Use Office 2007 More Effectively

Search for Specific Data

Works in: Access

Access 2007 has plenty of features that make it an even more robust database than previous versions, but one of its most popular new features is one of its most minor: a new all-purpose search box that sits at the bottom of the window when you're looking at records in a table or form.

As you type in the search box, Access jumps to the next matching value. If you don't find what you're searching for on the first try, press Enter to skip to the next match. Yes, Access has a ton of more-powerful searching tools, but this one beats them all in speed and sheer convenience.

Search Your E-Mail Quickly

Works in: Outlook

Every e-mailer knows that a huge amount of important information gets lost amidst the vast expanses of Outlook folders. Fortunately, now you can dig it out quickly with Outlook's Instant Search feature.

To use it, simply pick any folder that holds sent or saved e-mail. At the top is an easy-to-miss search box. As you type a search term into the box, Outlook will begin scanning for matches. Outlook searches every part of the message for a match, including the sender and recipient e-mail addresses, the title, and the full message body.

You can narrow the search's focus by clicking the down arrow just to the right of the search box; doing so produces several boxes where you can fill in specific search criteria, such as the sender's e-mail address.

Outlook's Instant Search works with only one folder at a time, but you can conduct wider-ranging searches with categorized folders. To see some examples, browse to the Personal Folders\Search Folders group in the Outlook mail tree. Inside you'll see a folder named Large Mail (for searching messages with huge attachments) and another named Unread Mail (for searching messages marked as unread). These searches work no matter where the mail is stored.

Color-Code Your E-Mail

Works in: Outlook

Outlook 2007 has gone category crazy. If you're working on different projects, dealing with different people, or just in need of a way to sort through a mass of e-mail, you can use Outlook categories to divide and conquer.

The easiest approach is to use one of Outlook's color categories. Just right-click an e-mail message and choose Categorize, then the color category. For example, if you choose Red Category, a large red square will appear next to the selected message.

You can use the colors to represent whatever you want. But if you want to file your e-mail in a logical manner, why not create your own categories? To do so, right-click a message and choose Categorize, All Categories. In the resulting Color Categories window, click New. Pick a name and color for your category. You can also select a shortcut key for quickly placing e-mail messages into your new category.

Matthew MacDonald is the author of Excel 2007: The Missing Manual and Access 2007: The Missing Manual, published by O'Reilly Media.