How to use it
You can navigate to the different sections of Outlook using the icons in the bottom left corner of the Outlook desktop app.
These are the key sections in Outlook that you need to know about:
Inbox
Your inbox (marked in red on the screenshot) contains all of the emails you receive. Unread emails (like the top one in the screenshot above) are highlighted in blue.
Your shared inboxes (marked in orange on the screenshot) are inboxes that are pertinent to your job role, that may be shared with other staff members. For example, you may be able to access a site-specific inbox like the Kingfisher one shown above. Please do not use this inbox unless it is necessary for your job!
You can create a new email by clicking the ‘New Email’ button marked in green on the screenshot. This opens a pop-up box where you can type your email and any recipients you want to send it to.
Archiving emails
In order to save space in your email, you should archive unwanted emails properly:
Email signatures
An email signature is a block of text at the end of your emails that includes your professional information. Including an email signature means that whoever you are contacting immediately knows what they need to about you.
Generally, it will include your full name, job title and company that you work for. It should also include contact information such as your phone number and email address. You may also want to include your pronouns so that your contacts know how to address you.
Out of office automatic replies
When you set up automatic replies, Outlook sends a pre-written response to any emails that you receive during a set time period, or until you turn of automatic replies. You might want to set-up automatic replies if you are out of office for any reason, for example if you are taking annual leave, or any type of parental leave, to let others know that you won’t be able to respond to them.
Your automatic reply might include why you’re gone, when you’ll be back to work (if you know), and who else to contact while you’re away if there is an urgent issue.
Calendar
Your calendar contains all of your upcoming meetings. You can use the icons marked in red on the screenshot to view your calendar in different ways - view everything happening on a single day, in one week, or in the whole month.
The monthly calendar on the left-hand side (marked in orange) displays the current date (highlighted in dark blue), and the day/week/month that you are currently viewing (highlighted in light blue). You can use the arrows at the top of this section, and at the top of the calendar on the right-hand side to navigate through your calendar.
Create a new meeting
You can create a new meeting invitation by clicking on the ‘New Meeting’ button (marked in green on the screenshot above). This will open a pop-up window where you can enter who you want to send the meeting invitation to, the ‘Location’ of the meeting, and when it will take place. You can also add a message to your invitation, telling the people you’re inviting what the meeting is about.
You might want to use the scheduling assistant to help you find a time that is suitable for all your attendees.
You don’t need to share a calendar in order to see when other people are free using scheduling assistant - NHSmail automatically allows others to view when you’re free or busy (although they won’t be able to see any details about your meetings unless you do share this with them).
Shared calendars
You can share your Outlook calendar with another person so that they can view your schedule in their Outlook calendar page. Shared calendars can be helpful if you frequently collaborate with another person, so that you can quickly see when they’re free.
As noted above, NHSmail automatically allows other to view when you’re free or busy. However, you might want to share more details about your schedule (such as the subjects of meetings) using the instructions below.
If you have any calendars shared with you, you can view them by clicking the box next to ‘Shared Calendars’ (marked in purple on the screenshot above).