Resize those columns - automatically
You probably know that columns
in any of Outlook's views can be resized to suit your own preferences
- just move the mouse pointer over the dividers to the right side of the
column heading. When it turns into a double headed arrow you can hold
down the left mouse button and drag the divider bar to stretch or compress
the column.
There's also an automatic
width adjustment, which works just as it does in Excel and elsewhere.
Put on the cursor on the column divider as before, then double-click.
The column will be resized to fit the widest entry it contains. (And don't
be surprised if it appears to be unnecessarily wide - the widest entry
in the column may be out of sight further down the page).
Auto-adjustment isn't
clever enough to apply when new data is added. You'll have to double-click
again to accommodate any future changes.
Quick dates
You don't have to enter explicit dates into date fields - you can also use a plain English description like yesterday, today, next Tuesday, last Friday of the month, or Boxing Day. Some abbreviations work, too - "next thurs", for instance. You can also enter a number of days, such as 20 days, to reference the date in 20 days' time. The correct date will be calculated and inserted.
Reword subjects
You might think that incoming
e-mail is more or less inviolate. You can't alter the content or the sender's
address, for instance. But you can alter the Subject: line - and let's
face it, sometimes the people whip send you stuff don't use the most meaningful
subject line. Rewording it helps you sort and file your messages.
You can't alter the subject line in the preview pane.
You'll have to double-click the message and open it before making your
changes. When you try to close it, Outlook will ask if you want to save
the changes. If that doesn't work, click on Edit and select Edit Message
to make your changes.