E-Mail and Collaboration Simplification

A redesigned look and feel. A new vertical e-mail view using columns—based on the layout used by many newspapers—enables employees to see more data on the screen. The redesign can help employees find and navigate their e-mail messages and spend much less time scrolling.

Easier reading and navigation. The Reading Pane and Navigation Pane give employees a more comprehensive, organized view of their e-mail messages, with better use of the user interface (UI). The Reading Pane can make reading e-mail messages more efficient, which can help reduce eye strain by showing more of the message on the screen. The Navigation Pane can help employees by bringing all navigation options into one place.

Quick and convenient organization. New features in Outlook 2003 streamline the task of sorting and organizing e-mail messages. Quick Flags enable employees to quickly categorize e-mail messages with color-coded flags to track messages that require attention. Search Folders help employees group e-mail messages without having to move or copy them. The folders display results of common search queries and provide links to the actual e-mail messages. Employees can search and browse messages by subject, person, task, and other criteria.

Filters to block unwanted messages. Employees who have accidentally opened a junk e-mail message have probably noticed that they became a target for more junk messages. When they open the message, a Web server validates their e-mail address. Outlook 2003 can help prevent this occurrence with the Block External Content feature, which blocks unauthorized connections to a Web server until the user decides to view the message. Because Outlook 2003 doesn't allow unannounced connections to arbitrary Web servers, it can restrict an unwanted flow of user information to e-mail solicitors.

Privacy protection for your Inbox. Outlook 2003 gives employees more control over the messages they receive. The state-of-the-art Junk E-Mail Filter developed by Microsoft Research checks the content of each message and, based on certain words or phrases, determines whether the message should be treated as a junk e-mail message. Outlook 2003, though, never treats e-mail addresses and domain names on the user's Safe Senders List or Safe Recipients List as junk messages, regardless of message content. And, Outlook 2003 always blocks e-mail messages from people and domain names specified on the Blocked Senders List. Learn more about how to prevent junk e-mail messages with Outlook 2003.

Provide a forum for managing collaborative projects. A Document Workspace on a Windows SharePoint Services site provides a central location for team members to access and share files. Employees can share documents, assign tasks and deadlines, and review project status—easily and in real time. The workspaces reduce the problems of trying to track different versions and the progress of other contributors when sharing files in e-mail.

Enhance meeting productivity. A Meetings Workspace on a Windows SharePoint Services site provides a secured, online, central location for all meeting-related communication, files, and logistical information. With one place, employees can more easily coordinate schedules, disseminate materials, and store notes and minutes.

Share calendars and contacts with team members. Outlook 2003 makes it easy for employees to share their calendars with team members and to view several calendars side by side to plan meetings. Employees can view local calendars, public folder calendars, or coworkers' calendars next to their own. They can also color-code calendars and scroll among them to compare schedules easily.

Instantly notify team members. Office 2003 Editions integrate with instant messaging technology, which can help workers see when team members are online and initiate online conversations from Outlook 2003 files or shared workspaces.

Protect documents. Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 offers information rights management (IRM) protection. IRM, a functionality supported by Microsoft Windows® Rights Management Services and Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, allows employees to put restrictions on who can copy, print, and forward e-mail messages. By allowing permission protection, a company can better ensure that sensitive organizational information will not be shared indiscriminately.

Insulation from network performance. The Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook 2003 loads all necessary data upfront, protecting employees from network issues and providing a more reliable and responsive experience. Using the Cached Exchange Mode requires a connection to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.

Better responsiveness. The Intelligent Connectivity feature in Outlook 2003 enables Outlook to be aware of the network and more responsive over low-speed or unreliable connections. Together with the Cached Exchange Mode, it hides network reliability from the employee almost entirely.

Remote connections. Employees can access their Exchange Server from any Internet-capable connection. If employees can browse the Web, then they can access their Exchange mailboxes, which offer the same new interface and functionality as Outlook 2003.