When saving your items on your computer, Outlook uses a data file called Outlook Personal Folders file (.pst)If you are using a Microsoft Exchange account, your items are usually delivered to and saved on the e-mail server. To allow you to work with your messages even when you can't connect to the e-mail server, Outlook offers offline folders, which are saved in an Offline Folder file (.ost)on your computer.
The primary distinctions between the two Outlook data file types are:
- Outlook .ost files are used only when you have an Exchange account and chose to work offline, or you use Cached Exchange Mode.
- Outlook .pst files are used for POP3 and HTTP accounts. When you want to create archives or backup files of the Outlook folders and items on your computer, including Exchange accounts, you must create and use additional .pst files.
When you run Outlook for the first time, the necessary data files are created automatically. However, there are times when you will create additional data files. For example, archived items can be saved in another .pst file. You might also keep different projects in their own .pst files.
Create a .pst file in Outlook 2003/Office Outlook 2007 format
By default, Outlook creates a .pst file in the latest file format, which supports larger files and Unicode character sets. This file format cannot be read with Microsoft Outlook 97, 98, 2000, or 2002.
1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Outlook Data File.
2. Click Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst), and then click OK.
3. In the Create or Open Outlook Data File dialog box, in the File name box, type a name for the file, and then click OK.
4. In the Create Microsoft Personal Folders dialog box, in the Name box, type a display name for the .pst folder.
5. If you want to password-protect your data file, under Password, type your password in the Password and Verify Password text boxes.
The name of the folder that is associated with the data file appears in the Folder List. To view the Folder List, on the Go menu, click Folder List. By default, the folder is named Personal Folders.
Create a .pst file in the Outlook 97-2002 format
To create a data file that is compatible with Outlook 97, 98, 2000, or 2002, you can create an Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst). The file format for this .pst file is the same as the format that was available in Outlook 97, 98, 2000, and 2002.
1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Outlook Data File.
2. Click Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst), and then click OK.
3. In the File name box, type a name for the file, and then click OK.
4. In the Name box, type a display name for the .pst folder.
5. If you want to password protect your data file, under Password, type your password in the Password and Verify Password text boxes.
The name of the folder that is associated with the data file appears in the Folder List. To view the Folder List, on the Go menu, click Folder List. By default, the folder is named Personal Folders.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Microsoft Outlook 2007 Running Slow ? Fix the Problem Now
Microsoft Outlook 2007 is painfully slow. Whether you are running a trial copy of Outlook or a licensed version, the performance of Outlook 2007 software is much slower than even it's predecessor, Outlook 2003.
The software freezes during start-up, the status bar shows "Loading Dataset.." for minutes and you can perform no actions on your email items unless that initial "Send/Receive" is complete.
If your work productivity is taking a hit due to the poor performance of Outlook, here are some suggestions and fixes to supercharge Outlook 2007:
1. Disable RSS Feeds in Microsoft Outlook 2007
Microsoft Outlook 12 installs with a set of RSS feeds - if you are not using Outlook to read RSS feeds, it's best to remove them from Outlook so that no resources are spent in synchronization of these feeds with the web.
Goto Tools - Account Settings - RSS Feeds. Select all the RSS feeds and hit the Remove butto
2. Disable Outlook Add-Ins You No Longer Use
Goto Tools - Trust Center and click the Add-ins tab. There's a GO button at the bottom of the dialog screen, click that button and uncheck (disable or even remove) the Outlook add-ins (like GoogleDesktop, iTunes Add-in, Acrobat PDF Maker, Mindjet Mindmanager, etc) that you no longer use.
[Do not disable the Windows Search Indexing addin]
If you have upgraded to Outlook 2007 from Outlook 2003 or XP, chances are that the old addin are not compatible with the new release and may be the reason behind the slugging performance of Outlook.
3. Reduce the size of your Outlook.pst personal folder.
Delete any items that you do not want to keep like emails with really large attachments). You can even archive them to a separate Outlook data file.
Now click Data File Management on the File Menu. Select the data file that you want to compact, and then click Compact Now in the Settings command.
