Sending Messages
New Messages
You can start a new message in several ways:
- Choose File>New>Mail Message.
- Press Ctrl + N.
- Choose Actions>New Mail Message.
- Choose Actions>New Mail Message Using and then select an option from the list.
- Right-click on an entry in the Contacts folder and choose New Message to Contact.
- Drag a contact from the Contacts folder to the Inbox folder in your Folder List.
- Click
while in Inbox or Outlook Today. - Click on the triangle on the New button to open the dropdown list and choose Mail Message to start a new email message (while in a folder other than Inbox or Outlook Today, the New Button changes depending upon what folder is open).
You can create a new item for any Outlook activity regardless of which folder is currently open. If the Inbox is open, you can still create a new Contact. If the Task folder is open, you can create a new message. The New button always defaults to the folder currently open. If the Inbox is open, click New for a new message. If Contacts is open, click New for a new contact form. Click on the triangle to open the drop-down list to select the other New activities.
Mail Format
By default, Outlook is your e-mail editor. However, you can turn Word on or off as your default e-mail editor for all new messages by clicking on the Tools menu when in the main Outlook window. Then click Options and select the Mail Format tab. Select or clear the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages check box.
To turn Word on as your e-mail editor for one new message, go to the Actions menu, point to New Mail Message Using, and then click Microsoft Word 2003.
Addressing Email
Clicking on 
or 
or 
in the new message form opens the Select Names dialog box.
Scroll the list to find the name of the person you want to send mail to, click on it, and then click on the button or click on one of the other buttons to send the name to the Carbon Copy or Blind Carbon Copy fields. If you enter the first several letters of a name in the box under “Type Name or Select from List:,” the names beginning with the letter(s) you enter will appear in the list. To choose another address list, use the drop-down list in the upper-right corner. Then click OK.
The To field contains the address(es) of the primary recipient(s) of an email. To enter multiple addresses, separate them by semicolons or by pressing Enter after each address.
Outlook verifies email addresses for correct format and automatically checks the names typed in the To, Cc, and Bcc boxes. If you use a Microsoft Exchange server, Outlook checks the addresses using the Global Outlook Address List or your Contacts folder. With an Exchange server, the email addresses for everyone in an organization are in the Global Outlook Address List.
If an exact match is found, the name is underlined. If multiple matches are found, a red, wavy line appears under the name. Right-click the name to see the matches. If multiple matches are found, and you have used the address before, the name you chose previously is displayed in the box with a green, dashed underline to remind you that there are other matches. Right-click the name to see the matches. Names that match addresses in either list are underlined for individuals. Distribution lists that match appear in bold. Names that cannot be resolved do not change.
The Cc Field is the “Carbon copy or “Courtesy copy” field containing the address(es) of the secondary recipient(s) of an email. Any address listed here is known to all primary recipients and to all other secondary recipients.
The Bcc field “Blind carbon copy or “Blind courtesy copy” field contains the address(es) of any person that must receive the message without any primary or secondary recipient or other Bcc recipients knowing.
If these fields aren’t visible and Word is your e-mail editor, in a new message, click the arrow to the right of the Options button, and then click Bcc. If you are using the Outlook e-mail editor, in a new message, on the View menu, click Bcc Field.
Sending Mail
Once you’ve resolved the addresses, send your email by clicking on the Send button 
. Some messages may require special handling, so before sending these items, you need to set the message options.
Message Options
To set message options, press the Options button 
to open the Message Options dialog box (shown below).
Under “Message Settings,” you can set the Importance and Sensitivity levels. Voting and Tracking Options allow you to see if a message has been received and read by the recipient. If you do not receive a receipt, that doesn’t mean a message was not read since Outlook can be configured not to send read receipts for messages that are read. Some systems reject such requests.
Also, you can use voting buttons so recipients can more easily reply to messages if you’re using an Exchange server. From the drop-down list, you can select the buttons that will be added to your message such as Accept and Reject or Yes and No buttons. The selected buttons are added to the recipients’ toolbar (see below) when the message is opened so that they can click the appropriate button to respond.
The status bar of the message when opened tells you the response (see below in gray).
Under Delivery options, check “Have replies sent to” to send replies to a different email address. Check “Do not deliver before” to delay message deliver until a selected date. Check “Expires after” to automatically delete any messages not delivered by a specified date.
To attach a file, click on the Insert File button 
or choose Insert>File on the menu. By default, Outlook blocks attachment files ( such as .bat, .exe, .vbs, and .js) that can contain viruses. You will be asked whether you want to send a potentially unsafe attachment. If you answer Yes, Outlook will send the attachment.
In the Insert File dialog box, locate the file you want to insert, and click Insert. If Word is your e-mail editor, click on the drop-down menu beside the paper clip icon and choose File. To attach a mail message, click in the body of the message, click on the paper clip icon, and select Item.
Return to Course Topics or go on to the next section on Creating a Signature.