Pssst...what's a .pst file? Outlook terms defined

Today, as we continue creating our "Demystifying Chain," we move on to Outlook.

Ah, Outlook. Good old Outlook. We use it every day, all day, and still…some of its terminology vexes us. Let's see if I can't assuage some of that pain today so that we can get you to understand your right-hand program a bit better.

 Rules  

A rule is simply something you set up within Outlook that performs certain actions on a message—whether it's being sent or is arriving. It's a way to manage your messages automatically, and there are organization rules and notification rules. The article Manage e-mail messages with rules gives really good explanations and examples about rules and how to use them.

 The Outlook Team Blog has a few posts about rules; they're the experts and I strongly suggest you check them out:

• Quick rule creation in Outlook 2010
• Quickly creating a rule (Outlook 2007)

I also wrote a post about how to create custom rules.

.Pst file

Psst…I have a secret: A .pst file isn't as complicated as you might think. It's really simple, and I'm going to make this short and sweet: A .pst stands for Personal Folders file (why it isn't .pff, I have no idea; I just write the blog, folks, I don't name the features).

We can't talk about the .pst without talking about her uncle, the .ost.

• If you use Microsoft Exchange Server, typically your email messages, calendar, and other items are delivered to and stored on the server. If you're NOT connected to the server, a local copy of your items is kept on your computer in an Offline Folder file, an .ost. (Again, not an .off and I don't know why.) Offline Folder files allow you to work with your items when a connection to the Exchange Server may not be possible (or even wanted, for whatever reason—and that is your personal business).
• Your items can also be moved or archived to a .pst. Since a .pst file is kept on your computer, it is not subject to mailbox size limits on the server. Outlook can be configured to deliver new items to a .pst file.
• If you DON'T use Microsoft Exchange Server, you have no choice: Your email messages, calendar, and other items are delivered to and stored locally in a .pst. Be thankful for what you've got.

Here is what I like about .pst files: They can be password protected; you can save everything you've ever sent or received forever and ever (or until your computer crashes and you didn't have the wherewithal to back up your information, not that I didn't warn you many times to do so).

To wrap up: A .pst is a way to archive your mail (and other Outlook stuff such as Calendar items and Contacts) on your own computer. And of course, different versions of Outlook can allow you (or prevent you) from doing different things with .pst files. Take a look at some of these .pst articles on Office.com to learn more.

Flagged message

You can "flag" a message by clicking the little grayed-out flag that appears to the right of the message. Applying a flag to a message or a contact adds a visual reminder to help you remember to follow up (meaning don't just ignore it) on an item in some way. In Outlook 2003, you could choose different colors for flags, but in Outlook 2010 and 2007, you can assign color categories to flagged items and associate the items with other related items across Outlook. Flags can give you pop-up reminders and they also appear in the To-Do Bar, where you can easily see what actions you need to take each day.

(Note that I find Quick Steps a bit more useful and flexible than simple flagging, but note that they're NOT the same things. Sometimes flagging is the fastest way to accomplish what you're attempting to do. And of course I wrote a post about Quick Steps.

Signature

You know how you like to write something personal—or, at work, informational— at the end of an email?

In Outlook, instead of having to type out "Love, Crabby" or "May the Crabby force be with you" (with all my contact information and favorite quote), I've set it up so that a signature is automatically inserted into every email I compose. I've also created one signature for new, outgoing messages, and a different one for responses.

For example, If I send a message to Ellen DeGeneres and my signature has my name, e-mail address, home phone number, and my YouTube links that highlight my special talents, when she writes back to me (and oh, she will), and asks me to respond to her indicating when a good time would be to come and be on the show, my reply shouldn't have the same signature because Ellen has already filed (and probably memorized) that info. So I can just create a different one, maybe something like "Love ya, El."  

Here is the signature I use at work (regular work; not Crabby mail to my readers)	And here is my reply signature

Read more about how to create and implement email signatures in Outlook:

• Outlook 2010 (downloadable PowerPoint presentation)
• Outlook 2007 (a collection of articles, training, and demos)
• Outlook 2003

Check out our very own Office Casual blogger, Doug Thomas, as he explains, via video, switching email signatures in Outlook.

<Phew.> Any more terms you need demystifying? Let me know via comments below and if I can't answer your queries, I always know someone who can...

— Crabby

Not finding the help you need from the various channels you've tried? Microsoft Answers is where you're most likely to solve your nagging problem. I explain all about it here, & I strongly suggest—yes, my finger pointed right at YOU—that you consider heading over there.