Using Tasks in Outlook

Create a task from the File menu

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Task.
2. In the Subject box, type a name for the task.
   
   Note: You have now entered enough information to create a task. The following steps are optional, but will help you better manage your tasks in Outlook.
    
3. On the Task tab, in the Actions group, click Save & Close or continue with the following steps to customize your task.
4. If you want, set the Start date and the Due date for the task. If you specify a Start date, the Due date field is automatically set to the same day. You can change the Due date field to any date that you want.
5. If you want to make the task recur, on the Task tab, in the Options group, click Recurrence.
6. In the Task Recurrence dialog box, click the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly) with which the task should recur, and then do one of the following:
   • Make the task recur based on a regular interval
     In the Recurrence pattern section, select the options for the frequency interval that you want. Do not select Regenerate new task, or the task will not recur at regular intervals.
   • Make the task recur based on completion date
     Select Regenerate new task, and in the box, type the amount of time after which a new task must be generated. Each time that you mark the task complete, a new task will be created based on your specifications.
     This is your best choice when you do not want the next reminder for a task to appear until the previous one is marked as complete. If you do not mark the item complete, the next reminder will never appear. For example, if you have a reminder to pay your utility bill on the 15th of each month and you do not mark the occurrence on April 15th as complete, in May you will still see the not yet completed April 15th task. Only after you mark the April 15th task as complete does the May 15th occurrence of the task appear.
7. Click OK to close the Task Recurrence dialog box.
8. If you want to add a reminder alert, select the Reminder check box, and then enter the date and time for the reminder.
9. On the Task tab, in the Actions group, click Save and Close.

Mark a Task Complete

1. Double-click the task to open it.
2. In the % Complete box, enter 100%.
   The Status and % Complete fields are linked. If you change the value in one field, the value in the other field also changes, according to the values in the following table.
    

   	Status		% Complete
   	Not Started		0
   	In Progress		1-99
   	Completed		100
   	Waiting on someone else		0-100
   	Deferred		0-100

Delegating a Task

1. To create a new task, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Task Request.
   To assign an existing task, in the task list, open the task you want to assign, and click Assign Task.
2. In the To box, enter the name of the person you want to assign the task to. To select the name from a list, click the To button.
3. For a new task, in the Subject box, type a task name. (In an existing task, the Subject box is already filled in.)
4. Select the due date and status options you want.
5. Select or clear the Keep an updated copy of this task on my task list check box and the Send me a status report when this task is complete check box.
6. If you want the task to repeat, click the Actions menu, click Recurrence, select the options you want, and then click OK.
7. In the body of the task, type instructions or information about the task.
8. Click Send .

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