Learning roadmap for Outlook for Mac 2011

Follow this roadmap of training and Help topics to learn how to use Microsoft Outlook for Mac 2011 in a systematic, step-by-step approach.

1. Become familiar with Outlook

Title	Description
Video: What's new in Outlook for Mac 2011	Download this series of videos that provide a short introduction to some of the new and important features in Outlook for Mac 2011.
Video: Outlook for Mac 2011 Basics	Download this series of videos for an overview of essential Outlook for Mac 2011 tasks and concepts to help you become productive quickly.
Tutorial: Outlook for Mac 2011 basics	Download this .pdf file that provides a step-by-step tutorial covering the same concepts as in the Outlook basics video, only using text and images.
Video: Up to speed with the Office for Mac ribbon	Get familiar with the Outlook for Mac 2011 ribbon, which gives you quick and convenient access to the features and tools that you use the most.

2. Set up your accounts

Title	Description
Add an e-mail account	Learn how to configure POP and IMAP e-mail accounts from e-mail service providers such as AOL, Gmail, MobileMe, and Windows Live Hotmail.
Add an Exchange account	Connect to the Microsoft Exchange account provided by your company or organization.
Video: Import Windows items into Outlook for Mac 2011	Watch this short overview on how to import an Outlook for Windows Data File (.pst).

3. Work with mail, calendar, and address book

Title	Description
Add a picture or background to a message	Make your e-mail messages more interesting by including a picture as part of the message.
Insert a signature into a message	Add a signature manually or automatically to each message that you send.
Create a meeting or appointment	Learn the difference between a meeting and an appointment and how to create each on your calendar.
Add the sender of a message to your Outlook contacts	Add an e-mail address to your contacts directly from the message, without typing any information.
Create a contact group (also called a distribution list)	Learn how to create a distribution list so that you can send a message to everyone in a group without typing each recipient's address.

4. Organize and search for items

Title	Description
Video: Use one inbox	Watch this short overview on how to view messages from all e-mail accounts in a single inbox folder.
Create additional folders in the navigation pane	Create additional folders to organize your messages, contacts, tasks, and notes.
Categorize an item	Assign color-coded categories to messages, events, contacts, and other items to make them easier to organize and find.
Find items in Outlook by doing a basic search	Quickly search the current folder, and expand the search to include additional folders or item types.
Create a rule	Create a rule to automatically sort incoming messages into folders.

5. Synchronize and share

Title	Description
Open a shared calendar, address book, or e-mail folder	Open a Microsoft Exchange calendar, address book, or e-mail folder that you have permission to open.
Add and manage your delegates	Give a delegate access to and set permissions on your Microsoft Exchange calendar, inbox, and address book.

6. Manage junk e-mail, security, and privacy

Title	Description
Customize junk e-mail protection	Adjust the junk e-mail filter to classify more or fewer messages as "junk."
Send a digitally signed or encrypted message	Make your messages more secure by using digital signatures and encryption.
Create a message with restricted permission	Use Information Rights Management (IRM) to restrict permission to a message, for example, prevent recipients from forwarding the message.

7. Explore other useful Outlook resources

Title	Description
Make Outlook your default application for e-mail, calendar, and contacts	Set up Outlook to open automatically when you click a link in a document or on a Web page to send e-mail (also known as a "mailto" link).
Outlook keyboard shortcuts	See the full list of keyboard shortcuts, organized into logical categories.
Customize the Outlook window	Learn the main elements of the Outlook window and how to customize each one.
Known issues in Outlook 2011	See a list of known issues as well as potential workarounds.

See Also

What's new in Outlook for Mac 2011

Outlook for Mac 2011 Training