top.  Click either accept, tentative or decline.  If accepted it automatically posts to the calendar and informs the meeting chairperson that you will be attending and if you decline it is automatically moved to the deleted items area. 

How do I see the size of my folders?

1. Right-click the folder you want to determine the size for, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. Click Folder Size.

To see the total size of all your folders as well as an individual tally:

1. Right-click the Outlook Today icon and choose         Properties on the shortcut menu.  
2. Click Folder Size.

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How Do I add the Size Field to my Inbox and Sent items box?

1. Make sure you’re in your inbox
2. Click View
3. Select Current View
4. Select Customize Current View
5. Click Fields
6.  In the pull down list under “Select available fields from” select All Mail Fields
7.  Scroll down under “Available Fields” and double click on Size
   Note: “Size” will appear in the “Show these fields in this order”
   window
8. To modify where the size field will appear do the following:
   a) Click on Size
   b) Use the Move up or Move down buttons to switch its location
9. Note: You probably want to have the size field right before the
   subject.
10.  Click Ok

Note: Now you are ready to search for large e-mails and remove them as necessary.
Jim Schenk -College Network and Internet Services  

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How do I set up Outlook to automatically archive or permanently deleted items in my folders?

You can manually transfer old items to a storage file by clicking Archive on the File menu, or you can have old items automatically transferred by using AutoArchive. Items are considered old when they reach the age you specify. With AutoArchive, you can either delete or move old items.

AutoArchive is a two-step process. First, you turn on AutoArchive. Second, you set the AutoArchive properties for each folder that you want archived.

At the folder level, you can determine which items are archived, and how often they are archived. You can automatically archive individual folders, groups of folders, or all Outlook folders. The process runs automatically whenever you start Outlook. The AutoArchive properties of each folder are checked by date, and old items are moved to your archive file. Items in the Deleted Items folder are deleted.

Several Outlook folders are set up with AutoArchive turned on. These folders and their default aging periods are Calendar (6 months), Tasks (6 months), Journal (6 months), Sent Items (2 months), and Deleted Items (2 months). The Inbox, Notes, Contacts, and Drafts folders do not have AutoArchive activated automatically.

To Turn on AutoArchive

On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Other tab.

1. Click AutoArchive.
2. Click to select the AutoArchive Every check box, and then specify how often the AutoArchive process will run by typing a number in the days box.
3. Click to select the Prompt Before AutoArchive check box, if you want to be notified before the items are archived.
4. In the Default archive file box, type a file name for the archived items to be transferred to, or click Browse to select from a list.
5. Click OK twice to close Options.
   

Now that you have turned on AutoArchive, you must set AutoArchive properties for each folder.

To Set AutoArchive Properties for a Folder

1. In the Folder List, right-click the folder you want to AutoArchive, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. Click the AutoArchive tab.
3. To set AutoArchive for this folder, click to select Clean out items older than - then select the time.
4. To specify when items should be automatically transferred to your archive file, type a number in the Months box.
5. To specify a file for the archived items to be transferred to, click Move old items to.
6. In the Move old items to box, type a file name for the archived items, or click Browse to select from a list, and then click OK.
   

NOTE: You must activate AutoArchive first. For more information see the section, "To Turn on AutoArchive."

REFERENCES

For more information about AutoArchive, click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu, type How do I archive in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics.

What is a signature and how do I use it?

You can use a signature to automatically add text to the messages you send. For example, you can create a signature that includes your name, job title, and phone number. You can also use a signature to add a boilerplate paragraph about how you want others to respond to your messages. You can create multiple signatures, and select a signature to insert in a message after you have created the message.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
2. In the Send in this message format box, click the message format you want to use the signature with.
3. Click Signature Picker, and then click New.
4. In the Enter a name for your new Signature box, enter a name.
5. Under Choose how to create your Signature, select Start with a blank, then click Next.
6. Type the text for your signature.  You can format your signature with different fonts styles, sizes and colors.

You can make this new signature your default and/or choose different signatures to attach to messages when you create the message.

Make a signature the default

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
2. In the Send in this message format box, click the message format you want to use the signature with.
3. In the Use this Signature by default box, click the signature you want.
4. Select or clear the Don't use when replying or forwarding check box.

Insert a signature

1. Create or open the message.
2. In the text box, click where you want to insert the signature.
3. On the Insert menu, point to Signature, and then click the signature you want.
4. If the signature you want is not listed, click More, and in the Signature box, select the one you want to use.

Can voting buttons be used in conjunction with a meeting invitation?

You can't use Outlook voting buttons on a meeting request. The reason? The Accept, Decline, and Tentative buttons that users see when they open an Inbox meeting request are themselves voting buttons automatically displayed by the meeting request form. Outlook lets you ask only one question per message (i.e., use just one set of voting buttons), so the built-in buttons take precedence. Another complicating factor is that the meeting request form that users see is the IPM.Schedule.Meeting.Request form, which you can't customize.

What you can do is use a two-stage process: First, send a meeting request. Second, after all responses are in, send the definite attendees a voting button message to let them choose from your lunch menu.

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*Please Note:  

Colleagues,
This is a reminder that College email must only be used for College business. Recently you may have received unsolicited email messages, often referred to as “spam.” Some of these messages may have been advertisements; some may have been spiritual in nature. However, others fall into the category of email hoaxes that are often false warnings about the spread of email viruses. These messages will encourage you to share an email message with others.  In doing so, the hoax/spam is spread to multiple College email addresses, filling up mailboxes and preventing important email from being delivered. Although the College’s anti-virus software deletes almost all viruses from your email before they reach your mailbox, you still should not open files that are attached, linked or included with an email from someone you do not know. 

College Procedure 7900: Use of Computing Resources at Miami-Dade Community College http://www.mdc.edu/pdf/procedures/7900.pdf

 (IV.B.15 Security – Unauthorized Access) specifically prohibits the distribution of unwanted email (spam): “Sending chain letters, scams and pyramid schemes, bomb threats and hoaxes, spamming (distributing unsolicited email or advertisement to Users), or denial of service attacks”.

 To protect the College’s technology environment, you should not send email that may fall within these categories. If you have questions about particular messages, please send email to postmaster@mdc.edu 

Many thanks,

Jackie

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Chris Del Vesco Cruz
College Training and Development