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As Emails become major method for communication, Outlook becomes an essential tool for business. In SSW, we use Outlook extensively to manage our internal/external communication and projects, we treat Emails very seriously and we believe we can make Outlook better by giving the following suggestions.


  1. Show number of related messages left in your inbox and their subfolders
  2. Make the closing down of outlook more reliable
  3. Adding "Created By" and "Updated By" fields for contact information
  4. Outlook needs to have a better model to develop pluginsRed star
  5. Bad Outlook Programming Model: No Outlook.Item exposed!Red star
  6. Bad Outlook Programming Model: Incorrect FolderPath returned!Red star
  7. Corrupt .PST and .OST FilesRed star
  8. Need to lose RedemptionRed star
  9. Outlook will support treating emails as TasksRed star
  10. Corrupt mail on bounce-resendRed star
  11. Google highlight for emailsRed star
  12. Add Filter to context menu
  13. Can attachments be listed in a reply?
  14. There needs to be a 'compress email' option
  15. When editing an email in HTML format there will be an HTML view
  16. Calendar entries will support HTML formatting
  17. Need a country/time zone combo
  18. Newsgroups
  19. Give Outlook better spam filtering
  20. Autocomplete Email addresses
  21. Status bar in HTML mails
  22. Making Read Receipts useful
  23. Limitation on Sort Method
  24. Conflict errors and Conflict Resolver
  25. Cannot Edit Mail Folder Name Directly (Fixed in Outlook 2007, the textbox is disabled)
  26. Replied Mails aren't in the same group
  27. Outlook data files
  28. Outlook Move To Folder list
  29. Items disappear when moved into a folder with a home page
  30. Appointments lose the history when you reply (Fixed in Outlook 2007)
  31. Votes lose the history when you reply (Fixed in Outlook 2007)
  32. There will be a way to send a specific item immediately
  33. There will be a 'Move to CC' option on right click in OWA
  34. Have a delete button on draft emails
  35. Add full path to the location field
  36. Bad UI in Send/Receive Settings window
  37. Remove one of the dumbest defaults in history
  38. Working with favorites folder
  39. SMS Support (Fixed in Outlook 2007)
  40. Spam folder will have a "Spam" field like Spam Bayes does
  41. Outlook progress difficult to see
  42. Number of visible "All Day Event" will not be limited by window size (Fixed by separate scrollbar in Outlook 2007)
  43. Remove RTF as an option or explain when it is a good choice
  44. Add the ability to have a contents page added to an email
  45. Add the status for the progress bar
  46. Play a sound at the end of send/receive process
  47. Hide the progress bar at the end of send/receive process
  48. Allow me to do a alt+PrintScreen and paste an image in Outlook
  49. Add options on the names in To field in OWA
  50. Image Size
  51. Check if Active Sync is active before closing down
  52. Have a smart tag that shows "Create calendar appointment" by intelligently parsing the text
  53. Name Intellisense - shortcuts names will be stored with the PST/OST
  54. Name Intellisense - add one more option to check for more names
  55. Name Intellisense - will be referred to the suggeset names checkbox in advance email option
  56. Remove RTF Option
  57. Show display picture from MSN Messenger
  58. Quick Templates for Outlook
  59. Send Fax and SMS
  60. Allow you to fix the Conversation Threading
  61. Outlook /OWA will support templates
  62. Add a way to search the current folder and subfolders
  63. Allow me to resize or maximize Reminders Form
  64. Open a reminder on a seperate thread
  65. Search results could benefit from 3 improvements
  66. OWA will support pasting images into the email content.
  67. Outlook will add 'Configure' button to 'Indexing Status...' form.
  68. Appointments will be able to store images
  69. Please add an 'Undo' button on Reminders
  70. Outlook need validate for no subject
  71. Send/Receive Progress
  72. Looking up a contact
  73. Need 'Open folder' on right click menu
  74. OWA 2007 will supports FormatBrush
  75. OWA 2007 need add Refresh Option
  76. Search - Add "Type" to the "Criteria" combo
  77. Add a note on deleted record
  78. Outlook Appointments - Make the Reminders Visible and changeable as when you receive them
  79. Add 'Find' to the right click menu of the 'Contacts' folder
  80. Check Names Improvement
  81. All unhandled errors (aka crashes) will take your email
  82. Outlook should support SMS (and sync my SMSes)
  1. Show number of related messages left in your inbox and their subfolders

    When I am processing an email in my inbox, I want to complete it and its related messages. Currently, Outlook 2007 only gives you the "Related" button and it works very slowly and poorly because Outlook needs to search the related emails in all folders.

