Basic Configuration Tips and Practices: Microsoft Outlook 2003 for IMAP Email (Windows XP/2003)

You can configure Microsoft Outlook with additional settings to optimize your email experience.

• Recommended Settings
• Using Filters to Organize Incoming and Outgoing Messages
• Reducing Junk Email
• Working with Quota Settings and the Purge Command

Recommended Settings

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook.


2. From the Tools menu, select Options. Click on the Mail Format tab, and change the Message format to Plain Text.


3. In the Signatures section below, you can create a default signature to be used when composing emails by clicking on the Signatures button.

Using Filters to Organize Incoming and Outgoing Messages

You can create rules for filtering of mail messages by going to the menu and selecting Tools, then Rules and Alerts. The following box will appear:

• You can configure messages to be Moved or Copied to particular folders upon arrival or sending, based on the rules you choose. This can be very helpful in managing messages that you may receive based on particular groups, mailing lists, or subject headings.


• Note that Outlook will automatically save copies of sent messages in the Sent Messages folder in your Personal Folders. If you would like copies of messages to be saved on your mail server, you can configure that action using the message rules.

Reducing Junk Email

To enable Junk Email Filtering, do the following:

1. Go to the Actions Menu, then select Junk E-mail and then Junk E-mail Options. The following box will appear:



2. There are several different levels of Junk Mail Filtering that Outlook can provide. It is recommended that you choose the Low setting until you are comfortable with the way Outlook handles Junk Mail. The Low setting will move most obvious Junk mail to the Junk E-Mail folder.


3. If you would like to be sure that certain email is not mistaken for Junk, you can select the Safe Senders Tab and click Add. You will be prompted for a specific email address or an internet domain name. You can enter a domain, such as upenn.edu if you would like to receive all messages from anyone with upenn.edu in their email address without them being filtered as Junk.

   

4. You can also allow Outlook to trust all email from senders who are already in your Contact list. This option is checked by default. Check with your LSP if you need to configure more advanced filtering options.


5. Outlook will automatically move Junk Mail to the Junk E-mail Folder. You may want to periodically check the contents of that folder to make sure that no legitimate emails were marked as Junk.


6. To remove emails from that folder, simply Right click on the mail, Select Junk E-mail, then Mark as Not Junk. You will be prompted to add the email to a "Safe Sender" list and to return the email to your Inbox.


7. For more information about limiting unsolicited email, see Penn's document: Junk Email and Newsgroup Postings, aka 'spam'.

Working with Quota Settings and the Purge Command

• If you have configured Outlook for IMAP email, then Outlook will keep mail messages on the mail server. You may need to clean out your Inbox from time to time, depending on the amount of mail you receive and the amount of storage space that is allotted to your account. Check with your School, center, or LSP if you are unsure of your space limitations, and it has become troublesome.


• Outlook uses the mark and purge method method for deleting messages. That is, unwanted messages are first "marked" for deletion and then a separate purge command must be issued in order to delete all marked messages. Outlook moves all messages that you mark for deletion into the Deleted Items folder inside your Personal Folders. (These messages will not take up space on the server, as they are stored on your local hard drive.) Use the directions below to use Outlook's mark and purge method.


1. You may notice that messages can appear in your Inbox or other folders as greyed out with a line drawn through them. This indicates that the message was moved to another folder automatically (if it was deemed Junk) or else you deleted the message (marked it for deletion).


2. You can rid your folders of junk and deleted messages by going to the Menu and selecting Edit, and then Purge Deleted Messages. Be sure that you no longer need these messages before purging, or that they were already moved to the proper folder. If you purge deleted messages, they will be erased PERMANENTLY.