Microsoft Outlook

Quick Start Guide

Microsoft Outlook 2013 looks different from previous versions, so we created this guide to help you minimize the learning curve.

First things first: Add your account

Before you can send or receive messages, you have to connect your email account. If your company uses Microsoft Exchange, Outlook 2013 will attempt to set up your email account for you.

If you use Internet-based email (such as Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo!), enter your name, email address, and password to set up your account.

Change the Office Theme

We've redesigned Office 2013 to provide a clean, uncluttered experience -- like a blank piece of paper. If you want to see the different areas of Outlook more distinctly, you can change the Office Theme.

Use your File > Office Account settings to change the Office 2013 color scheme for all of your computers, or use the Outlook Options to change the color scheme on just this computer. You can choose from White, Light Gray, or Dark Gray.

Things you might be looking for

Use the list below to find some of the more common tools and commands in Outlook 2013.

• To apply stationery or backgrounds to a message, select File, and then look in the File > Options > Mail > Stationery and Fonts. On the Personal Stationery tab, select Theme.
• To send automatic replies when you're out of the office, select File, and then look under Account Information, select Automatic Replies > Send automatic replies, and then choose your options (this feature requires a Microsoft Exchange Server account).
• To insert a picture or clip art, select Insert, and then from a new mail message, select Illustrations, and then select one of the following: Pictures, Online Picture, Shapes, Smart Art. Chart, or Screenshot.
• To manage email messages by assigning rules, select Home and then look in Mail view, select Move > Rules.
• To insert a symbol or special character, select Insert and then from a new mail message, select Symbols > Symbol.
• To add holidays to your calendar, select File and then select Options > Calendar. Under Calendar options, select Add Holidays.
• To share a calendar, select Home and then from the Calendar view, in the Share group, select E-mail Calendar > Share Calendar (this feature requires a Microsoft Exchange Server account), or Publish Online.

Mail isn't the half of it

Communication is important, but your time is important, too. Outlook 2013 has updated how you manage your time, your people, and your tasks.

Create an email signature

To create a new email signature, do the following:

1. Select File > Options > Mail. Under Compose messages, select Signatures.
2. In the E-mail Signature tab, select New, and then type a name for the signature.
3. In the Edit signature box, type the text that you want to include in the signature, then use the built-in tools to format it.
   

If you've already created a signature, you can copy it from one of your sent messages and then paste it here.

Automatically add a signature to messages

To automatically add a signature to new email messages, do the following:

1. From any view, select File > Options > Mail. Under Compose messages, select Signatures.
2. Under Choose default signature, choose the signature to add to New Messages. If you want, choose a different signature for Replies/forwards.
3. To manually add a signature to a new message, from a new message, on the Message tab, in the Include group, select Signature, and then select the signature that you want.