    • Add a checkbox in Tools | Options "Show number of related messages left and their subfolders".
    • Add a red bar to alert "There are N related messages left and their subfolders".
    Figure: Find related message
  2. Make the closing down of outlook more reliable

    The problem I find with Outlook 2007 (also occurs in Outlook 2003) is that I often close down Outlook, wait a short while then shut down Vista... yet invariably when I start up again, it says the data files weren't closed properly. I can only presume this has something to do with the fact that it seems to keep receiving mail even when it's shut down. I have had the Outlook OST file so corrupted it was impossible to recover it, so I had to re-synchronize > 10+ GB of mails.

    I use two laptops (both Vista) and I would say that at least 60% of the time I start up Outlook 2007 on one, it says the file was not closed properly. I don't know what is causing it, but it just adds to the many pain points of Outlook 2007.
    The likely cause of this is that some "3rd party" application is keeping Outlook running.

  3. Adding "Created By" and "Updated By" fields for contact information

    I want to know who created this contact and who updated the information for this contact, it will have "Created By" and "Updated By" fields.

    Contact information
    Figures: Contact information

    Suggestion: Adding "Created By" and "Updated By" fields for contact information, and automatic save the logon user to the fields after a contact information was created or updated.

    We have a rule better to interfaces about this, please see Data Entry Forms - The way to develop Data Entry Forms - Created/Last Updated By Fields

  4. Outlook needs to have a better model to develop pluginsRed star

    The current object model does not make for nice and easy plugin development. Some issues include:

    Setting the title of the COM addin in the options page:

    Options Screen from Outlook
    Figure: It takes a lot of effort to change the name of the tab in options

    To set the title using VSTO you have to have code like this, which is rather unnatural:

    [System.Runtime.InteropServices.DispId(-518)]
    public string Caption 
    {
    	get {return "SSW eXtreme Emails";}
    }

    Throw out backwards compatibility and start a fresh. For example, you will be able to inherit the contacts page and change the way it looks and add extra functionality to it.

  5. Bad Outlook Programming Model: No Outlook.Item exposed! Red star

    Item Enumeration

    Outlook (probably for backward compatibility reasons) doesn't have a default Outlook.Item object as the parent of the various Outlook.Items (Outlook.MailItem, PostItem, AppointmentItem).  This means code like this wouldn't work:

    dim oItem as Outlook.MailItem
    for each oItem in Outlook.ActiveExplorer.Selection
    ' you get errors for any items (like PostItem), that isn't an 
    MailItem in your inbox
    MsgBox oItem.Subject
    next
    		    
    Figure: Example of incorrect code

    So you have to write something like this

    dim oItem as Object
    for each oItem in Outlook.ActiveExplorer.Selection
    ' this will work, because every type of Outlook Item has the subject property... 
    ' but we're relying on reflection (late binding) here and 
    ' intellisense doesn't help us when we write code,
    ' compiler doesn't tell us if we made a typo,
    ' late binding is slower...
    MsgBox oItem.Subject
    next
    			
    Figure: Example of correct code
  6. Bad Outlook Programming Model: Cached Exchange Mode Limitations

    Cached Items in Outlook Red star

    When "Cached Exchange Mode" is enabled, items which have been cached locally will have some unexpected behaviour. This feature allows one to work with your personal folders, as well as selected public folder contents even when they're disconnected from the Exchange Server.

    However, once that feature is enabled, if you attempt to access the Parent.FolderPath property, you will be returned an inaccurate folder path. To see this bug in action, select an item in a subfolder of the folder which you have added to Favorites. Now press Alt+F11 to bring up the Visual Basic editor, followed by Ctrl+G to bring up the Immediate window.

    Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection(1).Parent.FolderPath

    This will return

    '\\Public Folders\Favorites\ImmediateParentFolder'

    One would assume it would return

    '\\Public Folders\Favorites\ParentFolder\ImmediateParentFolder'

    but that's not the case. If you disable "Download Public Folder Favorites", then the above code would return the correct canonical path of the folder.

    '\\Public Folders\All Public Folders\ParentFolder\ImmediateParentFolder'

    In our product SSW eXtremeEmails!, it prevents the Incident screen from obtaining a valid URL for the email item.

    Figure: CDO object model failed to retrieve Outlook Web Access URL.

    As a work around, the "Download Public Folder Favorites" settings will be disabled. If you wish to see correct URLs in your personal folders, "Cached Exchanged Mode" must be disabled all together.

    Figure: Disabling Cached Exchange Mode as a work around to invalid item properties.

