Thread: Defining a preset size and color for notes in Outlook 2003,2007

When creating a new note, the application opens a tiny window - too small to edit anything. So, an extra action is always required to increase its size with a mouse which can be very annoying.

With a few actions, you can create a template, which can later be used instead of the standard note. For this, create an empty note through 'File/New/Note' and change its size to suit your requirement. You can also assign a new color, by clicking on the note symbol on the left in the title-bar and opening the system menu and selecting a 'Color'. Alternatively, select 'Tools/Options/Note Options'. Outlook now offers five colors and three prescribed sizes as well as other fonts for the notes.

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In Outlook 2007, you can only select the note color and through the 'Categorization' of notes.

If the given options are not enough, open the system menu in a note, select 'Save as' and in the following dialog under 'File type' select the entry 'Outlook-template (*.oft)'.

Then assign another name and click on 'Save'. To use your own template, open 'File /New/Select form'. In the dialog of the same name, activate the entry 'Templates in file system' in 'Search in' and then double-click on the entry that you have created.

You can considerably speed up the opening of the template, if you define a shortcut to it in the links area of Outlook. For that, you will require the path to the directory, in which the template is saved. You can find out the path as follows: in the combination field 'Search in' of the dialog 'Select Form', select the entry 'Templates in the file system'. Now you can read the path in the field directly under the combination field.

Start Windows Explorer with [Win]+[E] and navigate in the said directory. In the folder options under 'View/Advanced Settings' you might need to first activate the display of hidden files and directories with the help of the option 'Show all files and folders'. Then click on the template you have saved, keep the left mouse key pressed and drag the entry in Outlook to the title 'Links' in the navigation area. As soon as a small plus-sign appears, let go of the mouse key. The new link has been created.