To create a new task in the Tasks Folder, click near the top of the screen where it says "Click here to add a new Task." After you click, enter a few words to describe the task. To assign a due date, click the down arrow under Due Date, choose a date from the calendar, and press the Enter key, like so:
Illustration 5
If you want to edit a task, say to prioritize tasks, track how close or far they are from completion, be reminded when they are due to be finished, keep notes about them, or even track things such as mileage or how many hours you worked on a task, you need to follow these steps:
1. Click the New Tasks button or press Ctrl-N. You see the Task dialog box shown in Figure 21-8.
Figure 8: Giving Outlook all the details about a task
2. In the Subject text box, enter a description of the task. What you enter appears in the Tasks folder and the TaskPad of the Calendar folder.
3. If the task is to be completed by a certain day, click the Due Date drop-down arrow and choose the day from the mini-calendar. If you started the task already, open the Start Date drop-down list and tell Outlook when you started this task.
4. Under Status, click the drop-down arrow and choose a status demarcation that best describes the task; prioritize the task with the Priority drop-down list; and tell Outlook how complete the task is by clicking arrows in the % Complete box.
5. To be reminded when the task falls due, click the Reminder check box and then choose when you want to be reminded by making a choice in the drop-down menu. Reminders come in the form of a customizable sound that Outlook plays over the speaker in your computer.
TIP: Click the Speaker icon next to the Reminder time box to specify a different sound file to be played when the task is due.
6. Enter a few words in the text box to describe the task.
7. You can categorize tasks in different ways and view tasks in specific categories on the Tasks screen. To do so, click the Categories button and choose a category or two.
8. Click the Private check box if you are working on a network with the Microsoft Exchange Server and you don't want others to see this task on your Tasks list.
9. Click the Details tab and fill it out if you want to get very specific about the task and what it demands of you.
10. Click the Save and Close button.
TIP: If someone assigns you a task by way of an e-mail
message, you can save yourself a bit of trouble by dragging the e-mail message
to the Tasks screen. To do so, click the e-mail message in the Inbox and gently
drag it to the Tasks icon. The Task dialog box opens and you see the text of
the message in the text box. Fill out the other parts of the Task dialog box
and click the Save and Close button.