Outlook Glossary
Microsoft
Exchange Server is software that runs on a network server that
provides email delivery (and other services such as contacts, calendar,
notes, tasks and access to
public folders).
Outlook is software that provides access to your email,
calendar, and other services on the Exchange server. You can
also use other email programs to
access your
Exchange email.
Appointment area — the part of the calendar that shows your appointments and events.
Archive — a folder containing Outlook items that are no longer current. Outlook can be set to automatically archive calendar or email items after a predetermined time (e.g. 60 days). When Outlook archives items, it moves those items from current folders on the server to an archive folder on your computer. You can retrieve these items later by opening this archive file on your computer.
AutoPreview — Outlook’s capability to display the first three lines of a message without double-clicking to open the entire message.
Calendar — the folder that lets you schedule appointments, meetings, activities or events. These items can be one-time or recurring, and last one hour or one week.
Client/Server — a LAN (local area network) configuration in which one or more computers (servers) provide services to users’ computers (clients).
Contacts — the folder that contains information on your business or personal contacts: names, phone numbers, email addresses, faxes, and much more.
Conversation Thread — a message and all its replies. You can view messages in any mail folder by conversation thread. This is especially useful in public folders where an entire conversation can be linked and read in order.
Date Navigator — a small calendar that appears on the calendar screen which can be used to pick the date to display in the Appointment area.
Deleted Items — the folder where deleted items are moved. Deleted items remain in this folder until they are either manually deleted, automatically deleted according to a predetermined time frame (e.g. seven days), or archived.
Drafts — the folder where draft messages are saved. Outlook automatically saves a draft copy of any incomplete message every three minutes.
Global Address Book — this database contains a list of user names, email addresses, phone numbers and departmental information. The KU global address book contains information for all University faculty, staff and students with a registered email address on the Lawrence campus and at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
IMAP — Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) is a standard protocol for accessing email. Email stored on an IMAP server can be accessed from a computer at home, a computer at the office, and a laptop computer while traveling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth between these computers. If you need to access your email from more than one location, Information Technology highly recommends using IMAP. Programs that support IMAP include Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, and Eudora Pro. IMAP requires a constant connection to the email server while you are accessing your email. If you are interested in learning more technical details about IMAP go to www.imap.org.
Inbox — the folder where your new email arrives and where you create and manage mail messages.
InfoBar — an informational line that appears below the toolbar on a message form. The InfoBar provides information about what has occurred or what the user needs to do with a message. When you reply to a message containing an InfoBar, then a note appears in the InfoBar indicating the date and time that you replied.
Information viewer — the section of an Outlook window displaying a specific type of item. Each folder has an Information viewer that displays information regarding that folder.
Item — any piece of information created in Outlook, such as an email message, a contact, or an appointment.
Journal — the folder that keeps a historical record of all your Outlook activities. Items can be automatically or manually recorded.
Microsoft Outlook Express — free email program with basic email features including Internet news. Recommended for users who receive a minimal number of messages. This program does not offer any calendar features, but does allow access to LDAP directories. It uses either the POP3 or IMAP protocols, and runs on both Windows and Macintosh machines.
Notes — the folder where you create and store notes.
Outbox — the folder where messages created offline or have a delayed delivery are stored until they are sent. When they are sent the messages are automatically moved to the Sent Items folder.
Outlook Bar — a toolbar that contains shortcuts to frequently used folders in Outlook.
Outlook Today — the folder that allows you to see your day at-a-glance by displaying your appointments for the next few days, the number of new messages in your Inbox, and other folders and a list of your tasks.
Outlook Web Access (OWA) — a web site accessible with any Javascript-enabled browser that provides access to email, calendaring and public folders on the Exchange server. OWA at KU is at http://www.ku.edu/exchange/owa/.
Personal folders — a folder that you create for your personal use. Personal folders are stored on your computer’s hard drive rather than on the Exchange server.
POP — Post Office Protocol (POP) is a standard protocol for accessing email. Email accessed using a program (or client) that supports POP will be downloaded to your computer and no longer maintained on the server. If you only check your email from one location, and need the ability to work offline, you might want to consider using a POP supported program like Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator or Eudora Light.
Preview pane — an area within the Inbox Information viewer that contains previews of received messages.
Public folders — folders created to share information with others. The owner of a public folder can set permissions so that only a select group of people can read, post, edit and delete information; or a public folder can be set to be available to anyone on the Exchange system.
Sent Items — the folder where copies of messages that have been sent are stored.
TaskPad — a section of the Calendar that displays a list of all current tasks from your task list.
Tasks — the folder where you create and manage your tasks.
If you need further assistance please call the IT Customer Service Center at 864-8080.
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