Outlook 2010 - Quick Step Overview

One of the new features of the Outlook client in Office 2010 is the ability to create workflow functions called Quick Steps that can be used over and over again to help you become more productive.

With the introduction of the Ribbon in Outlook, Microsoft is hoping that you will find yourself working more efficiently. The Ribbon is supposed to give you the same look and feel throughout the Office Suite. In this case, if you look to the left side of the Ribbon, you have the options for entering new tasks, mail etc… If you look to the right side of the Ribbon you have functions for searching for contacts. In the center are your action functions to apply some kind of action on an Outlook item. 

So let’s take a look at the center of the Ribbon. The Quick Step section is an extension of Rules that were defined in earlier versions of Outlook. The primary difference between Rules and Quick Steps are that Quick Steps are activated manually and roles are usually applied automatically.

It only takes seconds to setup the new quick step process.

Step 1: Create New

Look through the list of Quick Step Icons that come installed in your Outlook Client and you will see one that has a Lightning Bolt Icon and is labeled Create New. Clicking on this icon displays the Edit Quick Step dialog box.

Step two: First step is to name your new Quick Step process.

Step three: Define your Quick Step actions.

• Actions are setup in groups.
• Filing, Change Status, Categories Tasks and Flags, Respond, Appointment, Conversations.
• Each of these groups have multiple choices that provides you with a wide range of functions.
• When you choose a function if there is another step in the process you will be presented with a sub step
• For example, if you choose to move the item to a folder "Move to Folder" a second sub step of choosing the folder to send it to will be displayed. Click on the drop down arrow and your choices will include the last few places that you moved items to, plus the choice of picking a folder that is not displayed in the list and last you can choose to always have a dialog box pop up to request which folder to drop the item into.

Step four: Add Action

You can add more steps at this point. Do this by clicking on the Add Action button.

Step five: Shortcut Key

You can define one of nine short cut key strokes to activate the Quick Step process from the keyboard. The key sequence is: Ctrl + Shift + a Number Key (1-9). You only have nine choices so use these sparingly.

Step six: Tooltip Text

Move to the Tooltip Text: dialog box entry to enter text that will help you understand what this function will do. This text will show up when the mouse hovers over the quick step.

Step seven: Finish

Click on the Finish button to complete the definition of your Quick Step process

Voila! You have now defined your first Quick Step Process. Use these functions to quickly apply categories, task status, moving to folders and read status on messages that your are processing for further actions. You can apply the process to one or multiple selected items in Outlook at one time. This makes InBox cleanup a quicker experience. Good luck with your Quick Step creations.

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