Microsoft Outlook Interview Questions and Answers

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager (PIM) from Microsoft. It is mostly used for storing, receiving and sending emails. It is designed to operate as an independent personal information manager, as an Internet mail client, or in conjunction with the Microsoft Exchange Server for group scheduling, email, and task management.

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. It is a standard client/server protocol for using or rather accessing email service from the local server of the user. The email is received and stored for the user by the Internet server. Since this protocol only requires a small amount of data transfer, this protocol works fine even over a slow data connection, like a modem. A specific email is downloaded from the server only when the user requests it.

POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol 3. It is a protocol, which offers an uncomplicated way for the users to use mailboxes as well as download messages to their computers. It lets the users download emails from the mail server into the local server and enables them to read the email even when they are offline.

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is an Internet standard protocol for email transmission. It is the protocol, which is in widespread use today as it uses the process of a store and forward and works with MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) to deliver the email to the recipient email server.  

PST stands for Personal Storage Table, which is a personal folder file in Microsoft Outlook. In case of Outlook, the storage limit for a user’s .pst file is 2 GB. It is an open proprietary file format, which is used to store copies of messages, calendar events, as well as other items within Microsoft software such as Microsoft Exchange Client, Windows Messaging, and Microsoft Outlook.

For networks, a port means an endpoint to a logical connection. The port number identifies what type of port it is. Here are the default email ports for: –

• POP3 – 110
• IMAP – 143
• SMTP – 25
• HTTP – 80
• Secure POP3 (SSL-POP) –995
• IMAP4 over SSL (IMAPS) – 993
• Secure SMTP (SSMTP) – 465
• Secure IMAP (IMAP4-SSL) –585

• 110-PoP3
• 80-HTTP
• 25-SMTP

Create new message   CTRL + Shift + M

Reply to message.       CTRL + R

Forward a message     CTRL + F

Reply to a group message, sending reply to entire group                 Ctrl + Shift + R

Duplicate a message   CTRL + C, then CTRL + V to create message copy

Insert a hyperlink        CTRL + K

Spellcheck a message F7

Another common email task is managing messages. This includes sending completed messages, deleting unwanted messages, organizing messages in folders, flagging important messages, and more. Here are some Outlook shortcut keys to help you manage your inbox efficiently:

Send or receive Messages      F9

Delete Selected Message       Highlight message, press Delete

Create a folder                        Ctrl + Shift + E

Move a message                     Ctrl + Shift + V

Go to the folder list               CTRL + 6

Open a message                     CTRL + O

Flag a message                       CTRL + SHIFT + G

To change the mail format in Outlook,

• Tap on the tools from the main menu
• It will open a window, select Options from the window
• It will open another window, showing mail set up and mail format — Click on Mail Format option
• Scroll down for a different format and select the format you want like rich text, plain text and HTML
• Click OK

Use   Ctri+ G

Open the Outbox                                Ctrl+Shift+O

Open the Inbox                                   Ctrl+Shift+I     

Add a new task                                      Ctrl+Shift+K

Copy selected text                                 Ctrl+C 

Cut selected text                                    Ctrl+X

Open the Print window                       Ctrl+P

Send the e-mail                                      Alt+S   

Send the e-mail you’re composing     Ctrl+Enter

Complete the name or e-mail being

typed in the e-mail field if found

 in the address book                             Ctrl+K

Go to folder                                            Ctrl+Y

Create a new e-mail

 (when in the Mail section)                 Ctrl+N

Bold highlighted selection                  Ctrl+B 

Italic highlighted selection                  Ctrl+I  

Reply to an e-mail                                 Ctrl+R 

Forward an e-mail                                Ctrl+F 

Send and receive all e-mail                 Ctrl+M

Mark selected e-mail as read              Ctrl+Q

Mark selected e-mail as unread         Ctrl+U 

Move e-mail to folder                          Ctrl+Shift+V    

Create a new contact                           Ctrl+Shift+C    

Create a new appointment in

your calendar (from any section of Outlook) Ctrl+Shift+A    

The incoming mail server is the server associated with your email address account. There cannot be more than one incoming mail server for an email account. In order to access your incoming messages, you need an email client. a program that can retrieve email from an email account, allowing a user to read, forward, delete, and reply to email messages. Depending on your mail server, you can use a dedicated email client (like Outlook Express) or a web browser (like Internet Explorer, for accessing web-based email accounts, like Hotmail).

The mail is held in storage on the incoming mail server until you download it. Once you have downloaded your mail from the mail server it cannot be downloaded again. In order to download your Email, you must have the correct settings configured in your Email client program. Most incoming mail servers are using one of the following protocols: IMAP, POP3, and HTTP.

Outlook’s views — Calendar, Contacts, Journal, Tasks, and E-mail — aren’t always part of the Personal Folders file. You can backup these components separately, as follows:

• Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 from the previous tip.
• Choose the Outlook item folder you want to export from the Select The Folder To Export From list and click Next.
• By entering or browsing, specify a folder and filename for the backup file.
• From Options, specify how to treat duplicate items.
• Click Finish.
• Repeat as necessary for each Outlook folder.
• If you’re on a corporate server, do the following:
• From the Tools menu, choose Services and then click the Delivery tab.
• From Deliver New Mail To The Following Location, choose Remote Mail and identify your Personal Folder file or choose your Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox, if you want to use offline folders.
• Click OK.
• Exit and restart Outlook.

If you highlight any email address and right click it, you will get a context menu. On that menu select Add email address to contact list.

When in the Contact window, you might have several contacts. There is one address book in your Personal Folder and there is one for main Mailbox, which also will be available to you in the Web client. So, your address book can follow you.

Outlook can handle more than one profile. An Outlook profile is similar to a Windows user account; each profile contains settings specific to a single user. However, if you define more than one profile, you must tell Outlook to prompt for a profile, as follows:

• From the Windows Start menu, choose Control Panel.
• Double-click Mail.
• Click Show Profiles.
• Click the Prompt For A Profile To Be Used option and click OK.
• Now, when you launch Outlook, it will ask you to choose a profile.

Click the Tools menu > Account Settings > Address Books

New > Internet Directory Services (LDAP)

Next > Server Name: directory.google.com;

More settings > Connection Tab: Display Name: google LDAP; : PORT: 339 >

Search Tab: Search Time out: 60; Search max: 100; Search Base: Customer: o=google.com; uncheck Enable Browsing >

 >OK

>Next > Finish

The Library will be converted this Spring. One weekend early this summer, email and calendaring will be unavailable while data from Meeting Maker is brought over into Exchange. The Meeting Maker system will then be shut down and that Monday you will begin using calendaring in Outlook. Until then, all meetings should originate in Meeting Maker. To ensure a smooth transition, everyone must be on Exchange prior to June 1.