Quick Source Tips

Did you know that you can block mail from specific countries that use top-level doamin codes such as .ca or .us?

1. Select options from the Tools menu.
2. Click the Junk E-mail button.
3. Click on the International tab.
4. Click the Blocked Top-Level Domain List button.
5. Check the boxes next to the countries you want to block.
6. Click the OK button to close all remaining open dialog box.

To quickly add an attachment to a message that you are creating, simply drag the file from your desktop or open folder window into the message.

You can quickly create a line across the page of a Word or Outlook document with just a few keystrokes.

• Type three consecutive hyphens and press the Enter key to get a normal line.
• Type three underscores and press the Enter key to get a bold line.
• Type three equal signs and press the Enter key to get a double line.

Paste Special is a command that most of us know about, but I have rarely used much until recently. I copy and paste tons of information from the Web into my Office documents. But when you do that you get links, formatting, and tables that you might not want in your document. This is where Paste Special comes in handy.

1. In Office 2007 documents, click the arrow on the Paste button.
2. Select Paste Special from the resulting menu.
3. Select Unformatted Text (or Text in Excel 2007).
4. Click the OK button.

You can also use the Paste Special default shortcut in Office 2007: Ctrl + Alt + V

Most people use Outlook primarily for e-mail and are happy that the program starts up in the Inbox folder. But if you want to change what is displayed when you start Outlook, for example, you can have the Calendar open instead of the Inbox.

1. Select Options from the Tools menu.
2. Click on the Other tab.
3. Click the Advanced Options button.
4. Click the Browse button next to the Startup in this folder box.
5. Select the folder you want to display when you start Outlook.
6. Click the OK button to close all remaining open dialog boxes.

Has this ever happened to you? You are entering an e-mail address in Outlook and the AutoComplete suggestion comes up. You click on it and send the message, only to find out that that e-mail address is no longer valid and that person has a new address. How do you keep the old address from coming up every time you try to e-mail that person? The next time you e-mail that person begin the enter the address in the To box, when the old address shows up in the drop-down menu, highlight it and press the Delete key. Viola! It will not show up again as an AutoComplete option.

How many times have you hit the Send button and then a second later realized that you forgot to spell check the e-mail. Here is an easy way to make sure that those pesky spelling errors don’t make it to your recipient.

1. Select Options from the Tools menu.
2. Click on the Spelling tab.
3. Check the Always check spelling before sending box.
4. Click the OK button.

If you are like me and use your Outlook folders like a filing cabinet, the Instant Search box is your friend. At least once a day I have to find that one message that what’s-his-name sent back in June. The easiest way to do this is using the Instant Search box in the upper-right corner of the View pane. By default, the Instant Search only searches the current folder, but it is more helpful to me to search all folders. To change this setting, select Tools from the Options menu. Press the Search Options button. In the Instant Search Pane section, select All folders. In this box, you can make changes to other options as well. Would you like your search results to be highlighted in a pretty lilac? Click the Change button next to Highlight color, select the color you want, and click the OK button. When you are finished, click the OK button to close all remaining open dialog boxes.