Outlook Users

Outlook versions

The  current version:

Outlook 2007 SP1

Previous versions:
Outlook 2003
Outlook 2003 SP3
Outlook 2002
Outlook 2000
Outlook 98
Outlook 97 8.04 (final)
Outlook 97 8.03
Outlook 97 8.02

Exchange & Outlook Build Info

Common Problems

Contacts Issues
Journal Issues
Mail Issues
Rules Wizard
Configuration and Maintenance Issues

Discussion

Outlook newsgroups (microsoft.public.outlook.*) Check the msnews.microsoft.com news server if your local ISP doesn't have them. You can also access the newsgroups via your browser through Office Community or Google Groups (which has years of archives)

Outlook-users mailing list

MS Outlook Help, Info, Assistance (Experts-Exchange -- covers Outlook Express, too, so expect a slightly higher noise-to-signal ratio)

Support

Outlook user books

At Microsoft:

Other sites:

...

Outlook 2003 and MIME Error

If you use Outlook 2003 you may have noticed some messages have the header in the message body, often when you were BCC’d on the message. There is now a hotfix for this (and other issues) available from Microsoft.   For more information see:  Description of the Outlook 2003 hotfix package: April 22, 2008

Outlook 2003, Vista, BCC, and MIME

Contacts and Instant Search

The Instant Search functionality in Contacts doesn't always seem to work correctly. Unlike the Find pane in earlier versions, Instant Search appears to only search a limited number of fields. However, the problem isn't that it can't search other fields (such as notes) but that the index is bad. Try the search using "All Contact Folders" and if it still fails, you'll need to rebuild the index.  

Contacts and Instant Search

2008 Holidays

Outlook 2003's holiday list included dates through 2007. To add holidays between 2008 and 2012, Outlook 2003 users need to download the holiday update described in MSKB 924423 then install the Holiday file using Tools, Options, Calendar options, Holidays.

For more information and links to updated holiday lists for older versions of Outlook, see Missing Holidays on our Outlook-Tips website.

Can't open MSG attachments?

If you receive an error when opening forwarded messages (sent as attachments), uninstall Google Desktop Search or revert to the previously installed version.

Outlook won't open forwarded messages (*.MSG)

Outlook 2007 SP1 Released

Office 2007's Service Pack 1 is now available. Along with security updates, and all previously released fixes, this update fixes calendar printing errors and a spell check bug in Outlook 2007 RTM.

Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 1      http://support.microsoft.com/?bid=936982  

Issues that are fixed in Outlook 2007 by 2007 Microsoft Office suites Service Pack 1
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=942384

Calendar Printing Assistant for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 Service Pack 1    
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937157  
Calendar Printing Assistant for Outlook 2007 SP1 combines the previously released fixes into one update.

Another Outlook 2007 Calendar Printing Bug

This bug affects month calendars. When you start with a month that extends over 6 calendar weeks (such as Dec 2007), each month in the printout will contain 6 weeks and the calendar name will be in "last month - next month" format. But if you begin the series with a month that spans just 5 calendar weeks, all months will span 5 weeks. If a month spans 6 weeks, the 6th week is not printed at all. This bug is not fixed by SP1.

Outlook 2007: Month Calendar Printing Bug

Outlook 2007 Printing Problems

There are a number of issues with the print functionality in Outlook 2007's calendar. Many of these problems are  addressed in SP1.

If the specific problem remains after installing SP1, ttry the Calendar Printing Assistant or other 3rd party printing tools. The CAP and other tools provide better printing capabilities for those who need more than the basics offered by Outlook. See Calendar Printing Tools for Outlook for a list of printing tools available. 

Outlook 2003 SP3

Outlook 2007 Plain Text Spell Check Bug

When you use plain text formatting and set Outlook to check the spelling before sending, it goes through the motions of running spell check but the sent item and the recipients copy contain spelling errors.

Until a fix is available, use F7 to initiate a spell check before sending the message. 

New to Outlook?

Are you just getting started with Microsoft Outlook? If so, we have a page just for you with tips, links and suggestions on how to deal with some of the most common questions that newcomers encounter. See Welcome to Microsoft Outlook.

Get several Outlook tips each week from Outlook Tip of the Day.