    I hope this would be fixed in the next version of Outlook. Items in folders added to Favorites will provide the canonical path to aid Outlook 'smart client' plug-ins with Offline functionality, even when "Download Public Folder Favorites" is enabled.

  7. Corrupt .PST and .OST FilesRed star

    We need something better than a .pst file. I would prefer a SQL/MSDE database file that has less chance of going corrupt. I have seen this message box too many times and the tools scanpst.exe and scanost.exe do not fix it.

    Corrupt Files
    Figure: There will be something better that .PST files
  8. Need to lose RedemptionRed star

    There will be some way that it is not needed to create plugins for Outlook.

  9. Outlook will support treating Emails as TasksRed star

    We believe that email is at it's most effective when you're using your inbox as a task list. If you need to ask someone a question it's usually a better option to use the phone. If you are asking someone to do something however, email works really well, because you then have a record of the task - with the date and time as well. Outlook will encourage you using your email as a task tracking system, and provide a way you can see the status of emails.

    When you send an email there will be a field 'Action' with these choices:

    • Task - Action Required (default)
    • FYI - email is for information purposes only, no action required.

    Please add a status combo field to emails (will appear by default in sent items):

    1. N/A was a FYI
    2. N/A by Adam on 21/9/2005
    3. Replied Not Resolved
    4. Not Replied in \\Tim\inbox
    5. Not Replied deleted from \\Tim\inbox
  10. Corrupt mail on bounce-resendRed star

    This error occurs when you send an email and it bounces, then you hit send again. For some reason it sends a whole lot of rubbish.

    Corruption on resend
    Figure: An email has bounced for some reason
    Corruption on resend
    Figure: Sending the email again...
    Corruption on resend
    Figure: For some reason the email body becomes corrupted.
  11. Google Toolbar in EmailsRed star

    Often I want to search emails for certain words. It would be nice to have the functionality of the Google toolbar available when writing emails.

    I would like to have this functionality in other office applications also. Details

    Outlook Google Toolbar
    Figure: It would be nice to have the google toolbar in emails
  12. Add Filter to context menu

    The context menus for the grids in in Outlook will have all of the filtering features found in Access.

    Outlook
    Figure: Context menu in Outlook
    filter access
    Figure: Context menu in Access
  13. Can attachments be listed in a reply?

    Outlook
    Figure: Can attachments be listed in a reply?
  14. There needs to be a 'Compress Email' option

    Depending on the editor used to create an email (eg Word vs. Outlook), size can vary dramatically. Unfortunately, which editor the sender uses can not always be controlled. There will be a 'Compress Email' option to optimize emails using the default editor.

    Outlook
    Figure: Put 'Compress Email' option here.
  15. When editing an email in HTML format there will be an HTML view

    Users will be able to access the HTML like in Internet Explorer with View > Source. This could be implemented like Frontpage with a HTML tab at the bottom of the window.

    Outlook
    Figure: FrontPage provides an HTML view of the content.
  16. Calendar entries will support HTML formatting

    Our observations suggest that all calendar entries created with Microsoft Outlook are in Rich Text format. Seeing this has a message size overhead and is less supported by all mail clients, we'd like to see an option for HTML formatting. From what we can tell, the iCalendar format that Outlook makes use of does not have any requirements for rich text.

    Screen iCalendar Format
    Figure: An option for calendar formatting could be found around the iCalendar-relevant data on this screen.
  17. Calendar Items - Need a country/time zone combo

    When I am in Sydney and want to make a 9am appointment (New York time) it will be as simple as choosing [9am] [New York] Currently I have to work it backwards and enter it in Sydney time. All I need is a "Time Zone" combo. The crazy thing is if you cycle through the properties of a calendar item the "Time Zone" value is there - it is just not exposed on the UI. Even when I reply to an appointment I can see both time zones! As an example I get:

    Webinar:    .NET Enterprise Services Essentials
    Time:       Thursday, April 17, 2003, 11:00 a.m. PDT (2:00 p.m. EST)
    Duration:   One hour, including a Q&A
    Outlook
    Figure: Add a "Time Zone" combo box here.
  18. Newsgroups

    Yes, it would be nice not to have to switch to Outlook Express to use newsgroups. And although I would like to see the functionality in Outlook, I am of the belief that there are so many other things that the Outlook team needs to do, that it just cant be justified.

    Newsgroups are not used by average Jo. The Outlook team will stick to core issues.

