Outlook 2007 uses Outlook Today view as its default view. Outlook Today combines your most commonly used Outlook 2007 data into a single view, summarizing your schedule, tasks, and key e-mail folders for the current day, as shown in Figure 26-14. You can work with the view as is or modify it to suit your needs. This section explores how to customize Outlook Today view.
For a basic description of how to use Outlook Today view, see the next section, "Configuring Outlook Today."
Although Outlook Today presents useful information, it might not show all the information you want or need to really keep track of your workday. You can customize Outlook Today view to show additional information and use HTML to present a truly customized interface. The following sections explain how.
You can configure several options that control how this view looks as well as the data it displays. To configure the view, click the Customize Outlook Today link in Outlook Today view (in the upper-right corner of the view). The Customize Outlook Today page shown in Figure 26-15 appears.
The following sections explain the changes you can make to Outlook Today view on this page. When you’re satisfied with the changes, click Save Changes in the Customize Outlook Today title bar, or click Cancel to close the page without applying the changes.
If you select the When Starting, Go Directly To Outlook Today check box, Outlook 2007 opens Outlook Today view when you first start the program.
You also can specify the startup folder by using Outlook 2007 options, as explained here:
In Outlook 2007, choose Tools, Options.
Click Other.
Click Advanced Options.
In the Startup In This Folder drop-down list, select Outlook Today.
Click OK twice to close the dialog boxes.
The Startup In This Folder drop-down list specifies the folder that Outlook 2007 will use by default when you start Outlook 2007. Choosing Outlook Today in the list has the same effect as selecting When Starting, Go Directly To Outlook Today.
Outlook Today view shows the Drafts, Inbox, and Outbox folders. If you seldom use the Drafts folder, you might prefer to remove it from Outlook Today. Or perhaps you want to add other folders to the view, such as Tasks and Contacts, to give you a quick way to open those folders without using the Navigation Pane.
To configure the folders that Outlook Today displays, click Choose Folders on the Customize Outlook Today page to open the Select Folder dialog box, shown in Figure 26-16. Select each folder that you want to display, and then click OK.
The Calendar portion of Outlook Today view displays a certain number of days from your calendar based on the current date. You can specify the number of days displayed by using the Show This Number Of Days In My Calendar option. Select a number from 1 to 7.
The Tasks area of the Customize Outlook Today page lets you configure how Outlook Today displays your tasks. The following list summarizes these options:
All Tasks. Shows all tasks regardless of the status or completion deadline.
Today’s Tasks. Shows overdue tasks and incomplete tasks that are due today.
Include Tasks With No Due Date. Shows tasks for which you’ve assigned no due date.
Sort My Task List By criteria Then By criteria. Sort your task list according to the task’s importance, due date, creation time, and start date. You can specify two sort conditions and also choose between ascending or descending sort order for both conditions.
By default, Outlook Today displays its information using three columns on a white background. Outlook 2007 provides additional styles that you can select to change the overall appearance of Outlook Today view. Use the Show Outlook Today In This Style drop-down list to select a style. The Customize Outlook Today page shows a sample of the style after you select it.