Introduction to Microsoft Outlook Web Access

Platform: Windows® PC
Ref no: USER182
Date:
December 2007
Version: 1
Authors: Chris McEvoy, Susan O’Reilly, Claire Napier
Introduction to Microsoft
Web Outlook®
This document explains how to use Microsoft Outlook® Web Access to connect to your
University email account.
You may also find the following guide useful:
USER180 Introduction to Microsoft Outlook 2007®
User guides are available on the Information Services website:
http://www.staffs.ac.uk/uniservices/infoservices/documents/it/index.php
Introduction
Microsoft Outlook® Web Access (OWA) allows you to access your University email
account from any computer or location using the Internet. OWA provides access to
your mailbox, calendar, contacts, public folders and any other items that may be
stored within Microsoft Outlook®.
Accessing Microsoft Outlook® Web Access
OWA can be accessed with any suitable web browser. It is designed to work with
any browser that supports HTML version 3.2 and Javascript. However, it is
recommended that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer® version 5.0 or later when
accessing OWA. OWA will work with other browsers, but certain functions such as
drag-and-drop editing, preview pane and tree control will not be available.
To access OWA, go to the following web address (URL):
https://weboutlook.staffs.ac.uk/exchange
The following window will appear, prompting you to log in:
You must enter your username with the prefix STAFF\ or STUDENT\ as shown
below:
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Once you have entered your username and password, the web browser will access
the main OWA page for your account. The main page looks very similar to the
Microsoft Outlook® standard desktop.
You can access items such as your calendar, contacts, tasks etc. by clicking the
appropriate button in the bottom-left corner of the screen. E-mail folders can be
accessed by clicking the arrow next to Folders in the top-left corner.
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Receiving email
As with Microsoft Outlook®, email is delivered automatically, so
there is no need to check for messages manually. When a
message arrives, a pop-up window will appear in the bottom
right of the screen. Click on the pop-up window to go straight to
the new message.
To open a message already in the Inbox, simply double-click on the message. When
you open a message, it will appear in a separate window. It looks similar to any
other email software, with the address and subject at the top and the body of the
message underneath. Any attachments will be listed under the header, click on
them to open or save to disk.
At the top of the window are buttons including Reply
Delete
, Forward
and
. Clicking Reply or Forward will open the appropriate compose window.
Sending email
To compose a new message, click the New
compose window will open.
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button at the top of the screen. A
Type the email address of the recipient(s) in the box next to To…. Addresses
should be separated with a semicolon (;). To find an address from the University
address book, click the To… button to open the Find Names window.
Enter the surname of the person you are looking for into the Display name box
and click the Find button. The search results will appear underneath. Click once on
the name of the person and click the To, Cc or Bcc button as required, then click
the Close button.
Enter a subject for the message by typing some appropriate text into the Subject
box.
Add attachments to the email by clicking the Attachments button
Attachments window will open.
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. The
Click the Browse button to locate the file that you wish to attach. Once you have
selected the file, click the Attach button to move the file to the list of attachments.
You may then add other files if necessary or click the Close button to return to the
Compose window.
Note: You cannot send file attachments that are or may be potential virus threats,
for example executable files, batch files, screensavers etc.
To complete the email, type the main message in the bottom section of the
Compose window.
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Once the message is complete, click the Send button
to send your email. A
copy of all messages sent is stored in the Sent Items folder by default.
Contacts
This is where you can store email addresses, so that you can retrieve them easily at
any time. You can store information about an individual, including name, email
address, location, job title, phone numbers etc. The only information that is
compulsory is the name and e-mail address – any other information is optional.
in the bottom-left
To view your contacts, click the Contacts button
corner of the screen. Any contacts that you already have will be listed in the main
window.
To create a new contact, click the New
button. The New Contact window will
appear so that you can enter information about the contact.
You must complete the fields next to Last Name, First Name and E-mail
address. All other fields are optional.
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Once you have completed the information, click the Save and Close button. The
contact will not be listed in the Contacts folder.
You can also create a Distribution List within your Contacts folder. Click on the
arrow to the right of the New button and select Distribution List from the list of
options. The Distribution List window will appear.
Enter a name for the list in the box next to List Name. Click the Find Names
button to add addresses to the list.
Once you have created the distribution list, click Save and Close. The distribution
list will be added to the Contacts folder. A distribution list can be identified by the
“two heads” symbol.
To send an email to a contact or distribution list, double-click on the name in the
Contacts folder, then click the Send mail to contact button
in the menu bar. A
Compose mail window will open with the address of the contact or the name of the
distribution list in the To field.
Calendar
OWA provides access to create, view and edit your calendar appointments. Click the
Calendar button
to open the calendar.
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To change calendar views to daily, weekly or monthly, click the appropriate icon on
the menu bar above the calendar. Any appointments you have can be identified
quickly in the month view on the right side of the screen, as a day will appear in
bold if there are any appointments.
To create a new appointment, click the New button. The Appointment window will
be displayed. Alternatively, you can double-click on a specific date/time in the
Calendar view.
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Enter a subject that will be displayed as the appointment title in the Calendar view.
You may also enter a location for the appointment. Any notes that you wish to add
can be done so in the bottom part of the window.
Set the date and time for the appointment using the Start time and End time
boxes. You can select All day event to fill the entire day in the calendar. You can
also set a reminder for the appointment, which will show a message box on your
screen at a specified time before the start of the appointment (15 minutes by
default).
You can label your appointment to state whether you will be Busy, Free, Tentative
or Out of the Office. This will be indicated by the colour of the label in the calendar
– Blue=Busy, Grey=Free, Light Blue=Tentative, Purple=Out of the office.
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When all of the necessary information has been entered, click Save and Close. The
appointment will now appear in your calendar. To edit an appointment, double-click
on it to re-open the window.
Meeting requests
If the appointment that you wish to create is a meeting, you can send a Meeting
Request email to any proposed attendees. Click New to open a blank appointment
window, then click the Invite Attendees button
.
Click the Required or Optional button to find the email addresses of the
attendees. Once you have completed all of the information required, click Send to
send the meeting request.
The proposed attendees will receive an email with four buttons at the top of the
message to either Accept, Decline, indicate Tentative or Propose New Time. If
the attendee accepts the request, you will receive a confirmation email and the
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appointment will be automatically entered into their calendar. Whichever of the four
buttons is pressed, you will receive an email to indicate their intentions.
Getting Help
There is a help facility in OWA, which you can use to obtain further assistance with
the software. To access help, click on the Help button
top of the OWA screen. The Help window will be displayed.
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on the toolbar at the
You can select the category you require from the list on the left-hand side. Click on
the specific topic you require to display information on that topic in the main part of
the window.
Where to go for more help or information
You can get further help from the Information Services Help Desks at:
Thompson Library: 01782 294771
Brindley IT Centre: 01782 294135
Octagon IT Centre: 01785 353339
Online:
Email:
www.staffs.ac.uk/ishelp
[email protected]
(for all IT and Library queries)
All Microsoft ® product screenshots and references are used by permission of
the Microsoft® Corporation. Windows® operating system
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