  19. Give Outlook better spam filtering.(Thank you. Fixed in Outlook 2003 Beta 2)

    The current Junk Mail/Adult Content filters do nothing more than highlight messages in the Inbox. And the filtering mechanism itself isn't particularly good. Sure, third-party products like SpamNet work with Outlook. But Microsoft ought to be able to a better job itself.

  20. Autocomplete Email addresses

    This autocomplete feature is very useful however when I move to a new PC and setup my outlook with my old Outlook Data File (.pst) I lose all my history of email addresses. Very disappointing.

    If we want to keep it Microsoft expect us to figure out NK2 files or something

    In addition this file appears to be binary, instead of XML, so we cant work with them eg. I want to combine 2 files together from different PCs.

    Auto complete
    Figure: AutoComplete feature in use.
  21. Status bar in HTML emails

    Where is the status bar, as in Internet Explorer?

    When you receive HTML email, you want to be able to see the URL when you hover over a hyperlink.

    Hover over link
    Figure: No status bar when reading emails in Outlook.
  22. Making Read Receipts useful

    When you send an email you could have a flag "Requires Action" or "FYI".

    When you look in your sent items there will be a column showing the status:

    • Not received
    • Received - read
    • Received - unread
    • Replied
    • Forwarded
    • Deleted
    • Recalled

    Note: This isn't a normal Outlook feature, it requires Exchange Server.

    receipt
    Figure: Mail item properties dialog.
  23. Limitation on Sort Method

    While developing our product SSW eXtreme Emails! we wanted to add a feature that sends an email with history. We wanted it to simulate how Outlook keeps the history on an email. So by code we wanted to:

    • Go to Sent Items
    • Find the last email sent with that subject (sort by DateSent)

    However you can't sort on the Sent field. It seems totally crazy to me that the sort method cannot be used on the sent field.

    This is a primary field I would want to sort on!

    By the way: The DateModified has a sort method.

  24. Conflict errors and Conflict Resolver

    We need field level replication and a Conflicit Resolver like SQL Server.
    When two users make offline modifications to the same public folder entry, then they get conflict errors.

    Conflict

    This has similar issues to SQL Server Replication but more because:

    It works at an entire email level, not a field level like SQL.

    The conflict resolver doesnt even point out the differences you have to look through them manually.

  25. Cannot Edit Mail Folder Name Directly (Fixed in Outlook 2007, the textbox is disabled)

    In the folder properties dialog, a text-box containing the name of the folder appears. The text-box is not disabled, yet its contents cannot be edited. To change the mail folder name, the user must click the Customize button.

    This is illogical and confusing. Microsoft will either allow editing of the name without having to click Customize or disable the text-box altogether.

    Outlook
    Figure: Outlook's mail folder properties dialog
  26. Replied Mails aren't in the same group

    When I click "Subject" I would expect that the yellow items are grouped together. The replied mails will be in the same group as the original mails, even if they have the prefix "Re:" or "Fwd:" in their subjects.

    Sort by subject
    Figure: The yellow items will be in the same group

    And other ones along the same lines?These 3 will be together

    Outlook conversation threads
    Figure:  Screen capture from Outlook 2003 Beta 2

    When in conversation thread view in Outlook, why cant these two be threaded together?

    Outlook
    Figure: Outlook won't thread the two messages together.
  27. Outlook data files

    Why call it Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst)?

    Microsoft please change it to Microsoft Outlook 2003 Personal Folders File (.pst)?

    Note: And NO I dont believe the file format will never change again

    Outlook 2003 .pst file
    Figure: No consistency and no forward thinking by Microsoft here
  28. Move To Folder list

    I love the Move To Folder?option and use it every day. However I run my PC at a resolution of 1400x1050 and this list is not long enough. Please increase the length by 3 times.

    Outlook 2003 Move To Folder
    Figure: The list is too short at 1400x1050 screen resolution
  29. Items disappear when moved into a folder with a home page

    If you drag an item into a folder which has a home page (for example, the root of the Inbox, which has Outlook Today), there is no way to access the item, except by disabling the folder's home page. The setting to disable the home page is buried in the Folder Properties, and many users may not know where to find it.

    Outlook Items Disappear

    Outlook will display a warning that the item will not be visible if you attempt to move an item into a folder which has a home page.

  30. Appointments lose the history when you reply (fixed in Outlook 2007)

    When you reply to an appointment someone sends you, Outlook deletes the history. Instead the history will be retained, like with normal email messages.

  31. Votes lose the history when you reply (Fixed in Outlook 2007)

    When you vote, it will keep the history in the reply.

