Microsoft Outlook

What is Microsoft Outlook?

Microsoft Outlook is the preferred email client used to send and receive emails by accessing?Microsoft Exchange Server?email. Outlook also provides access contact, email calendar and task management features.

Microsoft Outlook may be used as a standalone application, but it is also part of the?Microsoft Office suite?and Office 365, which includes Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Outlook can be used as a standalone personal email software, and business customers can use Outlook as multiuser software. Users can integrate it with Microsoft?SharePoint?to share documents and project notes, collaborate with colleagues, send reminders and more.

There is a?free, browser-based version?of Outlook with limited features. Users who don't need the full-fledged app can opt for that version rather than a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Microsoft Outlook features

Basic features of Outlook include the email service, email search, flagging and color coding, along with preview pane options. The calendar function enables scheduling, viewing and communicating about appointments and meetings. Outlook provides 99 gigabytes of archiving data and the ability to set automatic replies.

Additional Outlook features include the following:

• Calendar sharing.?Users can share calendars?to see the availability of colleagues when scheduling meetings.
• @mention.?If a user types @ and another user's name, Outlook will add that user to an email list, highlight the mention of that user and notify the user.
• Email scheduling.?Users can write emails ahead of time and choose when to send them.
• Quick Parts.?This function enables users to copy the text of one email and insert it into future messages. This feature is useful for users that have to send similar emails to a variety of users.
• New item alerts.?Incoming messages overlay on the user's display, notifying them of new emails.
• Ignore messages.?All messages in a conversation can be set to bypass a user's inbox and go to the deleted items folder.
• File attachment reminder.?If a user mentions an attachment in an email but forgets to attach it, Outlook will ask them if they meant to include an attachment before sending the message.
• Clean Up Conversation option.?Users can click a button to delete read messages, leaving only unread messages.
• Automatic calendar updates.?Outlook will automatically add flight, hotel and car rental reservations to the calendar.

One of the biggest advantages of using MS Outlook is that it can serve the purpose of both, a stand-alone application and also a multi-user software. It can be used by an individual as an email client-server and also by an Organisation which requires shared features like a mailbox, calendar, appointments, etc.?

Initially, the program was just added as a part of the Office suite which could be installed in a computer system. Later on, various other versions were released which made Outlook compatible with mobile phones, laptops and other android and Mac devices.

The major functions of MS Outlook have, however, been discussed in detail below:

• It makes communication easy and sending emails is just a click away. Various attachments in different formats can be added to these mails
• Since it is an organising and managing application, it provides features to set up appointments and meeting using calendar and setting up reminders for the same
• All the mails sent or received can easily be tracked if the correct settings have been added to the application
• For Organisations, setting up activities as a team is easy with Outlook. You can easily share and collaborate with other members of your team or group
• Similar mails are interlinked automatically which forms a mail thread of such emails