To enter a contact on the Contacts List (click the Contacts shortcut in the Outlook bar to get there), start by clicking the New Contact button. You see the Contacts dialog box shown in Figure 21-1. On this screen are five tabs: General, Details, Activities, Certificates, and All Fields. Only the General tab needs filling out, but you can fill in the other four, too, if you want to keep dossiers on your friends, colleagues, and clients. When you are done filling out the Contacts dialog box, click the Save and Close button. Following are the details about filling in these tabs.
TIP: If the contact whose data you want to enter works for the same company as a contact whose data you have entered already, you can get a head start entering the data. In the Contacts List, click the name of the contact whose data you have already entered in the Contacts List. Then, instead of clicking the New Contact button to enter contact information, choose Actions | New Contact from Same Company.
TIP: You can import address information from another program by choosing File | Import and Export, and then choosing the Import Internet Mail And Addresses or Import From Another Program Or File option and clicking Next. Use the next screens to select the application you want to import from, find the file, and specify how to deal with duplicate items.
The General tab is for entering names, addresses, e-mail addresses, Web page addresses, phone numbers, and all-purpose descriptions of the person in question. How to enter information on this tab is fairly self-explanatory. Click the Full Name button and Address button to enter the name and address one part at a time. By default, the name you enter appears in the Contacts List last name first, followed by first name, followed by middle initial, but you can make it appear any number of ways by making a choice from the File As drop-down menu or typing in how you want it to appear:
By choosing from drop-down menus, you can enter as many as three addresses and three e-mail addresses, and as many as 18 different types of phone numbers, ranging from Business to Mobile to Teletype. Notice the text box for entering a web page address, too.
TIP: The bottom of the Contacts dialog box is for jotting down
a few words about the colleague, client, or friend. If your Contacts List is a
long one, be sure to enter descriptions so that when the time comes to weed
names from the list, you will be able to tell who is who and whether each name
needs weeding.
NOTE: "Phoning and E-Mailing Contacts," later in
this chapter, explains how you can get Outlook to dial phone numbers. Don't
worry about punctuation marks in phone numbers, because Outlook ignores
punctuation marks when it dials numbers. Moreover, you don't have to enter a 1
to use the AutoDialer because the AutoDialer does it for you when you dial
numbers outside your area code.
The Details tab is for—what else?—entering excruciating details about the contact. On the tab are text boxes for entering anniversary dates, birthdays, department names, and other such arcana.
The Activities tab is where you can view activities involving the contact, such as appointments, notes, and any information recorded in the Journal for the contact.
The certificates tab is where you can view and manage digital certificates or IDs from the contact. Using a digital ID allows you to send encrypted messages to the contact. If you want to get a digital ID, choose Tools | Options, click the Security tab, and then click the Get A Digital ID button. Once you have an ID, you need to click the Change Settings button on the Security tab, name your settings, and then click OK.
The All Fields tab is simply a shortcut for viewing data about the client. At the top of the tab is the Select From drop-down menu. By making a choice from this menu, you can see quickly what it is you want to know about the contact.