Differences Between Outlook 2007 & 2003 Tasks
In addition to handling your email, Microsoft Outlook can manage your personal information, including Tasks. In Outlook, Tasks are specific items that require some sort of action. Tasks can have characteristics like a start and end date, a priority and can even be assigned to other Outlook users. Tasks in Outlook 2007 differ from those in Outlook 2003 in a few key ways.
Other People Are Reading
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Significance
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We often have tasks--anything from completing the Johnson report to cleaning the bathroom--that must be done sometime, but that otherwise have no specific schedule except perhaps a start or end date.
Outlook Tasks are a way to capture and manage these requirements.
Tasks are also useful for managing bigger projects. Because they can contain a lot of information and have some schedule and reporting features, you can manage a project using a single task or create a Task for each phase of the larger project.
Features
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Outlook Tasks can be scheduled to be completed on a specific day or to recur at various intervals. They can have attached reminders, be prioritized and categorized, track status and include additional text notes. The person who creates the Task can work on it, or they can assign the Task to another team member while automatically monitoring the status.
You can quickly create Tasks from emails or other Outlook items simply by dragging the item to the Tasks button on the Navigation Pane and dropping it there. This creates a new Task with all the information from the original item. Add any additional information necessary and save the new Task.
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Key Differences
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In addition to their home in the Tasks View, Tasks appear in the To-Do Bar, a new feature of Outlook 2007. The To-Do Bar can appear in most Outlook views and gives Tasks much more visibility in Outlook 2007 than 2003.
You can create Outlook 2007 Tasks in the To-Do Bar, and drag them from the Bar to the Calendar to indicate that you will work on the Task on a specific day.
Benefits
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Tasks in Outlook 2003 work very much like Tasks in previous versions of Outlook, so there is no little or no learning curve if you upgrade from an earlier version.
Tasks in Outlook 2007 are easier to work with and more visible thanks to the To-Do Bar.
Misconceptions
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Tasks and To-Dos are similar but not the same. Any Outlook item with a Follow-Up flag set is considered a To-Do item and appears in the To-Do Bar. For example, an email message with the Follow-Up flag set would be a To-Do, but it would not be a Task.
The Follow-Up flag is always set for Tasks, making them Tasks and To-Do items, which is why they appear in the To-Do Bar.
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References
- Outlook Power: What's the difference between Outlook 2007's To-Do's and Tasks?
- "How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office Outlook 2003"; Bill Mann; 2003
- "How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007"; Bill Mann; 2007
