About the Outlook PST-File

Pst-files, unless you are using an Exchange or Hotmail account, Outlook cannot live without them. The pst-file is also known as Personal Folders and Outlook Data File. Knowing how to properly treat pst-files is one of the more important basic Outlook skills. This guide contains these basics but also more advanced and additional background information about the pst-file and how you can handle them.

Contents of a pst-file Location of the pst-file Moving a pst-file Backing up or copying a pst-file Opening a pst-file Removing an opened pst-file Deleting a pst-file Archive.pst file Network support for pst-files Fixing a broken pst-file with scanpst.exe ANSI and Unicode formatted pst-files Maximum size of a pst-file Reducing the size of a pst-file System Restore and pst-files Difference between ost-files and pst-files

Contents of a pst-file

If you are not using an Exchange account or Hotmail account, Outlook uses a PST-file to store your data in. Within this single file, Outlook stores all your folders and items (emails, contacts, appointments, etc).

The default folders are;

Inbox Drafts Outbox Sent Items Deleted Items Junk E-mail (since Outlook 2003) Search Folders (since Outlook 2003) RSS Feeds (since Outlook 2007) Calendar Contacts Suggested Contacts (Outlook 2010 only) Tasks Notes Journal

Default folders in Outlook 2010.

You can add additional pst-files to separate your data between multiple files. In that case, the default folders are Deleted Items and Search Folders. In addition to your folders and items, it also holds some configuration settings like Views, Custom Forms, AutoArchive settings and Rules and Alerts. The Deleted Items folder is a special folder as it can hold all type of items, not just mail items. When a folder gets deleted, it will show up as a subfolder of the Deleted Items folder. Emptying the Deleted Items folder will permanently delete all the items and subfolders from the Deleted Items folder.
Location of the pst-file

Pst-files are created in the following locations by default;

Outlook 2007 and previous on Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\

Outlook 2007 and previous on Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows8

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\

Outlook 2010 on Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\My Documents\Outlook Files

Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 on Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8

C:\Users\%username%\Documents\Outlook Files

Note: Upgrading to Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013 will not move your pst-files to the new location. While it is not required to move it, it is recommended to do so. See the Moving a pst-file section for more details. The Local Settings and AppData folders are hidden folders. If you dont have Windows configured to show hidden files and folders, you can type or paste the above paths directly in the title bar of Explorer as well to access them. Tip! A quick way to open the location of a pst-file is to bring up the Data Files list in Outlook, select the pst-file and then press the Open Folder or Open File Location button.

Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 File-> Data File Management Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 File-> Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab Data

Quickly open the folder location of a pst-file from the Data Files tab.
Moving a pst-file

To move a pst-file, close Outlook and move the file. When you start Outlook, Outlook will prompt you for the new location. Pst-files of IMAP and Hotmail Connector accounts are an exception though, moving them will simply create a new pst-file and will recache the entire IMAP or Hotmail account. Pst-files for these accounts currently cannot be moved in a reliable way and it is recommended to leave them in their default location. If you move a pst-file which is associated with AutoArchive, you must also change your AutoArchive to point to the new location or a new archive file will be created. For more details see; Relocate the archive file.

Tip! If you end up moving the pst-file out of the default location each time, you could change this default location via the Registry; Change default location for pst and ost files.
Backing up or copying a pst-file

Backing up a pst-file is as simple as copying it to another location. However, copying a pst-file can only be done when Outlook is closed. If you close Outlook and you still cannot copy the pst-file, you might have a shutdown issue with Outlook. For complete backup and restore instructions see; Backup and Restore. Tool Tip! While making a copy of the pst-file will effectively backup your Outlook data, it will not include any mail account configuration settings (mail profile), templates or signatures. If you want to include this into your backups as well you can use the backup tool Outlook Backup from ABF Software. The backups can also be scheduled so you wont have to worry about it again. If you decide to order use ABF-HT2GL to get a discount.
Opening a pst-file

To open a pst-file use; File-> Open-> Outlook Data File If you backed up your pst-file to a CD-ROM or DVD, youll first need to copy the pst-file back to your hard disk. In addition, verify that the Read Only file property isnt enabled as Outlook needs Read and Write access to the file. Important! Never try to open a pst-file by overwriting an existing pst-file. Doing so will corrupt your mail profile and could lead to countless of weird issues.
Removing an opened pst-file

If you want to remove a pst-file from Outlook, do not delete the file but disconnect/remove/close it in Outlook first. After removing it from Outlook, close Outlook to release the lock on the pst-file and then you can safely delete it. To quickly close a pst-file in Outlook, right click the root folder and choose Close <name>.

