Outlook is terrible - Do I smash up the system or persevere?

If profanities were allowed I'd have used them all already.

Outlook is an utter piece of s**t.

Out of office replies - Why not just one button for me to click and turn them on?

All instructions are telling me to click on 'Tools'. I don't seem to have 'Tools'. A colleague told me to click the little black arrow at top left to drop down a menu with 'Out of office assistant' on it - nothing of the sort on there.

Utter, utter s**t.

In fact - I'm taking this out of 'Computer Help' and putting it in 'Rant' because I don't care about the answer anymore. If anyone needs to read my emails they'll have to come into my office and open the damn thing up.

I'm astonished at how rubbish Outlook is. Actually, I'm not.

Pen, paper and telephone - that'll do me.

Forget the title, I'm not persevering, I'm just not going to bother. Heap of s**t.

a reply to: and14263

I used it briefly at home as part of a package I bought but I hated it and half the time it didn't function properly. It is used at work for email and I also think it isn't great.

We had a presentation from a Google for Work Partner (Drive, Documents, Slides etc) recently and it looks better but requires all participants using gmail and in application it was tedious and didn't load the interactive content as it should. Though it looks like the way forward in business, Jaguar and some high end companies use it. When the snags are ironed out I imagine it will work well, though I have never liked Gmail so far, they should improve that service.

originally posted by: and14263
Utter, utter s**t.

In fact - I'm taking this out of 'Computer Help' and putting it in 'Rant' because I don't care about the answer anymore.

LOL, star and flag for this gem of a quote alone.

We've all been there, the exasperated moment when enough is enough, that moment when all logic goes out the window and you just want to smash whatever unlucky item happens to be in your hand.

This is the time you abandon Windows forever, download Ubuntu ISO (link below), burn to DVD, boot from DVD, libre office comes installed as standard, mozilla Thunderbird will replace Outlook. You will be happy.

Click on "Get Ubuntu Desktop" when you go to this link

EDIT: Ah wait, you mention "a colleague" --- bummer, looks like you'll have to deal with it, if it's a work computer.

a reply to: socketdude

Yes, correct, I'm at work. In this job I cannot smash peripherals like I used to either.

With regards to Ubuntu - I agree, it's far superior. Although I seem to remember bending a keyboard to within an inch of its life one day whilst trying to find out how to install something really simple on my Raspberry Pi Linux system, granted that was Raspbian though and not Ubuntu.

I'm just not a computer person. I can type fast and do some things but the modern things like Outlook and Excel... Thankfully Google usually has the answers.

a reply to: and14263

You're doing well if you're not a computer person yet own a raspberry pi!

Yeah, linux can be a steep learning curve, but once you get down the "essentials"; computing becomes fun again; a world with so many new doors open.

But back on topic, yeah Outlook is a disgusting little bastard.

On Outlook > Search Tools > Search Options > Quick Access Toolbar > Automatic Replies > Add > OK

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

Thanks. I can't find any of these options/menus such as 'Search Tools'.

Someone ended up right clicking the top where it says 'Ignore/Cleanup/Junk' etc and 'Customise Quick Access Toolbar' - the option of auto replies was then added and appeared top left.

So now in effect I have a one press activation.

Sounds like what you're instructing but slightly different.

Cheers.

a reply to: theabsolutetruth

Hey thanks for adding the pics etc - much appreciated.

a reply to: socketdude

A friend educated me on the joys of the Pi, I can't do much with it. Excellent remarks on Outlook. I think Bill Gates would be proud of this thread.

a reply to: and14263Can you not use some other browser, Firefox or Opera?

Partially the "new" design all office products and paint etc got some years ago is responsible in my eyes. When a person, that has been around computers 25+ years, sits in front of his machine not knowing where crucial functions are hidden on the GUI, then the GUI is useless.

