Danny Davids

Microsoft Outlook 2000 Tips – How to Use Folders



Posted: Saturday, July 02, 2005

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If you’re like most people, all of your email comes into your computer and stays in one place – your Inbox. There you get to read through the messages, deciding what’s worthwhile and what’s worthless. Then you delete the unwanted messages. And that’s it. Your Inbox gets more and more full, and it gets more and more difficult to wade through those messages.

Fortunately, Microsoft Outlook 2000 has a feature that allows you to organize your email in much the same way as a file cabinet allows you to organize your paperwork. You can create electronic “folders" that function in the same way their pasteboard counterparts do in the file cabinet. You can move your email out of your Inbox and into an appropriate folder, giving you the ability to arrange your saved emails as you see fit.

First, you’ll want to change your Outlook view so that you can easily see the folders you already have.

1. If it’s not already running, start Outlook.

2. In the menu bar, click on View. Look for the menu item called Folder List. If there’s a checkmark next to it, you can already view your folders and can press the Esc key to exit. If not, click once to turn on the checkmark. You should notice a new column on the left side of your screen, listing all the folders available.

Creating a folder in Outlook 2000 is very simple.

1) If it’s not already running, start Outlook.

2) In the menu bar, click on File, then New, then Folder.

3) A new window appears on-screen called “Create New Folder". In the first box, labeled Name, enter the name for this new folder (for example, “Financial"). The second box, labeled Folder Contains, doesn’t need to be changed, as this folder will contain mail items. The final box, labeled Select where to place the folder, should already have “Inbox" highlighted if it isn’t, click once on Inbox to highlight it. (Yes, you can place folders elsewhere, but that’s a topic for another article.)

4) Click the OK button.

What you’ll now see in your Folders view, under the Inbox, is a new folder called “Financial". You should also notice a minus sign to the left of the Inbox. This indicates there are expanded folders under the Inbox. (If you click on the minus sign, it turns into a plus sign. The “Financial" folder will disappear. But don’t worry – it’s still there. Just click on the plus sign next to “Inbox", which displays all the folders under Inbox and turns the plus back into a minus.)

Use this procedure to create as many folders as you need. Note that you don’t have to store these folders under the Inbox. You can store them in any of the folders in your mailbox (although it doesn’t make much sense to store email files in your Calendar folder – but hey, it’s YOUR mail!). Then you can start moving files out of your Inbox and into…well, whatever folders you want. Happy organizing!

About the author: Danny Davids has over 25 years of experience in computer support, network administration, and computer consulting.
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Danny Davids has worked in the computer industry for nearly 30 years. He has provided end-user support, training, and network administration services in arenas as diverse as the service bureau, health, education, communication, manufacturing, the arts, and consulting industries. He currently works as a computer analyst for a government agency. He is married, has two dogs, two adult children, and an absolutely adorable grandson.
 
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