The root folder is the top folder of a mailbox. Another way to remove an opened pst-file from your mail profile is to go to the Data Files list, select the pst-file that you want to disconnect, and click the Remove button. This will only remove the file from Outlook and not delete it from your disk.

Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 File-> Data File Management Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 File-> Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab Data

Note: You cannot remove a pst-file which is marked as the default or pst-files which are still associated with an e-mail account.
Deleting a pst-file

If you want to delete a pst-file from your disk, make sure you have removed the pst-file from Outlook first. If you do not do this, youll end up with errors in Outlook could possibly ending up corrupting your mail profile. Deleting a pst-file is really not the way to start Outlook in a clean non-configured state. If you want to start over, recreate your mail profile instead.
Archive.pst file

The archive.pst file is the default name for pst-files created by AutoArchive. Subsequent archive files will be numbered like archive1.pst, archive2.pst, etc AutoArchive is a feature of Outlook to automatically off-load older messages of your main pst-file or Exchange or Hotmail mailbox to another pst-file. By doing so, you can keep the pst-file with your most current messages smaller which could lead to an improved performance of Outlook and faster (daily) backups of your main pst-file. Tip! Schedule the frequency of the backups of your archive.pst at the same interval of AutoArchive to make sure you still have a copy of all your mail. If you enable AutoArchive, the default archiving interval is 14 days.

Network support for pst-files

While it may sound like a good idea for sharing and centralized backup purposes, you should not connect to a pst-file located on a network share. This configuration is not recommended or supported by Microsoft. Doing so could lead to poor performance of Outlook, data corruption or even data loss. Several features such as Instant Search and AutoArchive could also stop functioning or produce errors when the pst-file is located on a network drive. To still have the benefit of a centralized backup system, you can use the free Personal Folders Backup Add-in by Microsoft. This allows you set reminders to make a backup when you close Outlook (as often as once a day) and initiate a backup for all your pst-files to a network share with a single click. Note: The Outlook Backup add-in requires an additional registry key change for Outlook 2010 compatibility. The add-in doesnt function with Outlook 2013.
Fixing a broken pst-file with scanpst.exe

When a pst-file gets corrupted you can use scanpst.exe to search for and fix errors. The location of scanpst.exe depends on your version of Outlook. To find the location of scanpst.exe for your version of Outlook and how you can use it to repair your pst-file see; Using the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe) Tool Tips! Scanpst.exe cannot fix all type of corruptions of a pst-file. When a pst-file is too badly corrupted you can then try repairing or salvage recoverable items via a 3rd party recovery tool. Popular data recovery tools for Outlook are;

DataNumen Advanced Outlook Repair (discount code: DNC-PUXB-HT ) Cimaware OutlookFIX Stellar Phoenix Outlook PST Repair

Use their trial versions first to determine if they can recover more data from your pst-file than scanpst.exe.

ANSI and Unicode formatted pst-files

With Outlook 2003, the format of the pst-file changed from ANSI to Unicode. The main reason for this was to allow for international character support and to extend the maximum size of the pst-files beyond the 2GB limit of the ANSI formatted pst-files.

Newly created pst-file in Outlook 2003 and later are in Unicode format by default. Outlook 2002/XP and previous cannot open Unicode formatted pst-files. Outlook 2003 and later can open both ANSI and Unicode pst-files. Unicode formatted pst-files created in either version of Outlook can be opened in Outlook 2003 or later.

Tips!

To find out if your current pst-file is an ANSI or Unicode formatted pst-file see; Am I in ANSI or UNICODE format? ANSI formatted pst-file are not automatically converted to Unicode by opening them in a later version of Outlook. To convert them see; Migrate from ANSI to UNICODE

Maximum size of a pst-file

Pst-file which are in ANSI format can become up to 2GB. If the file grows any larger, it could become corrupted and you wont be able to open it in Outlook anymore. In that case, youll have to use the PST2GB crop tool to reduce its size before you can open it again. The new Unicode formatted pst-files have a configured maximum size of 20GB in Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007. In Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 this limit has been set to 50GB. You can increase the maximum size of a Unicode formatted pst-file by modifying a Registry value. For details see; Increase maximum size pst-files.
Reducing the size of a pst-file

As the pst-file is a database file, it will not directly shrink in size after you have deleted something from it and emptied the Deleted Items folder. This is to optimize performance as shrinking and expanding files is a relatively slow process.

