Using the Calendar in Outlook 2011 for Mac

Overview

Calendar is the calendar and scheduling component of Outlook for Mac that is fully integrated with email, contacts, and other features.

Instructions

Basic Calendar Functions

1. To open the calendar, click the “Calendar” button in the Navigation Pane or use the Command+ 2 shortcut.
   
   
2. You will see a structure much like any mail folder, with the ribbon interface, Navigation Pane, and central window.
   
   

Using the Calendar Navigation Pane

1. At the top, you will see a "mini" calendar. The current day is highlighted. You can click any date to go to it or you can use the arrows beside the current month to go back or forward in the calendar.
2. Then, in the “My Calendars” section, you will see all your available calendars.

Customizing Calendar Views

1. You can change the appearance of your calendar using the view options on the “Home” and “Organize” tabs. The “Home” tab offers these options:
   
   
2. Notice that the current view is highlighted in dark gray. Let's review each choice.
   1. Day - View one day at a time
   2. Work - View a week, Monday through Friday
   3. Week - View a seven-day week
   4. Month - View a month in low, medium, or high detail
3. You can also use the “Organize” tab to customize your view with more options:
   
   
4. Let's review the commands:
    

   Group	Commands
   New Calendar	Will create a new "sub" calendar in your mailbox.
   Categories	Allows administration for your Colorized Category list.
   Day/Work/Week/Month	Changes your Calendar view to the associated option
   Scale	Changes the scale to view more in the same window.
   Grid/List	Changes Calendar between classic grid view and a detailed list view
   Open calendar	Allows you to Open another users shared calendar
   Permissions	Allows you to set permissions for other to have access to your Calendar

Creating and Editing Appointments

1. There are several ways you can create a new appointment. Like a mail message, if you're in the Calendar folder, you can use the “Meeting” or “Appointment” command on the “Home” tab or the Command + N shortcut.
   
   
2. A new appointment window will open. Click Save & Close when finished entering data.
   
   
3. You can also double-click a location in the calendar to place an appointment there, or Control + click and choose either “New Appointment ” or “New Meeting ”.With any of these actions, you will see the “New Appointment” window. When the time for the appointment comes, Outlook will remind you of it.
   
   
4. You can choose to “Snooze” or “Dismiss” this reminder. Open the item by clicking on the Calendar Icon.
5. To edit an appointment, double-click to open, make your changes and click Save & Close:
   
   

Understanding the Appointment Tab

1. When you are in the calendar and an event is selected, you will see the “Appointment” tab.
   
   
2. Let's review the commands:
    

   Commands	Function
   Open	Opens the appointment selected
   Delete	Deletes the selected appointment
   Invite	Invite attendees to an already existing meeting/appointment
   Status	Allows you to set certain variables to tag for this appointment
   Reminder	Sets the reminder timer for notifications on this appointment
   Recurrence	Allows to make this appointment recurring according to a schedule
   Categorize	Allows categories to be assigned to your appointments
   Private	Will mark this appointment unreadable even by those that have access to share your Calendar

Using the My Day Feature

1. No matter what section of Outlook you are in, you will see a “My Day” button.
   
   
2. This feature allows you to view your daily schedule and task list. To use this feature, click the “My Day” button. The “My Day” application has two parts. The first section shows your Daily Calendar View. In the second section you see your current tasks and any contacts that you have flagged. There are also some additional options on the bottom.