4. Start Outlook 2007 in Safe Mode
If none of the above tricks, try running Outlook 2007 in safe mode (start -> Run dialog and type outlook /safe). The second option is to disable all your email rules and filters. And if Norton antivirus or Zone Alarm is configured with Outlook, disable that association. One of these actions should identify the culprit that's making Outlook to crawl.
It's likely that some of the tricks above would help in improving the performance of your Outlook 2007. If you are looking to improve the performance of Outlook 2003, try removing the MSN Messenger association with Outlook.
The software freezes during start-up, the status bar shows "Loading Dataset.." for minutes and you can perform no actions on your email items unless that initial "Send/Receive" is complete.
If your work productivity is taking a hit due to the poor performance of Outlook, here are some suggestions and fixes to supercharge Outlook 2007:
1. Disable RSS Feeds in Microsoft Outlook 2007
Microsoft Outlook 12 installs with a set of RSS feeds - if you are not using Outlook to read RSS feeds, it's best to remove them from Outlook so that no resources are spent in synchronization of these feeds with the web.
Goto Tools - Account Settings - RSS Feeds. Select all the RSS feeds and hit the Remove butto
2. Disable Outlook Add-Ins You No Longer Use
Goto Tools - Trust Center and click the Add-ins tab. There's a GO button at the bottom of the dialog screen, click that button and uncheck (disable or even remove) the Outlook add-ins (like GoogleDesktop, iTunes Add-in, Acrobat PDF Maker, Mindjet Mindmanager, etc) that you no longer use.
[Do not disable the Windows Search Indexing addin]
If you have upgraded to Outlook 2007 from Outlook 2003 or XP, chances are that the old addin are not compatible with the new release and may be the reason behind the slugging performance of Outlook.
3. Reduce the size of your Outlook.pst personal folder.
Delete any items that you do not want to keep like emails with really large attachments). You can even archive them to a separate Outlook data file.
Now click Data File Management on the File Menu. Select the data file that you want to compact, and then click Compact Now in the Settings command.
4. Start Outlook 2007 in Safe Mode
If none of the above tricks, try running Outlook 2007 in safe mode (start -> Run dialog and type outlook /safe). The second option is to disable all your email rules and filters. And if Norton antivirus or Zone Alarm is configured with Outlook, disable that association. One of these actions should identify the culprit that's making Outlook to crawl.
It's likely that some of the tricks above would help in improving the performance of your Outlook 2007. If you are looking to improve the performance of Outlook 2003, try removing the MSN Messenger association with Outlook.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 SP2 - Email Program
Microsoft Office Outlook shines as an email client with great talent for organizing, solid spam and phishing filters, and seamless integration with to-do lists and scheduling. Outlook's message templates could be more flexible, though, and its smart folders could learn from example.
Pros
i) Outlook comes with solid and effective spam filtering and blocks phishing attempts
ii) Snappy, flexible search, virtual folders and mail grouping help you organize mail
iii) Outlook integrates email messages, to-do lists and scheduling well
Cons
i) Outlook is a bit confusing to set up and can be confusing to use with its myriad of options, too
ii) You cannot create smart folders or flags that learn by example
iii) Outlook lacks useful message templates, and its RSS feed reader flexibility
Description
i) Microsoft Office Outlook manages multiple POP, IMAP, Exchange, MSN and Hotmail accounts.
ii) Outlook offers powerful filters and ways to organize, label and find messages.
iii) Effective junk mail and phishing filters move unsolicited messages to a "Junk E-mail" folder automatically.
iv) Outlook offers "Search Folders", which automatically contain all items matching certain criteria.
v) Searching for any message in any folder or account is pleasantly fast in Outlook.
vi) Outlook supports S/MIME email encryption and IRM access control (e.g. mail can't be forwarded).
vii) To protect your privacy, Outlook doesn't download remote images, can display all mail in plain text.
viii) Outlook attachment preview lets you view many types of attached files right inside the message.
ix) An integrated RSS feed reader treats news items like emails.
x) Microsoft Office Outlook supports Windows XP/Vista.
Guide Review - Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 SP2 - Email Program
Whatever you want to do with email, chances are Outlook delivers.
