Microsoft Outlook 2003 - New Features
User Interface Enhancements
Arrange by Conversation - If you receive numerous messages, you can now group e-mail conversions together in an arrangement that makes them easier to find and respond to conversations or "threads." Because all messages are grouped together, you can avoid responding to a message only to later find out that someone else already responded.
AutoComplete - When typing an address into the To:, Cc: or Bcc: lines of a new message in Outlook 2003, AutoComplete will provide you with a drop down list of suggestions from which you can choose. These names are based on addresses Outlook has cached.
Desktop Alerts - The New Mail Desktop Alert temporarily displays in the lower right of your screen when you receive new mail. This alert contains the subject and first few lines of the message. You also have the option to read, delete or flag the message from the Alert. This feature is customizable.
Intelligent Grouping - Intelligent Grouping groups mail into readable sections. For example, sorting mail by date will display messages grouped under the headings Today, Yesterday, and so on. Grouping by conversation allows you to merge entire threads, and by size will sort mail according to the size of the message. By selecting View | Arrange By from the Menu Bar, you can choose one of the 13 default categories in which to sort your messages (as shown in the image on the right). Additionally, you can create your own custom category from this view by selecting Custom.
Navigation Pane - In Outlook 2003, the Navigation Pane provides centralized navigation to all areas of Outlook, as well as an easily customizable view.
Reading Pane - The Reading Pane has been redesigned in Outlook 2003. Most messages can now be viewed in their entirety without having to scroll. This pane can be customized in a number of ways, including an option to turn it off entirely if preferred.
Organizational Improvements
Favorite Folders List - This list is for the few folders that you might use the most. By placing them in your Favorite Folders List (which is located at the top of your Navigation Pane), you won't have to scroll to search if you have numerous of folders.
Rules - Creating rules in Outlook 2003 has been improved and made easier. A step-by-step wizard can be used to create a wide variety of rules, allowing you to relocate or delete incoming mail, based on the characteristics of the message. These rules can aid in organizing your mail, as well as reduce the number of messages in your Inbox.
Search Folders - Search Folders are virtual folders which contain views of all e-mail items matching specific search criteria. Outlook 2003 ships with three default Search Folders: Unread Mail, Large Messages and Follow Up. The e-mail messages shown in a Search Folder are not moved from their original locations. Users can create their own Search Folders based upon a large set of criteria.
Quick Flags - Another enhancement of Outlook 2003 is the introduction of Colored Quick Flags. By using these six different flag colors, you can better organize your important and/or follow-up items.
Security and SPAM Protection
Blocking of External HTML Content - By default, HTML content is blocked when you view messages in Outlook 2003. This feature is designed to help protect you against spam and privacy invasions. Junk e-mail senders will often use a picture to insert what is referred to as a "web beacon", which will notify the sender that it has found a valid e-mail address and will begin sending more SPAM to that account. By blocking HTML content, this will cause most systems which track mail in this way to be ineffective. This feature can be fully customized by the user.
Junk E-mail Filters - Outlook 2003 comes equipped with a junk e-mail filter which can be used to filter out unwanted SPAM. This customizable filter has 4 settings: No Protection, Low, High and Safe Lists Only, and is set to the lowest setting by default. This feature, used in conjunction with the SPAM filtering done by ITS, can be extremely effective in reducing unwanted SPAM.
Other New Features and Improvements
Out of Office Assistant - With Outlook 2003, you can set up the Out of Office Assistant (or "vacation message") directly within the program. Doing so will generate an automatic response to senders. In addition, when you return to Outlook, you will be reminded that you have an Out of Office message set and ask if you would like to turn it off.
Quota Messages - The Hawkmail server has the ability to provide you with warnings when you are getting near your quota limit. This means you will receive warning messages as you near your allowed quota on the server, rather than being unable to access your account (as in the past).
Cached Exchange Mode - When Outlook is configured to use Cached Exchange Mode, Outlook will work from a local copy of the user's Hawkmail mailbox, which is stored in an Offline Folder file (OST file) on the user's workstation. Additionally, Cached Exchange Mode allows Outlook to detect your connection method and adjust accordingly.
Show Unread/Total Items - In Outlook 2003, you have the option to display either the "total number of items" or the "number of unread items" next to any given folder. To distinguish between the two, the "unread items" number is displayed in blue, and the "total items" number is shown in green. This setting can be modified by right-clicking the appropriate folder and selecting Properties .
Dynamic Distribution List - By using Dynamic Distribution Lists, you have the ability to expand any distribution list into its individual members. You are also able to remove or add a name to the list of recipients, and send your message.
Formatting Columns - Outlook 2003 has added the option to format columns in Table View. The will enable you to customize the display of each column in your view.
Table View - By default, Table View displays two lines of information for each item. This change allows more information to be displayed for each item. In addition, this also enables the Reading Pane to move to a new default position, on the right side of the screen.
For additional information see: Slipstick's New Features in Microsoft Outlook 2003