The space that is left by these permanently deleted items is known as white space. Outlook will automatically start compacting the pstfile when there is more than 20% of white space in the pst-file and the computer is left idle with Outlook running. During this compacting process, the free space within the pst-file is returned to the disk and the file will become smaller. Tips!

To force a manual Compact of the pst-file see; Shrink pst-file after cleanup with Compact Now. To force Outlook to always compact the pst-file upon closing see; Permanently delete from pst-file and Compact Now

System Restore and pst-files

Because of the original location of the pst-file (the local profile folder of the user) it is a common misconception that using System Restore will allow you to recover a deleted or corrupted pst-file. This is however not the case; a pst-file isnt a system file but a data file. This means the opposite is also true; running a System Restore will not delete any of your received messages from after the restore date. However, when going for a System Restore, it is always recommended to have a proper backup of your Outlook data as well as any other data that you hold dear.
Difference between ost-files and pst-files

If you are using an Exchange or Outlook Hotmail Connector account, you might have noticed that there are also ost-files. Ost-files are cached copies of Exchange or Hotmail mailboxes so that you can also access them off-line. Unlike pst-files, ost-files are tied to the mail account configuration and cannot be opened individually. Restoring access to an ost-file can be done via System Restore if you only just deleted the account but still have the ost-file. Doing a System Restore will restore your mail profile configuration and thus also the account which belonged to the ost-file. If all you have is an ost-file and the System Restore method didnt work or it has been too long since you deleted the mail account, then there are several data recovery tools available to convert an ost-file into a pst-file such as Stellar Phoenix Convert OST to PST. For additional recovery tools see; Data recovery tools.

Where do I find?
Changed Outlook version and can now no longer find your favorite feature? Feel like test driving Outlook 2013? Or have you heard of a feature but dont know where to find it in Outlook? This guide will help you on your way. It contains a list of most commonly used features and options that have been shifted around or renamed between Outlook versions and are sometimes hard to find back. In addition, a couple of options have links to them to find out more about how to use the feature. Several options have multiple ways of accessing them. We will only list one method as the intention of the guide is only to locate the feature. The main focus will be on accessing the options via the main interface by using a standard click (left mouse button).

With the Office Logo we refer to the icon in Outlook 2007 and with File we refer to the tab like File menu icon (also known as Backstage) in Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013. With the Ribbon we refer to the new tabbed interface for command buttons in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 also known as Fluent UI. With the Expand icon we refer to the or icon on the Ribbon (in the the right bottom corner of some tab groups). The features have been grouped in the following categories;

Global Outlook options and features Outlook management and maintenance Account and data file management Views Exchange Receiving Settings Messages (composing and reading) Calendar Contacts/People

Global Outlook options and features

Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Format Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Format Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> group Compose messages Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> group Compose messages

Default message format

Signatures (define)

Mark as Read behavior

Print Options

Advanced Find

Startup Folder

Tracking Options

Macros

International Options (encoding)

Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Format-> button Signatures Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Format-> button Signatures Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> button Signatures Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> button Signatures (more about creating signatures) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button Reading Pane Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button Reading Pane Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button Reading Pane Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button Reading Pane Outlook 2003: File-> Page Setup/Print Outlook 2007: File-> Page Setup/Print (main Outlook window) Outlook 2007: Office Logo-> Print (opened item) Outlook 2010: File-> Print Outlook 2013: File-> Print Outlook 2003: Tools-> Find-> Advanced Find Outlook 2007: Tools-> Instant Search-> Advanced Find Outlook 2010: Click in the Instant Search field-> the Search tab appears-> Search Tools-> Advanced Find Outlook 2013: Click in the Instant Search field-> the Search tab appears-> Search Tools-> Advanced Find Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button Advanced Options-> Startup in this folder Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button Advanced Options-> Startup in this folder Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> option group: Outlook start and exit-> Start Outlook in this folder Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> option group: Outlook start and exit-> Start Outlook in this folder Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Preferences-> button E-mail Options-> button Tracking Options Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Preferences-> button E-mail Options-> button Tracking Options Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> option group: Tracking Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> option group: Tracking Outlook 2003: Tools-> Macro-> Macros Outlook 2007: Tools-> Macro-> Macros Outlook 2010: tab Developer-> section Code-> button Macros Outlook 2013: tab Developer-> section Code-> button Macros (read here how to enable the Developer tab) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Format-> button International Options Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Format-> button International Options Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> option group: International Options Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> option group: International Options

