How to Use the Calendar in Outlook Express

The Microsoft Outlook Express program is primarily used to send and receive text emails with family and business associates, but it also has a secondary use as a fully functional electronic calendar and address book. You can use the calendar feature to set up one-time or recurring reminders that will pop up on your screen to let you know a meeting or appointment is scheduled for that particular date and time.

Instructions

1. 

   Double click the desktop icon for the Microsoft Outlook Express program. Navigate your mouse pointer to the lower left corner of the window and click the "Calendar" icon.

2. 

   Locate the specific date you want to work with. It will appear in the upper-left side of the window. Click on the left and right arrows to navigate between months, then click on the number corresponding to the day you need to access.

3. 

   Find the time of the day you want to set an appointment or reminder for in the panel on the right side of the window. Use the scroll bar at the right to navigate between the 24 hours in the specific date you have selected. Double click the half hour slot you want to work with to bring up a new appointment window.

4. 

   Type in the name of the appointment or reminder you need to set in the "Subject" text box. Type the address of the appointment in the "Location" text box. Click the "End Time" drop-down box if the meeting is scheduled to be longer than a half hour and choose the exact ending time. Click the "All Day" box if the appointment will last the entire work day.

5. 

   Click the "Save and Close" icon to save the meeting to the calendar. Double click the name of the meeting in the time panel to bring the window back up. Click the "Recurrence" icon at the top of the window if you need the appointment to appear on a regular basis. Click the radio button that corresponds to the frequency of the appointment, such as "Daily," "Weekly" or "Monthly." Click on the check boxes for specific days of the week if it will not occur every day. Choose the "No End Date" option if the reminder will continue forever or choose an end date from the drop-down box if the reminder needs to stop at a specific date. Click "OK."

6. Choose the "Invite Attendees" option at the left corner of the window if you want to send the appointment to another person's Outlook calendar. Click on the "To" field and choose an email address from your address book or type the email address in the "To" field. Type a message into the large text box at the center of the window if you want a message to accompany the invitation. Click "Send" to send the invitation.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have signed up for a Microsoft Windows Live ID through the Microsoft website, you can click the "Publish My Calendar" button to share it with anyone who searches for it at the Office Online webpage. You can use this feature to share upcoming events with friends and family who also use the Outlook Express email client.

• The reminder will pop up on your screen 15 minutes before the start time of the appointment. You can choose to dismiss the reminder or select a new time increment for the reminder to reappear.

Resources

• Microsoft Outlook Website
• Office Online Website