To create a task, go to the tasks folder and then pick one of these methods:

-       Click on the New button on the standard toolbar

-       Press Ctrl + N

-       Click on the File menu, choose New and click Task

-       Click the Actions menu and choose New Task

-       Right-click in a blank spot in the main tasks window and choose New Task

 

When you do one of those actions, this window will appear:

 

 

You’ll see that it looks really similar to the calendar window that we covered in lesson 3.1. We have the main menu at the top, followed by the standard toolbar. Here’s an overview of the buttons on this toolbar:

 

	Saves your changes and closes the window.
	Cuts text
	Copies text
	Pastes text
	Attaches a file to the task.
	Opens the recurrence dialog box.
	Inserts “To” and “Subject” fields so you can send a task to someone.
	Opens a new mail message window to send a task status report.
	Marks a task as complete.
	Deletes the task.
	Opens the previous task. (Grayed out if there is no previous item.)
	Opens the next task. (Grayed out if there is no previous item.)
	Brings up Outlook help.

 

Then, on the Task tab, we can type in a subject for our task. The next set of options allows you to set a due date, a start date, task status, priority, and percent complete.

 

After these options, there’s an option for reminders. Task reminders work exactly the same as calendar reminders. If you set a reminder for a task, and if Outlook is open at the time of the reminder, Outlook will bring up a box reminding you of the task. (If Outlook isn’t open, the box will pop up as soon as you open Outlook.) For a review of reminder options, see lesson 3.1, part 2.

 

Then, there’s the large white box where you can type in the details of your task. Last but not least, the buttons along the bottom can be used to link your task to a contact, label it with a category, or mark it as private (applicable only if you share your tasks folder across a Microsoft Exchange server).

 

Once your task is created, just double-click it in the main window to open it. Then you can edit it, save and close it, and your changes will be applied.