  32. There will be a way to send a specific item immediately

    It is useful to turn off the "Send immediately when connected" option in Outlook so you can go back to messages before sending them. However, sometimes you want to send a single message immediately without emptying the entire Outbox. You will be able to Ctrl+Click the send button on a message to force it to send immediately, without doing a full Send/Receive.

  33. You will be able to move the 'To' address to 'CC' in Outlook Web Access

    It would be useful to have a 'Move to CC' option on right click in Outlook Web Access

    Move Address
    Figure: It would be good to have 'Move to CC' option on right click
  34. Have a delete button on draft emails

    I often store things in my Drafts folder in Outlook, but there is no X (delete) button, so I have to locate the email in my drafts folder and delete it manually.

    Outlook Delete Button On Drafts
    Figure: Where is the delete button on this draft email?
    Outlook Delete Button On Drafts
    Figure: We need a delete button on drafts like in this normal Inbox email
  35. Add full path the the location field

    The location field will have the full path viewable. I use the Lookout Tool a lot and want to know which folder an email is in.

    Add Location
    Figure: List the folder in the location field
  36. Bad UI in Send/Receive Settings window

    I want to work offline - but have everything sync every 5 minutes (EXCEPT my Outbox - I will do that manually)

    1) So I choose File ?Work Offline

    Outlook bad user interface
    Figure: Select Work Offline

    2) Select Define Send/Receive Groups

    Outlook bad user interface
    Figure: Select Define Send/Receive Groups

    3) Tick the checkbox - Schedule an automatic send/receive every 5 minutes, then edit 'All Accounts'.

    Outlook bad user interface
    Figure: Send/Receive Groups

    4) Then check off "Send mail items"
    However it keeps sending emails because the Outbox is selected in the tree control The Outbox will show as Strikethrough when that checkbox is off

    Outlook bad user interface
    Figure: Bad UI in Send/Receive Settings, the Outbox will show as strikethrough.
  37. Remove one of the dumbest defaults in history

    How many times have you create a meeting request - saved and sent it - then realised you forgot to put the time and date.
    You reopen it and fix it - but the other person still receives the original email with an "Updated: xxxxx"

    Why would the assumption be every meeting is going to be for the next 30 minutes?

    Microsoft, please default it to zero - or give an option in Tools Options to turn it off

    Outlook Appointment
    Figure: Microsoft Outlook assumes every meeting is going to be for the next 30 minutes.
  38. Working with Favorites Folder

    You are not allowed to create new folders under Favorites.
    When you are adding to Favorites, dont just add single Project Folder.
    But add the entire hierarchy making sure that all sub folders are included.

    FavoritesFolder
    Figure: creating new folder under favorites.
  39. Add SMS Support (Fixed in Outlook 2007)

    Sending SMSs will be as easy as sending an email. Outlook will include the functionality of the greate COM Addin from Reg Oxygen OutlookSMS, also outlook will provide SMS folder and allow ActiveSync to sync your SMS messages to mobile phones.

  40. Spam folder will have a "Spam" field like Spam Bayes does

    Spam folder
    Figure: Spam Bayes' spam folder
  41. Outlook progress difficult to see

    When the Send/Receive button is clicked in Outlook a progress window is shown. Using the words "Completed" and "Processing" can have a nasty side effect of not being able to easily see which messages are still to be processed. A better Solution would be to change the word "Completed" by the word "Done".

    Outlook progress window
    Figure: Outlook progress window
  42. Number of visible "All Day Event" will not be limited by window size (Fixed by adding separate scroll bar in Outlook 2007)

    From the screenshot below, we can see 7 all day events, and it looks like that's all on the date.

    All Day Event
    Figure: Only 7 all day events are visible

    Now we maximized Outlook, and we can see up to 11 all day events.

    We can see more all day events when Outlook is maximized
    Figure: We can see more all day events when Outlook is maximized

    In fact, these 11 all day events are not all on the date. There are more, but the rest is not visible due to the limited window size and screen resolution.
    This is seriously annoying, a user might think that the all day events they entered have gone missing. And they might miss an appointment if the reminder alarm is not set.

    The only way to see more is to change your screen resolution to a bigger one. If you still can't see all, then hide some of the toolbars so that you have more space for Outlook to show the all day events, but how pratical is this?
    Why can't the all day events be put on to a scrollable panel? (like Outlook 2007, or Outlook Web Access)
    Or at least, it will show a message to inform users not all of the all day events are visible!

