10 rarely used Microsoft Outlook features

The number of lines in Message previews

A preview of messages is available in the inbox of Outlook. This includes details like the sender, the subject line on the first one and one line from the email message body below that.

Go to the View tab, tap on Message Preview, then pick 1 Line, 2 Lines or 3 Lines. You can also pick Off if you want no part of the message to be displayed.

Folder displays

You can pick the email account inbox you want to be displayed by default if you have multiple email accounts. Go to File>Options, click on Advanced in the Outlook Options dialog box.

Click Browse in the Outlook start and exit section.

Search Folder

If you often find yourself searching the same set of words or phrases in Outlook, you can set up a virtual Search Folder which lists all the items that match the criteria. You can create your own customized search folder or make use of templates made available by Outlook.

Unread Mail could be a folder in which all of your unread mail could be displayed.

To create a new folder, click on New Search Folder in the New section and then select a ready-made search folder template or pick Create a custom Search Folder under Custom.

Clean up a folder

Right-clicking the folder that you want cleaning up in and choosing the Clean Up Folder command will move redundant messages in selected folder and subfolders to the Deleted Items folder.

Send emails at a future date

Outlook's Delayed delivery feature allows you to send emails at a later time. After typing your message, pick Delay Delivery in the More Options section of the Options tab in the message window. Delivery options, check the Do not deliver before the box and then choose a date and time.

Quick Steps

The Quick Steps section of the Home tab in Outlook allows you one-click access to common actions.

To create a custom Quick Step, click Create New in the Quick Steps section and then name your Quick Step in the Edit Quick Step dialog box.

Multiple Outlook Windows

Opening multiple windows allow you to have separate windows for mail, calendar, and scheduling tasks.

Create and Manage Rules

You can set up specific events to happen automatically based on actions that occur by making use of rules. You can create and manage Rules in the Move section on the Home tab and then picking Managing Rules & Alerts.

Change your Account Name

Right-click on the current account name in the left pane and choose Account Properties. You can also go to File>info. Go to Account Settings>Account Settings and make sure that the Email tab is active on the Account Settings dialog box. Select the account from the list and then click Change.

Use Outlook Command Line Switches

The Command Line Switches lets you perform a wide variety of actions. If you prefer using the keyboard over the mouse, you can perform things faster in Outlook by making use of the command line switches.