Getting Started

To begin using Outlook's Organization tools, in Outlook go to Tools then Organize.   If you do not see Organize, then click on the double downward pointing arrows.  This will open up the rest of your menu.  Organize should be seen then.

 After clicking Organize , your Outlook window will change a bit and you will see the Ways to Organize addition to your Outlook window, as seen below:

 Along the left side of the Ways to Organize view, you see the following options:
 

We will focus on the Using Folders option only for now.  For your curiosity, Using Colors allows you to highlight messages with different colors based on its content.  Using Views formats the way Outlook displays messages based on its content.  Junk E-mail is an extended filter, much like what you will learn about Using Folders, only it is for spam mail or other unwanted email.  These are available for you to explore at your leisure. return to top  How Do I Use It?The Using Folders portion of Outlook's Organization tools provides a means for you to arrange messages based on several properties of your email messages.  Let's walk through an example to help you understand:  return to top

Beginning Steps

• With Microsoft Outlook open, the Ways to Organize Open Microsoft Outlook if you haven't already 
  done so.

  Select your Inbox.

  In Outlook go to Tools then Organize.   If you do not see Organize, then click on the double downward pointing arrows.  This will open up the rest of your menu.  Organize should be seen then. 

  The Ways to Organize Inbox window appears.

• You're now presented with three options in the Ways to Organize Inbox window.  You can either 
  manually "Move Message", "Create a Rule", or use the Rules Wizard.

return to top Using "Move Message"

• This option allows you to manually move the message you currently have selected.  If you 
  want another message to be moved, select the message and then come back to the Organize tool.
  You may need to go to Tools\Organize again.

• Once you have selected the message you want to move, select the area you want it sent to (e.g. other
  email folders such as a saved messages folder, or a "Messages from XYZ folder") -- See Creating 
  Folders if you need to create new folders.

return to top Using "Create a Rule"

• This option allows you to setup rules that will automatically move messages for you. From the
  picture above, you see that based on the message you've selected it already has in the name of the 
  person or organization related to the email in the Create Rule section.  You just need to pick which 
  folder you want this email as well as any future emails to go to.  Once you've selected the folder, click 
  on the Create button and you're done!  -- See Creating Folders if you need to create new folders.

return to top Using the Rules Wizard

• This option is seen in the upper right hand corner of the Ways to Organize area of the Organize tool.  
  This option can be used to edit, delete, manually configure new advanced rules.  There are 
  many more options available here than the plain "Create a Rule" option gives you.  For instance, you 
  can create a rule to move messages that have your name in the Carbon Copy (CC) section of the 
  email -- useful if you want to get those emails out of the way for later reading.  Basically, the Rules 
  Wizard let's you setup rules that govern what mails do given the many many properties of your emails.  
  Explore carefully!  Remember you can always delete a rule once you've created it.

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