Outlook management and maintenance

About (show version number) Outlook 2003: Help-> About Outlook 2007: Help-> About Outlook 2010: File-> section Help-> text link: Additional Version and Copyright Information Outlook 2013: File-> section Office Account-> About Outlook Outlook 2003: Help-> Detect and Repair Outlook 2007: Help-> Office Diagnostics Outlook 2010: Removed from interface. Outlook 2013: Removed from interface. (you can also run Repair from CD/DVD via setup or via Control Panel) Outlook 2003: Help-> Check for Updates Outlook 2007: Help-> Check for Updates Outlook 2010: File-> section Help-> button Check for Updates Outlook 2013: Removed from interface. (you can also configure Windows Updae to get Office Updates) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button Advanced Options-> button Add-In Manager/button COM Add-Ins Outlook 2007: Tools-> Trust Center-> section Add-Ins Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Add-Ins Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Add-Ins More details can be found here. Outlook 2003: Help-> About-> button Disabled Items Outlook 2007: Help-> Disabled Items Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Add-ins-> drop down list Manage-> Disabled Items-> button Go Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Add-ins-> drop down list Manage-> Disabled Items-> button Go

Repair

Check for Updates

Add-ins (enable/disable)

Disabled Items

Account and data file management

Outlook 2003: Tools-> E-mail Accounts-> option: View or change existing e-mail accounts-> button Next Outlook 2007: Tools-> Account Settings-> tab tab E-mail Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab E-mail Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab E-mail (use these configuration settings for using Live Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo or AOL and AIM) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Mailbox Cleanup Outlook 2007: Tools-> Mailbox Cleanup Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Cleanup Tools-> Mailbox Cleanup Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Cleanup Tools-> Mailbox Cleanup

Mail Account Settings (add/remove/edit account)

Mailbox Cleanup

(cleanup tips) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button AutoArchive Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> button AutoArchive AutoArchive Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button AutoArchive Settings Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button AutoArchive Settings (troubleshoot common AutoArchive issues) Outlook 2003: File-> Archive Outlook 2007: File-> Archive Archive Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Cleanup Tools-> Archive Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Cleanup Tools-> Archive Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> option: Empty Deleted Items folder upon exiting Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Other-> option: Empty Deleted Items folder upon exiting Empty Deleted Items Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> option group: Outlook start and exit-> Empty Deleted Items (upon exit) folders when exiting Outlook Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> option group: Outlook start and exit-> Empty Deleted Items folders when exiting Outlook Outlook 2003: File-> New-> Outlook Data File Add new Personal Folders Outlook 2007: File-> New-> Outlook Data File (pst-files) Outlook 2010: tab Home-> button New Items-> More Items-> Outlook Data File Outlook 2013: tab Home-> button New Items-> More Items-> Outlook Data File Outlook 2003: File-> Open-> Outlook Data File Open existing Personal Outlook 2007: File-> Open-> Outlook Data File Folders Outlook 2010: File-> section Open-> Open Outlook Data File (pst-files) Outlook 2013: File-> section Open & Export-> Open Outlook Data File (errors when opening a pst-file can often be fixed via scanpst.exe) Data File Management Outlook 2003: File-> Data File Management (list connected pst-files, their Outlook 2007: File-> Data File Management locations, close them, set as Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab Data Files default) Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab Data Files Outlook 2003: File-> New-> Folder Outlook 2007: File-> New-> Folder New folder Outlook 2010: tab Folder-> section New-> New Folder Outlook 2013: tab Folder-> section New-> New Folder Outlook 2003: File-> Import and Export Outlook 2007: File-> Import and Export Import Outlook 2010: File-> Open-> Import Outlook 2013: File-> Open & Export-> Import/Export

Export

Outlook 2003: File-> Import and Export Outlook 2007: File-> Import and Export Outlook 2010: File-> Open-> Import (also contains Export options) Outlook 2013: File-> Open & Export-> Import/Export