Its easy to use spam and phishing filters effectively sort out the junk (set the filtering level to "high"), and Outlook's intelligent use of virtual folders, fast message searching, flagging, grouping and threading make dealing with even large amounts of good mail a snap. The included RSS feed reader lacks sophistication, but it does turn up news items as emails automatically — and typically that's just right.
It's a pity you can't train the junk mail filters — or even Outlook's otherwise so perfectly helpful categories. They could learn by example how you sort your mail. Unfortunately, Outlook also offers no way to apply categories to messages in IMAP accounts (they do work and roam perfectly with Exchange accounts).
Utility and ubiquity aside, Outlook is probably as well known as a target for viruses as it as a personal assistant. In spite — or because — of this history, Outlook 2007 goes to great lengths protecting your privacy and security. Outlook supports S/MIME message encryption, lets you display all mail in super-secure plain text only and even sports a custom, more secure, HTML message viewer.
Of course, Outlook has powerful filters and can be programmed to do many tasks automatically or expanded to learn new tricks with add-ons. Setting up flexible message templates for boilerplate replies isn't included, though.
While email editing works like a charm and with all the comfort you know from Word, there is one thing you'll find Outlook cannot do: rewrap the text if you prefer to write your email replies with the original message text indented the way some internet purists prefer.
More annoyingly, Outlook seems sluggish at times, when previewing an attachment in an IMAP account, for example, or — when opening a message.
Pros
i) Outlook comes with solid and effective spam filtering and blocks phishing attempts
ii) Snappy, flexible search, virtual folders and mail grouping help you organize mail
iii) Outlook integrates email messages, to-do lists and scheduling well
Cons
i) Outlook is a bit confusing to set up and can be confusing to use with its myriad of options, too
ii) You cannot create smart folders or flags that learn by example
iii) Outlook lacks useful message templates, and its RSS feed reader flexibility
Description
i) Microsoft Office Outlook manages multiple POP, IMAP, Exchange, MSN and Hotmail accounts.
ii) Outlook offers powerful filters and ways to organize, label and find messages.
iii) Effective junk mail and phishing filters move unsolicited messages to a "Junk E-mail" folder automatically.
iv) Outlook offers "Search Folders", which automatically contain all items matching certain criteria.
v) Searching for any message in any folder or account is pleasantly fast in Outlook.
vi) Outlook supports S/MIME email encryption and IRM access control (e.g. mail can't be forwarded).
vii) To protect your privacy, Outlook doesn't download remote images, can display all mail in plain text.
viii) Outlook attachment preview lets you view many types of attached files right inside the message.
ix) An integrated RSS feed reader treats news items like emails.
x) Microsoft Office Outlook supports Windows XP/Vista.
Guide Review - Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 SP2 - Email Program
Whatever you want to do with email, chances are Outlook delivers.
Its easy to use spam and phishing filters effectively sort out the junk (set the filtering level to "high"), and Outlook's intelligent use of virtual folders, fast message searching, flagging, grouping and threading make dealing with even large amounts of good mail a snap. The included RSS feed reader lacks sophistication, but it does turn up news items as emails automatically — and typically that's just right.
It's a pity you can't train the junk mail filters — or even Outlook's otherwise so perfectly helpful categories. They could learn by example how you sort your mail. Unfortunately, Outlook also offers no way to apply categories to messages in IMAP accounts (they do work and roam perfectly with Exchange accounts).
Utility and ubiquity aside, Outlook is probably as well known as a target for viruses as it as a personal assistant. In spite — or because — of this history, Outlook 2007 goes to great lengths protecting your privacy and security. Outlook supports S/MIME message encryption, lets you display all mail in super-secure plain text only and even sports a custom, more secure, HTML message viewer.
Of course, Outlook has powerful filters and can be programmed to do many tasks automatically or expanded to learn new tricks with add-ons. Setting up flexible message templates for boilerplate replies isn't included, though.
While email editing works like a charm and with all the comfort you know from Word, there is one thing you'll find Outlook cannot do: rewrap the text if you prefer to write your email replies with the original message text indented the way some internet purists prefer.
More annoyingly, Outlook seems sluggish at times, when previewing an attachment in an IMAP account, for example, or — when opening a message.