  43. Remove RTF as an option or explain when it is a good choice

    I see nothing good about it and outlook handles RTF poorly by replacing images with " << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent Bitmap) >> "

    Also change "HTML" to "HTML (recommended)":
    Change "HTML" to "HTML (recommended)"
    Figure: Change "HTML" to "HTML (recommended)" and remove Rich Text
  44. Add the ability to have a contents page added to an email

    This functionality existed in outlook 2003.
    Table of Contents functionality in MS Word 2007
    Figure: Table of Contents functionality in MS Word 2007
  45. Add the status for the progress bar

    Add the status for progress bar, we can clearly see the progress status. We have a rule about this, please refer to Long Process - Do you show the status of progress bar on winform's title?
    Send/receive progress form in outlook
    Figure: Send/receive progress form in outlook
  46. Paly a sound at the end of send/receive process

    By playing a sound at the end of the long process it will alert the user to go back and check on it. We have a rule about this, please refer to Long Process - Do you know how to make long-running processes user-friendly?
    Send/receive progress form in outlook
    Figure: (Supposed) adding a check box for playing a sound at the end of send/receive progress
  47. Hide the progress bar at the end of send/receive process

    The progress bar will be hidden at the end of the long process. We have a rule about this, please refer to Long Process - Do you know how to make long-running processes user-friendly?
    Send/receive progress form in outlook
    Figure: The progress bar will be hidden at the end of send/receive progress
  48. Allow me to do a alt+PrintScreen and paste an image in Outlook

    I cannot do a alt+PrintScreen and paste an image in Outlook even using HTML format. This has not been fixed in Outlook 2007.

  49. Add options on the names in To field in OWA

    Add another right click option on names in the To field.

    Add options on the names in To field in OWA
    Figure: Add options on the names in To field in OWA
    You will be able to right click a name in the "To:" field and select "Move to CC" or "Move to BCC".
    PS: Likewise similar options would be useful in the CC and BCC fields.

  50. Image Size

    When I put pictures into an Outlook HTML email, they are much less quality and significantly larger, even though Outlook reports that they are 100%

  51. Check if Active Sync is active before closing down

    People close Outlook and they will notice it continues to check for new mail after they think Outlook is closed!
    Really what do they do? They close Outlook and they still see (surprisingly some time later) an envelope appear in their system tray and a popup appearing showing the mail that has just arrived.

    The basic issue is that Outlook hasn’t really shut down even though you intended for it to shut down. The most likely cause of this is that some ?rd party?application is keeping Outlook running.

    The most common one I see is Active Sync - and now you have Outlook running with no visible windows. We suggest:

    1. Never ever have the situation that Outlook is running without any visible windows
    2. Show which client is keeping Outlook alive
    3. Specifically check for ActiveSync. ActiveSync is so common Microsoft will pop a message box: "You have ActiveSync running, please close that down first and then try exiting Outlook again."

  52. Have a smart tag that shows "Create calendar appointment" by intelligently parsing the text

    Then the user can use the right click menu to create a calendar appointment.

    Add menu to create appointment intelligently
    Figure: Have a smart tag that shows "Create calendar appointment"
  53. Name Intellisense - shortcuts names will be stored with the PST/OST

    These shortcuts names will be stored with the PST/OST so that customers won't lose these when they create a new profile.

    Outlook Shortcut Names
    Figure: shortcut names will not be lost while users create new profiles.
  54. Name Intellisense - add one more option to check for more names

    Have one more option at the bottom of the shortcut name list " - Check for more Names - "

    Reason #1: not many users know the shortcut "Control+K"
    Reason #2: users they will not have to pick up the mouse to click the "Check Names" button

    Outlook Check Names
    Figure: users will not always have to click this button to check more names.
  55. Name Intellisense - will be referred to the suggeset names checkbox in advanced email options

    The Name Intellisense (or 'auto suggest names', 'smart shortlist', etc) will be referred to the suggeset names checkbox in advanced e-mail options so people use it consistently

    Outlook Advanced Email Options
    Figure: It will be referred to in the 2nd last checkbox.
  56. Remove RTF Option

    In Outlook, the size of an email in RTF format is much larger than that in HTML format.

    Different Size of email
    Figure: The different size of the same mail in two formats.

    So we suggest: remove the RTF option in the message format to save space and make emails faster.

    Mail Format Option
    Figure: Here to select the message format.
  57. Show display picture from MSN Messenger

    When viewing an email, Outlook 2007 shows an image of the sender. Currently this only works if the sender is already in your contact list and has an image assigned to the contact card. Although this is a really nice feature, inserting the picture to each contact is time consuming and if you have hundreds of contacts, you definitely don't want to go through each one of them.

