Overall Outlook for 98 Is Mixed
I have mixed feelings about Outlook 98, the newest version of Microsoft’s personal information management, or PIM, and e-mail program.
Until June 30, you can download the full program for free at Microsoft’s Web site. As a high-minded supporter of competition and foe of monopoly practices, I say shame on Microsoft for once again gaining advantage over its competitors by using its enormous profits to subsidize free software. There aren’t that many companies left in the PIM market, and it will be hard for any of them to survive if they have to compete on these terms. The full-featured free version, unlike many trial programs, does not expire.
But the practical advisor in me says, “Grab Microsoft’s offer while you can.” Outlook 98 is an excellent piece of software, especially at its current price. After June 30, it will retail for $109, though the millions of people who own Microsoft Office or Outlook 97 will be able to download it at no charge.
Before you fire up your Web browser to download Outlook, be aware that the installation file is between 15 and 33 megabytes, depending on whether you already have Internet Explorer 4.01. For $9.95 shipping and handling, Microsoft will send you a CD-ROM with Outlook 98 and a “getting started” manual. If you don’t already have it, Outlook 98 will install Internet Explorer 4.01 on your machine, although you don’t have to use it as your default browser.
Outlook 98 shouldn’t be confused with Outlook Express, the free e-mail program included with Internet Explorer. Outlook 97, which was bundled with Microsoft Office 97, was an ambitious attempt to combine an e-mail program, calendar and database into a single application. But the program was difficult to use, slow and clunky.
Outlook 98 is a vast improvement.
I’m not usually gung-ho on multi-function programs. The biggest advantage is that you can combine your e-mail address book with other contact information.
As with all e-mail programs, it’s easy to automatically add someone to your address book when a message comes in. But with Outlook you can also add a phone number, address, fax number, Web address and any other contact information. There is also a note field where you can record detailed information about the person.
When you find someone in the contact portion of the program, you can click an icon to send an e-mail, or fax, or have the program dial the person’s phone number through your modem. If you have Microsoft Word, you can have Outlook load Word and enter the recipient’s address at the top of the letter.
I get a ton of e-mail, and my biggest problem (other than answering it all) is finding past messages. The program has a fast-find feature that lets you quickly search for a message based on the person’s name or the subject. A slower and more awkward advance-find feature lets you search for messages based on other text.
Another nice feature allows you to place the cursor on someone’s message and click-sort by name. The program then will automatically find all mail from that person.
Like other modern e-mail programs, Outlook 98 lets you send messages in HTML format, which means you can use bold, italics, color and a variety of type styles. You can also use special “stationery” to dress up your mail with graphics. You can attach files and choose from a variety of standard “signatures” to put at the bottom of each message.
*
The program includes a sophisticated rules wizard that lets you create filters to automatically organize your mail. Mail from my important contacts is now highlighted red. I also have filters that sort some mail into special folders. There is an automatic spam (junk mail) and adult-mail filter--but be careful how you use these as they are not 100% reliable and can sometimes filter messages that don’t fit either category.
Aside from its integration into the e-mail module, the contacts area of the program is similar to other PIMs. It comes with more than enough standard contact fields, but you can add fields and customize the input forms and where you view your contacts. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but when you’re looking at a person’s contact information, you can press an icon and, if you’re online, get a map to the address from Microsoft’s Expedia Web page.
The calendar program is pretty straightforward. You can view your schedule by month, day or week and make recurring or individual appointments.
There is a feature I don’t like: When in the month view, double clicking on a day brings up a place to record an all-day appointment, something few of us have. What I would prefer is a default that would bring up the day’s schedule so you can look at or enter appointments for any time of day. The calendar has an “invite others” feature that automatically sends an e-mail to people you wish to include in a meeting. If you cancel the meeting, you can use the program to send a cancellation notice.
*
Although Outlook 98 is a major improvement over its predecessor, I found it difficult to learn to use some of its more sophisticated features. The lack of a manual (on the download version) is a handicap, and the designers could have done a better job of presenting the many options in a more coherent fashion. No wonder there’s already a stack of books about the product, including, of course, “Outlook 98 for Dummies.”
Although no one else is offering a vast giveaway campaign, there are other PIM programs with integrated e-mail. The latest version of Packrat from Polaris Software (https://www.polarissoftware.com) has a well-integrated e-mail editor along with a sophisticated database and scheduling module. The program, which costs $99.95, is fast, small and highly customizable. You can download a 4.4-meg, 30-day trial version from the Polaris Web site. ACT and Goldmine also have e-mail integrated with contact management, but these programs are really sophisticated sales automation tools. Qualcomm now offers the Eudora Planner, but it is not yet integrated with its Eudora e-mail program.
Thanks to programs like these, I can now quickly find my editor’s phone number and my cousin’s e-mail address, but I still have trouble finding my keys in the morning.
*
Lawrence J. Magid can be reached via e-mail at magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld.com. On AOL, use keyword LarryMagid.
