Outlook Training: Outlook Web Access Options
If you use Outlook Web Access, you know that it’s a great way to access e-mail away from the office. But do you know that you can do more than just check your e-mail with this tool? Let’s talk about some of the advanced things you can do with Outlook Web Access.
Note: This article is written for Outlook Web Access using Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.
Out of Office Assistant
You left for vacation but in the rush to get things done you forgot to set up the Out of Office Assistant. Fortunately, you can also set this up using Outlook Web Access.
- Click the Options tab.
The Out of Office Assistant section is at the top of the screen. - Click the “I’m currently out of the office” option and enter a message in the text area.
Note that only one AutoReply will be sent to each sender. So if someone sends you multiple messages, they will only get the AutoReply once.
- Click Save and Close.
The changes are saved and take effect immediately.
The Out of Office Assistant will remain in effect until you turn it off, either in Outlook Web Access or from Outlook on your office computer.
Number of Items to Display
It’s easier to read e-mail-especially large volumes of it-when you can see lots of messages on the screen at a time. On the other hand, a screen with low resolution can only display a few messages at a time without having to scroll up and down. Whatever your preference, you can easily change the number of messages displayed on the screen at a time.
- Click the Options tab.
- Click the Number of items to display per page list arrow and select the number of items to display on one page.
- Click Save and Close.
This setting will remain the same the next time you log in to Microsoft Web Access.
Signature
You forgot to update the contact information in your signature before you left. You can automatically add a signature to outgoing messages, and even change and update the signature’s content.
- Click the Options tab.
- Click the “Automatically include my signature on outgoing messages” check box to begin adding your signature to messages.
Next, view the signature to make sure it contains the information you want to use. - Click the Edit Signature button. Change the text as necessary and click Save and Close.
The Edit Signature window closes. - Click Save and Close.
The Options tab closes and the signature will be included in all outgoing messages.
Other Options
There are many other settings under the Options tab in Outlook Web Access. Review the table below for descriptions of these options. 
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Out of Office Assistant | Turn the Out of Office Assistant on or off, and enter a message to be included in the Out of Office reply. |
| Messaging Options | Choose how you want to work with messages in the Inbox and receive new messages; add your signature to messages and edit the signature; choose the default font you want to use. |
| Reading Pane Options | Choose when you want to mark unread messages that are displayed in the Reading Pane as read. |
| Spelling Options | Define how spelling is checked in your messages (I recommend you turn this feature on!) |
| Email Security | Control and update the security control that protects and encrypts your email correspondence. |
| Privacy and Junk Email Protection | Define how you want Outlook Web Access to control Junk Email. |
| Date and Time Formats | Choose how dates and times are displayed, and choose the time zone you want to use to display the time. |
| Calendar Options | Choose how you want to display the days and weeks in the calendar. |
| Reminder Options | Specify if you want reminders to appear through Outlook Web Access. |
| Contract Options | Check names first in the Global Address List or Contacts. |
| Recover Deleted Items | This will recover items that have recently been emptied from the Deleted Items folder. |
Melissa Peterson
Senior Author, CustomGuide
Learn On Demand
CustomGuide Microsoft Outlook Training
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