Views
Outlook 2003: Right click a column-> Field Chooser Outlook 2007: Right click a column-> Field Chooser (single line layout) Outlook 2007: Right click a column-> Custom-> Fields (multi line layout) Outlook 2010: Right click a column-> Field Chooser (single line layout) Outlook 2010: Right click a column-> View Settings-> Columns (multi line layout) Outlook 2010: tab View-> button Add Columns (any list layout style) Outlook 2013: Right click a column-> Field Chooser (single line layout) Outlook 2013: Right click a column-> View Settings-> Columns (multi line layout) Outlook 2013: tab View-> button Add Columns (any list layout style) (for more info about multi line and single line layout see this post) Outlook 2003: View-> AutoPreview Outlook 2007: View-> AutoPreview Outlook 2010: tab View-> button Change View-> Preview (this view has the Reading Pane turned off by default) Outlook 2013: tab View-> button Message Preview-> Outlook 2003: Tools-> Organize Outlook 2007: Tools-> Organize Outlook 2010: tab View-> button View Settings-> button Conditional Formatting Outlook 2013 tab View-> button View Settings-> button Conditional Formatting (for more info about Conditional Formatting see this guide) Outlook 2003: View-> Arrange By-> Current View-> Define Views Outlook 2007: View-> Current View-> Define Views Outlook 2010: tab View-> button Change View-> Manage Views Outlook 2013: tab View-> button Change View-> Manage Views (how to apply a custom view to all folder) Outlook 2003: View-> Reading Pane-> Outlook 2007: View-> Reading Pane-> Outlook 2010: tab View-> Reading Pane-> Outlook 2013: tab View-> Reading Pane->

Field Chooser

AutoPreview

Organize

Define Views

Reading Pane (enable/disable, position right/bottom)

Exchange

Outlook 2003: Tools-> Out of Office Assistant Outlook 2007: Tools-> Out of Office Assistant Out of Office Assistant Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Automatic Replies Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Automatic Replies (for Exchange administrators: verify if Out of Office to the Internet is allowed) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Delegates Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Delegates Delegates Outlook 2010: File-> button Account Settings-> Delegate Access Outlook 2013: File-> button Account Settings-> Delegate Access (more about Permissions) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Recover Deleted Items Outlook 2007: Tools-> Recover Deleted Items Recover Deleted Items Outlook 2010: tab Folder-> section Cleanup-> button Recover Deleted Items Outlook 2013: tab Folder-> section Cleanup-> button Recover Deleted Items Outlook 2003: Tools-> E-mail Accounts-> option: View or change existing e-mail accounts-> button Next-> select your Exchange account-> button Change-> button More Settings-> tab Advanced-> button Add Outlook 2007: Tools-> Account Settings-> tab E-mail-> select your Exchange account-> button Change-> button More Settings-> tab Advanced-> button Add Add secondary mailbox Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab E-mail-> select your Exchange account-> button Change-> button More Settings-> tab Advanced-> button Add Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab E-mail-> select your Exchange account-> button Change-> button More Settings-> tab Advanced-> button Add Outlook 2003: File-> Open-> Other Users Folder Outlook 2007: File-> Open-> Other Users Folder Open Folder from Other User Outlook 2010: File-> section Open-> button Other Users Folder Outlook 2013: File-> section Open-> button Other Users Folder

Receiving Settings
Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Setup-> button Send/Receive Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Mail Setup-> button Send/Receive Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button Send/Receive Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button Send/Receive Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Preferences-> button E-mail Options-> button Advanced E-mail Options-> option group: When new items arrive in my Inbox Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Preferences-> button E-mail Options-> button Advanced E-mail Options-> option group: When new items arrive in my Inbox Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Mail-> option group: Message arrival

Send/Receive Settings

New Email Alerts

Rules and Alerts

Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Advanced-> button Send/Receive (configure the New Mail Desktop Alert to stay longer and show for all messages) Outlook 2003: Tools-> Rules and Alerts Outlook 2007: Tools-> Rules and Alerts Outlook 2010: tab Home-> section Move-> button Rules-> Manage Rules & Alerts Outlook 2013: tab Home-> section Move-> button Rules-> Manage Rules & Alerts