I once installed OpenSuse10.3 on his rig and he was amazed. Went good for half a year and then problems with office file type format arose and he was resistant to my explanations how to resolve it and so I installed him XP on a second drive and he would boot up XP for office and Suse for everything else at first. 60y+ DualBootDad he slowly settled back to XP because after some time he got annoyed.
Although he said that if the office problem would not be, he´d stayed with linux. I just rolled my eyes at that comment....


a reply to: Ceeker63
He´s at work and I bet he has running a version of thunderbird/comparable good email client at home for long.

I am stuck with using it due to business reasons, however it is without doubt the sorriest POS software I have
every had the displeasure to use.

Worse than that is Microsoft's subscription system for Office 365. One would think that a company like MS would
have some clue about running an accounts receivable and subscription system.. HA!

Back in the dark ages of computing I had 15 programmers working for me.. I had a BIG poster on the wall..

KISS! Keep it simple stupid! The bit twiddlers at MS have not a clue about that principle.

a reply to: Ceeker63

It's not browser based it's the email client. I have @hotmail through a browser.

a reply to: verschickter

Thunderbird is what I used to use. I also set it up on my old man's system but he changed computers and is now scratching his head over Windows 8... Let's not even go there!

XP is by far the best of a dodgy bunch. 3.1 was nice too.

a reply to: and14263

Forget the title, I'm not persevering, I'm just not going to bother.

Your going to not like me much for this but: you'd be better off using Google to help you master the damn thing and then become a resource for others that are having a hard time.

You'll do it because you have to this time, once you succeed you'll do it because you want to do it next time.

Accrue power.

a reply to: Bybyots

I did Google it but couldn't find 'Tools' anywhere! Lol.

a reply to: and14263

Hey Brother,

I don't know if you've got it worked out yet...

I used to be a system smasher, for real. My last system-smash was an HP DV-whatever. I used my head. To smash it. That was in, like 2009. So I really get where you are coming from.

If you are still working on it? Microsoft has very good educational materials. Please don't be afraid to use them. I bet they have a series on Outlook related to some certification. Please let me know if you come up empty handed and I will go search it out myself.

I've been through this type of stuff, and I anticipate that I will be going through even more of it til I die, so I really do understand.

Yep. Linux is great. Fortunately, I am through my embarrassing "OMFG Linux rules the world!" years, and I am more reasonable now. They are all the same #.

I'm in to Arch Linux, and I can tell you, even with the skills that I have developed, my Arch machines are franken-beasts, I don't know what the hell they are doing, but apparently they are awaiting the arrival of some messianic kerberos propagation server, or they want to be one, I'm not sure.

Suffice it to say that some systems are better at things that others aren't. Outlook is now meant to be part of Microsoft's "cloud", which is why it seems to be so #ed up. It would be less #ed for you if you could just continue to use your original hotmail account and build aliases on top of that, but I am sure that whatever is required from you at work prevents this from happening.

Microsoft's cloud is like the K-Mart of clouds, but sometimes you have to use it. The only way through, is through.

Gotta do the tutorials until you figure out how it works, and then you will probably find a way to be with it that is livable.

It'll get better. Hang in there.

Anyone still using outlook is just uninformed- it's utter bollocks.

I actually *pay* for email hosting now- something you can get free at any number of places.

Check out Zimbra. Works on any platform, public machine, etc- out of office actually works correctly (as do email filters), and it's got a decent calendar to boot.

a reply to: and14263
Earlybird is nice for x64.

Windows(h)8 ..... I declared to my family/friends that I will leave my fingers of their machine if win8 is running on it. Gladly whipe the # down to 7 if possible but not 8...
I do not know why I have this hard feelings against a damn piece of software but maybe it´s all the wasted time trying to find things I got on keystrokes before while getting embarassed before some friend that counts on my help with the issue. It´s tedious..

Back to the time of "turbo" buttons and locks on a rig ( 33MHz -> 44MHz ).....
Ever tried to install drivers for a color printer on 3.11? Easier then navigating through win8 for me...
Win98se... always got problems installing the FRITZ!card ISDN CAPI drivers if not done in a specific order. I dare you to eject cd tray while a file is still opened on the folder. Remember that?