    Outlook has been providing a nice integration with MSN Messenger for a while. It is capable of showing the status of email recipients marked with a little color icon indicating their status (green if available, red if busy, etc).

    In a similar fashion, Outlook will be able to make use of the display picture from MSN Messenger and show it on the email message will the sender cannot be found in the contact list.

    Outlook sender image
    Figure 1: Outlook 2007 now shows the image of the sender
    Contact card with image
    Figure 2: Contact card with image attached
    MSN Messenger display image
    Figure 3: MSN Messenger already has Display Picture capability
  58. Quick Templates for Outlook

    Add-in Quick Templates for Outlook is designed for fast insertion of text templates into Microsoft Outlook 2000,2002(XP),2003 mail messages. It will help you with entering frequently repeated text fragments, save the time you spend on message writing, and you will have no more misprints in your messages. Quick Templates plugin is a very useful tool for technical support officers, sales personnel and all other people who make an extensive use of email in their work.

    You will have to write and format your text only once and then you can insert it in mail messages of any type (HTML, RTF, plain text) repeatedly. the Quick Templates keeps all the text parameters and formatting unchanged, which allows you to create lots of various headings, signatures, phrases, or any other text blocks, lines, or words you use frequently in your correspondence.

    With the Quick Templates plugin you can create a template list and insert the text from template into a message by a single mouse click or through a hotkey you can set for each template individually.

    Quick Templates for Outlook
    Figure 1: Quick Templates for Outlook
    Edit text of the template
    Figure 2: Edit text of the template
    Toolbar in MS Word (when Word is used as an email editor)
    Figure 3: Toolbar in MS Word (when Word is used as an email editor)
    Templates menu in Outlook
    Figure 4: Templates menu in Outlook
  59. Send Fax and SMS

    1. By default you will be able to type in a phone number and have it send a fax.
    2. By default you will be able to type in a mobile number and have it send a SMS.

    Send Fax and SMS
    Figure: Send Fax and SMS by filling in the number.
  60. Allow you to fix the Conversation Threading

    When someone replies to an email with an incompatible mail client eg. Blackberry, outlook express you loose your threading inside Outlook. Please:

    1. Add a button to the toolbar “Merge into one Thread?
    2. Also allow you to drag it into that conversation.

    Merge into one thread
    Figure: Add a button “Merge into one thread?
  61. Outlook /OWA will support templates

    Anastasia, our accountant keeps a bunch of text documents on her desktop which she copies and pastes into emails. It would be a great feature if Outlook and OWA supported creating and inserting templates into new emails. If the new email UI had a drop down list to insert templates then this would make outlook a more powerful tool.

    There are already some third party plugins that do this in Outlook:

    1. Quick Text Hotkey
    2. Quick Templates for Outlook

    But there are no tools to do this in OWA.

  62. Add a way to search the current folder and subfolders

    See the last option group in the search options, we also need a "Search current folder and subfolders".

    Search Options
    Figure: Need "Current Folder and subfolders" in the last "Instant Search Pane" group
  63. Allow me to resize or maximize Reminders Form

    It is bad that you are not allowed to resize or maximize the reminders form when you are in the situation showed below.

    reminders form
    Figure: Reminders Form
  64. Open a reminder on a seperate thread

    Please make a reminder open on a separate thread. When you have a lot the Inbox UI does not respond.

    many inbox reminders
    Figure: Many Inbox Reminders
  65. Search results could benefit from 3 improvements

    • Use strikethrough for the deleted items. See our Rules To Better Interfaces for more information.
    • Use blue with italics for the outbox
    • When you select an Outbox item -- do not change it back to normal from italics
    Search Result
    Figure: Search Results
  66. OWA will support pasting images into the email content.

    It will be greate to support pasting image in OWA. Now the OWA only allow us to add the images to attachments. This will affect reading and the attachments are easily lost while responding.

    Past Image
    Figure: The editor supports pasting images.
  67. Outlook will add 'Configure' button to 'Indexing Status...' form.

    Add a 'Configure' button to 'Indexing Status...' form:

    Indexing Status... form
    Figure: This Indexing Status form needs a 'Configure' button to take you to the below form

    That takes you to 'Indexing Options' form:

    Indexing Options form
    Figure: You need to be able to easy to get to the 'Indexing Options' form from Outlook
  68. Appointments will be able to store images

    Well actually they can add images as same as emails. but because they are stored as RTF (instead of HTML like normal email messages) so they convert to 4-5MB attachments.

    The worst thing is the syncing problems with Windows Mobile devices.

    PS: I think it will be easier to insert Live maps (or google maps) for directions.

