Some Outlook Tips

• The simplest way to start customizing Today is to change the number of days for which you can display appointments

Open up your custom.htm file (for how to get hold of this file, see the page on Customizing Outlook Today) in Notepad or similar, and do a search for the text "showcal". You should then find the following:

<select name="selShowCal" id="lbShowCal">
<option selected value="1">1
<option value="2">2
<option value="3">3
<option value="4">4
<option value="5">5
<option value="6">6
<option value="7">7

Obviously you just need to copy further options for as many days as you would like to choose from. This could be useful if you don't have many appointments each week, or perhaps during holidays.

• Starting an instance of the default browser with a link in Outlook Today

To put a link on the OT page that opens a new browser instance, you need some variation of:

<a style="cursor:hand" class="itemNormal"
    onclick="window.open('http://www.avnet.co.uk/outlook','_blank');">
    Outlook Misc.</a>

The class tag refers to the CSS style listed at the top of the page.

• Quickly start up a second Outlook folder without the Outlook Bar

Use a command line like this one:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe" /folder Outlook:Contacts

To access a subfolder, simply add /subfoldername

• Create extra Outlook shortcuts

Insert a command line like the one above as the target of a new shortcut, and change the icon to something appropriate; the Outlook icons are in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outllib.dll and C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe.

• Add an Outlook Toolbar to the taskbar

If you are always in and out of Outlook folders or you use the Active Desktop (somebody must do - and it looks a little friendlier with NT5/Win2000), add an Outlook toolbar to your taskbar with the shortcuts you use most often:

"C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe" /outnews

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder Outlook:Contacts

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder Outlook:Inbox

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder Outlook:Calendar

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder Outlook:Tasks

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder Outlook:Notes

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder Outlook:Outbox

"C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\wab.exe" /showexisting [Address Book]

Create a new Toolbar folder in C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer, called Outlook for example, right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars¦New Toolbar and select this new folder and create shortcuts to place in the new toolbar.