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Basics everyone should know about using Entourage

  • If you move the Microsoft User Data folder (also known as the MUD folder) in your Documents folder, Entourage will create a new blank Identity. Inside this folder is your Identity (named Main by default). All of your mail, contacts, etc are stored here. More info
  • Entourage Version Information...you can make sure that the latest update has been applied by checking the version number.
  • Rebuild your database...when and how to rebuild.
  • How to set Entourage as default email application
  • Location of Entourage Mail/Data... How can you backup, if you don't know where it is?
  • You should have only one Microsoft Database daemon in your "Startup items". If you have more than one, delete all and let Entourage create a new one when it launches.
  • When installing Office updates, quit all applications that are running, including virus-protection applications, all Office applications, Microsoft Messenger for Mac, and Office Notifications, because they might interfere with installation. How to quit Notifications. It's good practice to restart and Repair Permissions after updating.

New feature to the Entourage Help Page: Movies to show how to use Entourage.

if you have a request for a movie that would help you learn about Entourage.

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Tips for using Entourage:

  1. Reduce the size of your database
  2. Use spacebar to view messages
  3. Use Categories to simplify your rules
  4. Use small navigation buttons to gain screen space (Entourage 2004)
  5. MSN Messenger can be used for Office Notifications
  6. Reduce size of database by removing attachments from sent mail
  7. To view only unread mail, use the shortcut
  8. Use nicknames
  9. Can't find your database
  10. Use iPod to synchronize your mail
  11. Quickly add files to email message by dragging
  12. Check Out Contextual Menus
  13. Insert date and time stamp at the top of your notes
  14. Check Out the Popup Menus
  15. Switching reply from "sender" to "Reply to all"
  16. Use Categories to quickly read messages in talk or news lists
  17. Delete old contacts
  18. Automatically delete signature in replies
  19. Insert Safari URLs into message
  20. Create a Fake NoSpam Account for posting on newsgroups
  21. Automatically send an email later
  22. Adjust brightness of white background in email message window
  23. Auto delete the Deleted Items Folder upon program quit
  24. Office X users: Put your templates and Normal file in your Microsoft User Data folder, where they won't be touched if you use "Remove Office", and set the Project Gallery to find them there. Office 2004 does this by default for “Normal”.
  25. Having a middle name in an Address Book contact will cause the contact to be duplicated when it is synced to Entourage. (fixed in Entourage 2008)

02) Use spacebar to view messages

Use the spacebar to easily go through your mail. Tap the spacebar to go to the next message, or hold down the spacebar to scroll down through a message slowly and continuously.

03) Use Categories to simplify your rules

Use categories instead of entering individual addresses; you then have less criteria, making the rule run faster, as well as easing the ability to add new addresses just assign contacts to the category. See example rule.

05) MSN Messenger can be used for Office Notifications

You can get reminders without cluttering up your Entourage calendar.

Here's how you do it:

  1. Keep MSN Messenger running.
  2. Go to MSN Calendar and set up calendar events with reminders.

Those reminders will be channeled through MSN Messenger into Office Notifications!

This will work not work in Office 2001.

06) Reduce size of database by removing attachments from sent mail

  • Create a Rule to remove attachments.
  • Cmd-Opt-F for advanced find; Criteria 'attachment exists'; search all mail folders; select all; 'Remove attachments' (from the message window).

07) To view only unread mail, use the shortcut

To view only unread mail, use the shortcut It's in the menu bar if you forget. This way you can keep all your mail handy, but not clutter up the window with read mail.

Entourage X and 2004: Command+Shift+O.
Entourage 2001: Command+Y

08) Use nicknames

Use Nicknames to quickly type in an address. Just assign a nickname in the address book. Open a contact and click on Name & Email tab. This is great if you have several users with the same name. The nickname will not show up in the message, so if you want to use the nickname dingbat, then go ahead. :-)

10) Use iPod to synchronize your mail

To facilitate email parity between office and home machines, keep your 'Microsoft User Data' folder on your iPod.

Tip: If you can't dismount the drive after closing out all Microsoft Office Program, be sure to 'Turn Off Office Notifications' from the Entourage menu. Choosing this option, then quitting Entourage will 'let go' of the folder and allow you to safely dismount the media.

11) Quickly add files to email message by dragging

Find a file (or files) in the Finder that you want to attach on the spur of the moment? It's a quite easy process using Entourage. Just drag it onto the Entourage program icon or alias (even on the Dock). It will open a new message draft with the file attached, or it will add it to the current message draft if you have one open.

12) Check Out Contextual Menus

As in many OS X applications, contextual menus (menus of functions that apply only in certain contexts) abound. You access contextual menus by Control-clicking, or if you have a mouse with more than one button, right-clicking.

Try it in different contexts.

  • Control-click on a message and you'll see a list that includes all the Reply and Forward options, Execute Script, Apply Rules, Assign Categories or Priorities, Add Sender to Address Book, and just about anything you can do to a message.
  • Try it on a folder in the folder list and you'll see options to create new folders or subfolders, apply the Junk Mail Filter, or delete the folder.
  • For a Custom View, you'll see the option to edit the Custom View (about the only way to access this feature).
  • Control-click on the Mail button at the upper left of the toolbar and you will be presented with a list of all the folders that contain unread mail, complete with a count of unread messages in each folder!
  • Select some text in a message you are editing and control-click, "Autotext Cleanup" presents you with the ability to change case, strip or add quote characters (the > sign at the front of each line in replies), rewrap the text, and straighten curly quotes; other options look up the definition of a word in the Microsoft dictionary, run an AppleScript, or any of the typical options in the Edit menu.

13) Insert date and time stamp at the top of your notes

When you open notes in Entourage at the right end of the toolbar that offers font selection etc, there is an icon that represents the date and time, click that and you have an instant date and time stamp at the top of your notes.

15) Use Categories to quickly read messages in talk or news lists

Sometimes you just don't have time to read all the messages in a list. Use Categories to help identify messages from the "knowledgeable" contributors. Then when you're in a hurry, you can scan just those messages. Create different VIP type rules for different lists. For the Entourage Talk list you might want the Microsoft folks and the MVPs as VIPs.

First assign a VIP category to those posters. Create a rule:

16) Delete old contacts

  1. Open the Address Book.
  2. On the View menu, select Columns -> Last Correspondence. This will display the most recent date on which you sent mail to, or received mail from, each contact.
  3. Click on the Last Correspondence column to sort the contacts by that field.(If the field is blank it means you have never sent or received mail from this contact.)
  4. Select the date range of contacts you no longer want to keep. Command-click any within the range that you do want to keep.
  5. Press the Delete key!

18) Insert Safari URLs into message

Currently, IE is the only choice in the Insert Hyperlink menu for Entourage X and Entourage 2001.

Check out the script Insert Safari URLs. Scripts are also available for Firefox and OmniWeb.

This script is used to insert URLs of pages open in Apple's Safari web browser into mail & news messages in Microsoft Entourage.

20) Can a specific time be set to automatically send an email later, after composing?

That feature is not built in to Entourage, but there are some scripts available that can help you do this. Check out scripts like "Postpone, Delayed Send" and "Delayed Send X", available free from ScriptBuilders.

21) Adjust brightness of white background in email message window

In your Apple System Preferences, select Displays --> Display tab --> There is a Brightness slider. Adjust that. It really helps the WHITE background to soften.

22) Auto delete the Deleted Items Folder upon program quit

Under Tools in the Menu bar > Schedules... Right-click on the "Empty Deleted Items Folder" and select "Open Schedule". You can use the drop down menu in the When section of the dialogue to set it to empty "On Quit".