Adding Folders to Outlook

Version 2002 of Outlook - by Tony Mitchell – August 2004

***To find out what version of Outlook you have, launch Outlook and then go to the Help menu and choose About Microsoft Outlook. The version will be at the top of this window***

Why might I want to add a folder?

· Folders are simply a way to store email messages in a way that allows you to sort them into categories that will mean something to you. This way, you are more likely to be able to find a message when and if you need it

· Folders allow you to store email messages without having an abundant number of messages in your inbox

· You already have some folders. In Outlook, click on the Inbox icon in the left-hand column, then find the word Inbox in the gray row across the top of your Outlook window. Click on the dropdown arrow beside the word Inbox. You will see other folders such as Drafts and Outbox

Here’s how you do it:

1. From the file menu choose Folder, then New folder

2. Beneath where it reads “Select where to place the folder” click on the phrase “Personal Folders” to select or highlight it

3. In the top box where it says Name, type in the name for this folder (this is a category for your various emails, such as Personal, or From District Admin, or perhaps even Storage)

4. Click OK

5. In the window that opens, click No

6. A “Folder List” column will appear between the Outlook shortcuts and the regular email windows. Close it with the X

7. You should see, above where it says “Look For”, a category name for the last folder you made. The dropdown menu next to it will allow you to choose a category and see all of the emails that are located in that folder

8. To delete a folder (preferably only a folder you made and have decided to delete), select that folder from the dropdown menu, such that you are viewing the emails contained within that folder, then go to the file menu and choose Folder, then “Delete _____” (the name of the folder should be here)

9. To move an email message from your Inbox to another folder, select it, go to the Edit menu and choose “Move to Folder”; then choose the destination folder from the list and click OK

Cool Pointer:

· If you don’t remember where you stored an email, and you don’t remember what subject you gave it, but you do remember an item it discussed, you can find that particular email by doing the following:

o Along the top of the Outlook window, find the darker gray strip (row), and just beneath this row find the words “Look for”

o Type into this box the word you are looking for.

o To the right of this box, choose from the dropdown menu the Folders you want to look in (our you may choose All Mail Folders)

o Click on the “Find Now” button located to the right of dropdown menu that contained folder names

· Outlook will search all of your email and show you the ones that have the word you typed in