    Indexing Status... form
    Figure: The Appointment with large image
  69. Please add an 'Undo' button on Reminders

    For example, I open an appointment and reply all to it, then close the appointment.
    It has been updated, so it moves to the top, but I have already pressed Dismiss and so the wrong message was dismissed!

    Example
    Figure: Add Undo button at here
  70. Outlook need validate for no subject

    I think it would be great to never receive another email from a person without a subject!

    No subject
    Figure: Bad example - No Validation when sending an email
    Validate subject
    Figure: Good example - Validation when sending an appointment
    We have a program called SSW LookOut! for Outlook to check for this rule.

    It will warn you if you forget to include a subject in your email.
  71. Send/Receive Progress

    Sometimes you just want to sync quickly (eg. over GPRS) and one big, fat and unexpected 10MB email is coming without you knowing and without a way to skip it. So please improve this dialog, so you can see if you have a bottleneck and give an option to skip the email.

    Send/Receive Progress dialog
    Figure: My UI suggestion would be to show the top 5 emails in size (sorted descending) with a button on each row "Skip for now"
  72. Looking up a contact

    Be aware that people create new email addresses all the time and for all types of reasons, eg. for mailing lists.

    Looking up a contact
    Figure: Looking up the address' contact

    When looking up a contact and the email address does not exist. This message box is not good enough. It will say "Here are a list of suggestions that have email addresses that are very close."

    The dialog of could not found contact
    Figure: This dialog is not good enough
  73. Need 'Open folder' on right click menu

    Need add 'Open folder' menu item on right click menu in the search results.

    Looking up a contact
    Figure: Right click menu needs 'Open folder' or 'Open email location' if you want to be consistent with Vista Search like below
    The dialog of could not found contact
    Figure: Outlook needs this 'Open file location' in their search results
  74. OWA 2007 will supports FormatBrush

    OWA 2007 will add a FormatBrush button to copy the format from one place to other places, which also make it consistent with Outlook like other buttons.

  75. OWA 2007 need add Refresh Option

    OWA 2007 will add a Refresh button on the right click menu:

    Add Refresh on OWA 2007
    Figure: Need add Refresh button on the menu.
  76. Search - Add "Type" to the "Criteria" combo

    Make it easy to find all the appointments in your inbox (that you have not accepted or declined).

    Eg. I want to say something like "Type: Calendar" or "Type: Appointment" however neither one works.

    Add option Type
    Figure: Add option "Type" to allow you to find appointments
    The search help form
    Figure: Search help needs a list of all options you can manually type (that is not in the "Criteria" dropdown)
  77. Add a note on deleted record

    When you add a contact and it is the same name, then it offers to merge the contacts (and if you say ‘yes’ it deletes it). Can you please add a note on the deleted record “This record was deleted by the Contact Merge Tool”.

    Contacts with the same name
    Figure: Contacts with the same name
    Contacts Details
    Figure: Contacts details
  78. Outlook Appointments - Make the Reminders Visible and changeable as when you receive them

    When you get an appointment in your inbox, they often have a Reminders in them, you can't see them, but they are there. The main issue is that I don't want the reminder going off later.

    • Can you make the reminder visible
    • Can you add a button "Accept without reminder"
    • Can you add a button "Accept and edit the reminder"
    Appointment Reminder need visible
    Figure: The Appointment's reminder information, needs to be visible and changable
  79. Add 'Find' to the right click menu of the 'Contacts' folder

    It's more efficient to have a 'Find' option in the right click menu of the 'Contacts' folder. With it we can look for certain contacts easily.

    'Find' option is needed.
    Figure: 'Find' option is needed.
  80. Check Names Improvement

    If I get more than one contacts with the same email address when checking the names, I'd like to know which is in my Local Contacts and which in the Exchange User List. So please add a column to identify this.

    For instance, if I know the one in my Local Contacts is the latest and the first one is identified as Local Contacts, I can select it easily without checking details of these two.

    Add a column to idetify contacts
    Figure: No column idetifies where contacts are from
  81. All unhandled errors (aka crashes) will take your email

    All unhandled errors (aka crashes) will take your email...

    And inform you when a hot fix/service pack resolves that issue

    (I choose Outlook as the first application to implement this, as that is what I get the most crashes)

    Outlook crashed
    Figure: All crashes will take your email
  82. Outlook should support SMS (and sync my SMSes)

    I am going to flash my TyTnII.

    All my data is synced ¡­. Except my SMSes¡­. Grrrrrrr.


Acknowledgements

Adam Cogan
Lei Xu