The world of office apps is constantly evolving, and Microsoft regularly introduces improvements that are aimed at increasing user productivity. The new version of Outlook is not only a refreshed interface – it is a big set of features that make everyday work with email faster and more enjoyable. In this blog post, which is another in the "#Top5" series, you will learn five extremely practical features that can significantly affect the comfort of your work and save valuable minutes every day. Although some of them may seem small, it is often in the details that the greatest value lies – especially when you use a given tool for several hours a day.
For information purposes, this text will not provide advice on how to create an email template, how to use automatic formatting, or how to quickly create an appointment in the calendar. If you want to learn more about them, I invite you to the posts that discuss useful features and compare the classic version with the new one. In this article, I will focus on 5 features available in the New Outlook that are not in the classic version, and which can help you even more in your daily work with email.
Email categories
The beginning... and already a controversy. It was supposed to be about features that are not in the "old" Outlook – after all, categories are nothing new. Yes, they were and still are available in the classic version of the Microsoft email client, but the ability to categorize emails in its new version has one key advantage. It concerns the aspect of searching and faster access to messages. Sounds complicated? Nothing could be further from the truth – let me explain. Firstly – you can add categories created in the new Outlook to "Favorites", so you will always have the most necessary ones within reach of one click. Secondly – when you clicked it, only emails with a given label are displayed immediately. In the classic Outlook, you can achieve such an effect, but it requires entering advanced search settings. So how do you use the potential of categories in the new Outlook?
- Right-click on selected email message, choose "Categorize" and "Manage categories":
- New category creation is simple – just click "Create new", give it a name and color. The key aspect is the star icon – by clicking it, you add the category to "Favorites". It is not avaliable in the classic Outlook:
- Thanks to this, all you need to do is click on a category from the "Favorites" level to display all messages with a given label. You can achieve a similar effect by clicking on the label next to an email – then the list will be filtered by a given category:
Snooze email
Another useful feature is the ability to snooze a message. What is it about? Let's say that a lot of messages have arrived in your mailbox, and you are not able to reply to all of them. Therefore, you can snooze an email (postpone) to a specific date in the future. Thanks to this, it will disappear from your inbox and appear in a dedicated "Snoozed" folder, to be re-sent again on a date you specify (snoozed date). Let’s check it with the example.
- When you are in the New Outlook, select an e-mail you want to snooze and click "Snooze" on the ribbon. You can choose something from displayed option – this time click "Choose a date":
- Here you can choose one of the suggested dates or choose a custom one. For example, choose "Tomorrow morning" and click "Save":
As you can see, the message has disappeared from your inbox and gone to a dedicated folder called "Snoozed". There it will "wait" until the specified date and then it will be sent again – it will appear in your inbox. If you need it back, right-click on it, select "Move" and indicate the appropriate folder:
Attaching files quickly
The third feature is about attaching files quickly within a new email message you’re composing. Instead of searching for a folder or cloud location, you can simply place the "/" symbol in the message window and start typing the name of the file you want to share. Once you’ve selected it from the suggestions, you can add it as a copy of an attachment or leave it as a link but modifying the permissions. It’s incredibly simple.
- Click "New" on the ribbon to start writing a new message. Then, in the body text field, enter the "/" symbol and start typing the name of the file you want to share. As you can see, Outlook suggests potential files – select the desired one:
- As you can see, a link to the file has been added by default, but if you want to change this and add the file as a copy or modify the file permissions, just left-click on the link and the available options will appear:
Schedule send
I'm returning to the controversy that started this post. Schedule sending? Well, in classic Outlook there's an option called "Delay message delivery". Yes, but are you able to tell me, from memory, where to find and set this option? Exactly! In the new Outlook it's practically "at hand", and its configuration is very simple.
- Let's say you have an email ready to send to someone in Australia. Therefore, you want it to reach a person during his/ her working hours. To do this, click the arrow next to the "Send" button and select "Schedule Send":
- This will bring up a window very similar to the one for snoozing messages until later. This time, however, click on "Custom Time":
- Here you can set an appropriate date and time. When it’s done, just click "Send":
Undo email sending
Sometimes it happens that you need to revoke a message that you have sent – sometimes you forget to add an attachment, sometimes you send it too quickly. However, if you quickly realize it, the new Outlook gives you the option to undo email sending. You must first set the feature, but it should be emphasized that the maximum time for unsending that can be set is 10 seconds. Nevertheless, this is a very useful option, it is worth turning it on.
- While in the new Outlook, click the cogwheel – the settings symbol – in the upper right corner of the application window:
- Then, in the settings, click on the "Mail" tab and "Compose and reply", then scroll down to the "Undo send" section. As you can see, there is information about the possibility of canceling up to 10 seconds. Move the slider to the maximum value – 10 – click "Save" and close the settings window:
- The option is already working. Now, send the previously prepared email message. As you can see, at the bottom of the message list there is a message saying "Sending" with an "Undo" button, which will be available for 10 seconds. Click "Undo", which will prevent the message from being sent and will be available for editing again:
If you want to talk about the presented features, you have the impression that they do not work properly in your new Outlook version or you are curious about what else the Microsoft email client hides – contact us and arrange a free consultation with our expert, who will provide you with the necessary information. Oh – and do not forget to follow the next posts from our "#Top5" series.
