P
Peter
I was a user of Outlook Express and Sidekick 98 (one of the best but
orphaned PIM ever made). I have converted and switched to Outlook 2003 and
have been struggling (and following this board) to learn to use it.
Quite clearly, Outlook 2003 (and I assume, its predecessors) is a reliable
but extremely complicated program to learn to use. My sense, based on many
years of computer use (I am not a techie) is that Outlook 2003 suffers
because it is not, in many ways, an "intuitive" program. For example, its
menus are frequently "four deep" but without any real reason for putting
things where they end up. Many important items are hidden under a separate
box called "advanced" and there seems little internal logic.
E-mail is a good case in point but probably the worst offender.. Note that
there is both a series of setting boxes under TOOLS - OPTIONS -
PREFERENCES - EMAIL OPTIONS - ADVANCED EMAIL OPTIONS and under TOOLS -
OPTIONS - OTHER - ADVANCED OPTIONS each with different functions. There are
also 4 more email settings under TOOLS - OPTIONS.
I spend a lot of time with the help function just trying to get settings
right.
I suspect that one of the problems is that headings like VIEW, TOOLS and
ACTIONS are really not meaningful (as opposed to, for example, "mail",
"calendar" or "contacts" which would be easily understood if all of the
options for each of these processes were under the same heading).
Anyhow, I know that once I learn to use a program, it seems easy. My hope
is that MS finds a way to make Outlook more intuitive and easier to learn.
Just my opinion.
Peter
orphaned PIM ever made). I have converted and switched to Outlook 2003 and
have been struggling (and following this board) to learn to use it.
Quite clearly, Outlook 2003 (and I assume, its predecessors) is a reliable
but extremely complicated program to learn to use. My sense, based on many
years of computer use (I am not a techie) is that Outlook 2003 suffers
because it is not, in many ways, an "intuitive" program. For example, its
menus are frequently "four deep" but without any real reason for putting
things where they end up. Many important items are hidden under a separate
box called "advanced" and there seems little internal logic.
E-mail is a good case in point but probably the worst offender.. Note that
there is both a series of setting boxes under TOOLS - OPTIONS -
PREFERENCES - EMAIL OPTIONS - ADVANCED EMAIL OPTIONS and under TOOLS -
OPTIONS - OTHER - ADVANCED OPTIONS each with different functions. There are
also 4 more email settings under TOOLS - OPTIONS.
I spend a lot of time with the help function just trying to get settings
right.
I suspect that one of the problems is that headings like VIEW, TOOLS and
ACTIONS are really not meaningful (as opposed to, for example, "mail",
"calendar" or "contacts" which would be easily understood if all of the
options for each of these processes were under the same heading).
Anyhow, I know that once I learn to use a program, it seems easy. My hope
is that MS finds a way to make Outlook more intuitive and easier to learn.
Just my opinion.
Peter