Outlook Startup Choices

Here's a tip that comes to you courtesy of a reader's question. She was looking for a way to force Outlook to open straight to the Inbox.

Sounds like a very relevant and legitimate concern.

I don't know about you, but when I start up Outlook, I'm looking for my e-mail. Don't get me wrong, there's lots of other great stuff in Outlook, but 99.9 percent of the time, I'm there for the e-mail.

With that as the priority, I can clearly see why having the Inbox open as the program starts is the way to go.

Wait, I can hear you already.

Some of you would much rather have the calendar or journal or some other aspect of Outlook open upon the program startup.

Well, that's no problem either. This is a tip for everyone! Your biggest decision is which part of Outlook to choose.

Okay, it's time to get down to business.

If you're running MS Outlook 97, here's the information you need.

Go to the Tools menu, Options choice.

On the General tab, you're looking for the Startup Settings section at the bottom.

The "Startup in this folder" field has a list of choices. From the drop down list, select the aspect of Outlook you chose as your startup place.

Click OK to make the change and return to Outlook.

It's really that easy!

Now, for those of you who are using a newer version of MS Outlook, your directions are just a little bit different.

You'll begin in the same place. Go to the Tools menu, Options choice.

You're looking for the Advanced Options button, located on the Other tab.

Once you've clicked the Advanced Options button, a window will open where you can make your choices.

At the top, in the General settings section, you'll find the "Startup in this folder" field. Choose the aspect of Outlook that works best for you from the drop down list.

Click OK to exit the Advanced Options window.

Click OK again to exit the Options window.

Voila!

You now have tailored Outlook to meet your needs, right from the very start!

~ April