Quick Start Guide
Microsoft Outlook 2013 looks different from previous versions, so we created this guide to help you minimize the learning curve.
Make it yours Customize Outlook. Choose different color schemes and different backgrounds, and synchronize them with your other computers. Search You can search a folder, subfolders, even other mailboxes. Manage message tasks in the Message List Categorize, Flag, or Delete messages right where they live—in the Message List.

Backstage view Click the File tab to open the Backstage view, where you add account and change settings.

Do more in the To-Do Bar The To-Do Bar displays the date navigator, your appointments, people, and your task list.

Reply from the reading pane Reply and Forward right from the reading pane. Write a reply in the reading pane, too.

Peek See a quick view of your Calendar, People, and Tasks. Even see upcoming appointments.

People pane See details about everyone in the To, From, or Cc lines for each message.

First things first: Add your account
Before you can send or receive messages, you have to connect your email account. If your company uses Microsoft Exchange, Outlook 2013 will attempt to set up your email account for you. If you use Internet-based email (such as Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo!), enter your name, email address, and password to set up your account.

Change the Office Theme
We’ve redesigned Office 2013 to provide a clean, uncluttered experience — like a blank piece of paper. If you want to see the different areas of Outlook more distinctly, you can change the Office Theme. Use your File > Office Account settings to change the Office 2013 color scheme for all of your computers, or use the Outlook Options to change the color scheme on just this computer. You can choose from White, Light Gray, or Dark Gray.

Things you might be looking for
Use the list below to find some of the more common tools and commands in Outlook 2013.

To...
Apply stationery or backgrounds to a message

Click...
File

And then look in the...
Click File > Options > Mail > Stationery and Fonts. On the Personal Stationery tab, click Theme.

Send automatic replies when you’re out of the office

File

Under Account Information, click Automatic Replies > Send automatic replies, and then choose your options (this feature requires a Microsoft Exchange Server account). From a new mail message, click Illustrations, and then click one of the following: Pictures, Online Picture, Shapes, Smart Art, Chart, or Screenshot. In Mail view, click Move > Rules. From a new mail message, click Symbols > Symbol. Click Options > Calendar. Under Calendar options, click Add Holidays. From the Calendar view, in the Share group, click E-mail Calendar > Share Calendar (this feature requires a Microsoft Exchange Server account), or Publish Online.

Insert a picture or clip art

Insert

Manage email messages by assigning rules Insert a symbol or special character Add holidays to your calendar Share a calendar

Home Insert File Home

Mail isn’t the half of it
Communication is important, but your time is important, too. Outlook 2013 has updated how you manage your time, your people, and your tasks.
Schedule a Lync Meeting Meet face-to-face or save yourself a trip by meeting online with Lync 2013. Plan for the weather Glance at the forecast for your city and up to four others. When you plan an out-of-town meeting, you’ll know what to pack.

View other people’s calendars Quickly see the best times to schedule a meeting with others.

Peek Mouse over a meeting or an appointment to see its details.

Create an email signature
To create a new email signature, do the following: 1. Click File > Options > Mail. Under Compose messages, click Signatures. 2. In the E-mail Signature tab, click New, and then type a name for the signature. 3. In the Edit signature box, type the text that you want to include in the signature, then use the built-in tools to format it.

Automatically add a signature to messages
To automatically add a signature to new email messages, do the following: 1. From any view, click File > Options > Mail. Under Compose messages, click Signatures. 2. Under Choose default signature, choose the signature to add to New Messages. If you want, choose a different signature for Replies/forwards. 3. To manually add a signature to a new message, from a new message, on the Message tab, in the Include group, click Signature, and then click the signature that you want.

If you’ve already created a signature, you can copy it from one of your sent messages and then paste it here.