Messages (composing and reading) Unless specified otherwise, these instructions are about the message window, both composing and reading.
Outlook 2003: Format-> Plain Text/HTML/Rich Text (Outlook as the editor) Outlook 2003: E-mail toolbar-> dropdown list next to Options button (Word as the editor) Change message format; Outlook 2007: Ribbon-> tab Options HTML/Plain Text/Rich Text Outlook 2010: Ribbon-> tab Format Text Outlook 2010: Ribbon-> tab Format Text Outlook 2003: View-> From Field/Bcc Field (Outlook as the editor) Outlook 2003: E-mail toolbar-> dropdown button on Options button-> From/Bcc (screenshot) From and BCC field Outlook 2007: Ribbon-> tab Options (enable/disable) Outlook 2010: Ribbon-> tab Options Outlook 2013: Ribbon-> tab Options (in Outlook 2010/2013, From is automatically selected when multiple accounts are configured and cant be hidden) Outlook 2003: Insert-> File-> after attaching: button Attachment Options Outlook 2007: tab Message-> section Include-> button Attach File-> after attaching: expand icon on Include Resize picture attachments Outlook 2010: File-> section Info Outlook 2013: File-> section Info Outlook 2003: View-> Options (Outlook as the editor) Outlook 2003: E-mail toolbar-> Options (Word as the editor) Message Options (composing) Outlook 2007: tab Options-> section More Options-> expand icon Outlook 2010: tab Options-> section More Options-> expand icon Outlook 2013: tab Options-> section More Options-> expand icon Outlook 2003: View-> Options Outlook 2007: tab Message-> section Options-> expand icon Message Options (reading) Outlook 2010: File-> Properties (message header) Outlook 2013: File-> Properties (to view the message header without opening the message first see this tip) Outlook 2003: File-> Save Attachments Save Attachments (all) Outlook 2007: File-> Save Attachments

Outlook 2010: File-> Save Attachments Outlook 2013: File-> Save Attachments Outlook 2003: Actions-> New Mail Message Using-> More Stationery New message with stationery Outlook 2007: Actions-> New Mail Message Using-> More Stationery (start from main Outlook Outlook 2010: tab Home-> section New-> button New Items-> E-mail Message Using-> More Stationery window) Outlook 2013: tab Home-> section New-> button New Items-> E-mail Message Using-> More Stationery Outlook 2003: Insert-> Signature (Outlook as the editor) Outlook 2003: E-mail toolbar-> dropdown button on Options-> E-mail Signature (Word as the editor) Outlook 2007: tab Message-> button Signature Signatures (insert) Outlook 2010: tab Message-> button Signature Outlook 2013: tab Message-> button Signature (note that this is a signature switching feature (except for Outlook 2003 with Outlook as the editor)) Outlook 2003: File-> Properties-> Do not AutoArchive Outlook 2007: File-> Properties Do not AutoArchive Outlook 2010: File-> Properties (or press ALT+ENTER for the old dialog) Outlook 2013: File-> Properties (or press ALT+ENTER for the old dialog)

Calendar
Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> button Calendar Options-> option: Show week numbers in the Data Navigator Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> button Calendar Options-> option: Show week numbers in Month View and Data Navigator Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Calendar-> group: Display options-> option: Show week numbers in the month view and the Data Navigator Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Calendar-> group: Display options-> option: Show week numbers in the month view and the Data Navigator Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> button Calendar Options-> button: Add Holidays Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> button Calendar Options-> button: Add Holidays Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Calendar-> group: Calendar options-> button: Add Holidays Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section Calendar-> group: Calendar options-> button: Add Holidays)

Show week numbers

Import holidays

Contacts/People
Outlook 2003: Tools-> Options-> tab Preferences-> button Contact Options Outlook 2007: Tools-> Options-> tab Preferences-> button Contact Options Outlook 2010: File-> section Options-> section Contacts-> group: Names and filing Outlook 2013: File-> section Options-> section People-> group: Names and filing

Default File As format

Default Display format Address Book

Mail Merge

New Contact from same Company

Outlook 2003: Tools-> E-mail Accounts-> select: View or change existing directories or address books-> button Next> select: Outlook Address Book-> button Change Outlook 2007: Tools-> Account Settings-> tab Address Books-> select: Outlook Address Book-> button Change Outlook 2010: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab Address Books-> select: Outlook Address Book-> button Change Outlook 2013: File-> section Info-> button Account Settings-> Account Settings-> tab Address Books-> select: Outlook Address Book-> button Change Outlook 2003: Select Contacts folder-> Tools-> Mail Merge Outlook 2007: Select Contacts folder-> Tools-> Mail Merge Outlook 2010: Select Contacts folder-> tab Home-> section Actions-> button Mail Merge Outlook 2013: Select Contacts/People folder-> tab Home-> section Actions-> button Mail Merge (more about mail merge) Outlook 2003: Select Contacts folder-> select a contact-> Actions-> New Contact from Same Company Outlook 2007: Select Contacts folder-> select a contact-> Actions-> New Contact from Same Company Outlook 2010: Select Contacts folder-> select a contact-> tab Home-> group New-> button New Items-> Contact from the Same Company Outlook 2013: Select Contacts folder-> select a contact-> tab Home-> group New-> button New Items-> Contact from the Same Company