RSSExchange Messaging Outlook Volume 14, Number 31
Today's Highlights:
Using Contacts in Mail Merge
Mail merge is a real time saver, for both printed messages and email. What
many users don't realize is that you can start the merge from Outlook and
when you do, you have better control over the contacts you're using in the
merge and the fields that will be included. The only prerequisite is that
Outlook and Word need to be installed from the same Office suite.
The first step in doing a mail merge is picking the contacts you want to
include in the merge. You can use custom views to filter the contacts or
hold the control or shift key to pick and choose contacts. If you use
categories, you can group by category then select the category for the
merge.
Next, go to Tools, Mail Merge and open the Mail Merge dialog. Choose whether
to use all contact fields or only those fields in the view. "Contact fields
in the current view" means fields that are part of the view, including any
you need to scroll to see, not just the fields visible on the screen.
Finally, choose the type of document to merge and select OK to complete the
merge.
All that's left to do now is prepare your form letter in Word.
If you're new to mail merge, use the Mail Merge Wizard in Word to walk you
through the final steps. Look for it on the Start Mail Merge menu in Word
2007 Mailings ribbon or on the Mail merge toolbar in older versions.
Beginning the merge from Outlook puts you at Step 3 in the Mail Merge
wizard. You can go back to Step 1 if you need to select a different merge
type or make other changes. Or skip the wizard and use the commands on the
Mailings ribbon (or Mail Merge toolbar) to insert fields, select the
document to merge to, and Preview results.
Note: A lot of users complain about the address format and layout when they
do a mail merge. To eliminate problems, use the individual address fields
instead of the address block or mailing address field. This gives you better
control over the address layout.
When you're finished, send the document to the printer or email it.
Common Mail Merge Questions
Q. How do I include attachments when merging to email?
A. Mail merge doesn't support attachments. To include them in the merge,
you'll need to use VBA or a mail merge utility. See
Mass Mail Tools for a
list of utilities (such as Send Individually) and
Mail Merge to E-mail with
Attachments for VBA sample.
Q. How do I avoid the prompt that something is assessing my address book?
A. If you use HTML message format you'll avoid the prompt. Mail merge
utilities should also avoid the security prompts.
Q. How do I filter by category?
A. Begin the merge in Outlook, not Word. Select the contacts you want to
include in the merge (create a filtered view if needed) then select them and
go to Actions, Mail merge. When you begin the merge in Outlook, you'll have
access to all of the fields in your Outlook database, including any custom
fields you may have created. To initiate the merge from Outlook, go to
Contacts, then click on the Tools, Mail merge menu.
Q. The mailing addresses aren't formatted right. How do I fix it?
A. Don't use the Address block or mailing address field, insert the
individual fields than make up the address.
Q. How do I send an email merge using a non-default email account?
A. You'll need to make the account your default. Or use a mail merge utility
that supports multiple accounts.
Resources:
Mass Mail Tools
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/massmail.asp
Mail Merge to E-mail with Attachments
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/mailmerge/MergeWithAttachments.htm
Reset the To-Do Bar
An Outlook user reports a that Outlook started running slowly and the CPU
utilization for the Outlook process stays pegged at around 100%. He also
notices that, if he doesn't change the focus to something else, the To-Do
Bar begins to flicker as though it's being repeatedly refreshed.
I'm not sure what is causing the problems, but we're seeing a lot of
complaints recently that are fixed by resetting the To-do Bar. Most users
sat they see "The operation failed. An object could not be found" when they
try to open Outlook or the To-Do List in the Tasks module displays the error
message "Cannot display the folder."
Fortunately, there is an easy fix that does no harm - close Outlook then
restart it using the /resettodobar switch.
To do this, open the Run dialog using the Windows Key+R, the type or paste
Outlook.exe /resettodobar
Into the field then press Enter. (There is a space between exe and /)
It should fix your problem.
Error with the To-Do Bar's Task list
http://www.slipstick.com/problems/todo_bar_error.asp
Gmail, Outlook, and replying with the correct account
To be fair, this is not limited to just Gmail accounts, but to any account
that aggregates mail into one account for the user to download. Gmail just
happens to be the account that so many are using for account aggregation.
When you have Gmail set up to pull in your mail from other services and then
download it using Outlook, Outlook will not reply using the original
account, even if its configured in Outlook. Outlook replies using the
account that downloaded the message, which in this case, is the Gmail
account.
If you want Outlook to automatically reply using the email address was sent
to, Outlook will need to download the message from the address's mail server
directly. If you set up an account with the correct reply address but
download the message using the Gmail account, you'll need to select the
correct reply account before sending the reply.
New Outlook KB Articles
Description of the Outlook
2003 hotfix package: November 2, 2009
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=976939
Addresses issues when using the Save As E-mail
command to save an instant message conversation
in Office Communicator 2005.
Description of the Outlook 2003 Junk E-mail
Filter update: November 10, 2009
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=975958
Description of the Outlook 2007 Junk E-mail
Filter update: November 10, 2009
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=975960
When you change the date of a reminder by typing
a new value in the Russian version of Outlook
2007, the year value of the reminder is
multiplied by 2
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=975605
Other Resources
Exchange Server
2010 RTM
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010/en/us/try-it.aspx
Exchange 2010 is now available to the public.
Download a 120 day trial to install on your
hardware or a virtual disk for testing. Online
trials also available.
Outlook 2010 Developer Content at MSDN
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee692176(office.14).aspx
Content topics include: Extending the User
Interface in Outlook 2010, Programming the
Outlook 2010 Solutions Module, Shutdown Changes
for Outlook 2010 Beta, What's New for Developers
in Outlook 2010
