WHY? WHY? did Microsoft render shortcuts in Outlook 2003 useless?

It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

This feature was removed because almost no one used it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

Seriously? I admit I didn't use it, but only because I haven't been using
Outlook (went directly from Office for Windows 95 to Office 2003) but I would
have thought that anyone who had that feature would have been using it.

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

This feature was removed because almost no one used it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

You can add shortcuts to the Shortcut pane - you need to drag them from
Explorer though and shortcuts to the file system folders will open in
Explorer. You can add shortcuts to programs and files, as well as folders.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

That's what the user studies showed.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"IanRoy" wrote in message
...
Seriously? I admit I didn't use it, but only because I haven't been using
Outlook (went directly from Office for Windows 95 to Office 2003) but I
would
have thought that anyone who had that feature would have been using it.

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

This feature was removed because almost no one used it.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut
feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

It is true that you can add shortcuts by dragging them from Explorer; the
problem is that you cannot launch or open them (when they decide not to
disappear all by themselves) Items dragged and dropped in the shortcuts pane
are only good for the session you are currently in. When you reopen the
program, some or all of the shortcuts simply have disappeared and the ones
remaining have an Internet Explorer icon which cannot launch the program or
open the file. Microsoft should have really marketed the incredible
convenience that Outlook formerly offered. In my opinion, Outlook could have
completely replaced the need for "desktop".

"Diane Poremsky [MVP]" wrote:

You can add shortcuts to the Shortcut pane - you need to drag them from
Explorer though and shortcuts to the file system folders will open in
Explorer. You can add shortcuts to programs and files, as well as folders.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

I think Microsoft agreed with you and that's why they had the option through
all versions until 2003. It was their usage studies that finally convinced
them too few people used the feature to warrant its continued inclusion.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is true that you can add shortcuts by dragging them from Explorer; the
problem is that you cannot launch or open them (when they decide not to
disappear all by themselves) Items dragged and dropped in the shortcuts
pane
are only good for the session you are currently in. When you reopen the
program, some or all of the shortcuts simply have disappeared and the ones
remaining have an Internet Explorer icon which cannot launch the program
or
open the file. Microsoft should have really marketed the incredible
convenience that Outlook formerly offered. In my opinion, Outlook could
have
completely replaced the need for "desktop".

"Diane Poremsky [MVP]" wrote:

You can add shortcuts to the Shortcut pane - you need to drag them from
Explorer though and shortcuts to the file system folders will open in
Explorer. You can add shortcuts to programs and files, as well as
folders.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut
feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

What a shame. Thanks

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

I think Microsoft agreed with you and that's why they had the option through
all versions until 2003. It was their usage studies that finally convinced
them too few people used the feature to warrant its continued inclusion.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is true that you can add shortcuts by dragging them from Explorer; the
problem is that you cannot launch or open them (when they decide not to
disappear all by themselves) Items dragged and dropped in the shortcuts
pane
are only good for the session you are currently in. When you reopen the
program, some or all of the shortcuts simply have disappeared and the ones
remaining have an Internet Explorer icon which cannot launch the program
or
open the file. Microsoft should have really marketed the incredible
convenience that Outlook formerly offered. In my opinion, Outlook could
have
completely replaced the need for "desktop".

"Diane Poremsky [MVP]" wrote:

You can add shortcuts to the Shortcut pane - you need to drag them from
Explorer though and shortcuts to the file system folders will open in
Explorer. You can add shortcuts to programs and files, as well as
folders.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut
feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

the shortcuts disappear because outlook doesn't close properly - the file
they are added to isn't saved until outlook closes completely. If you add
shortcuts and close outlook and it closes completely (look in Task manager)
they will be there when you reopen it.

FWIW, the user studies showed that people didn;'t want to replace the
desktop - in fact, a large portion of outlook users open it, check mail and
close it soon after.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is true that you can add shortcuts by dragging them from Explorer; the
problem is that you cannot launch or open them (when they decide not to
disappear all by themselves) Items dragged and dropped in the shortcuts
pane
are only good for the session you are currently in. When you reopen the
program, some or all of the shortcuts simply have disappeared and the ones
remaining have an Internet Explorer icon which cannot launch the program
or
open the file. Microsoft should have really marketed the incredible
convenience that Outlook formerly offered. In my opinion, Outlook could
have
completely replaced the need for "desktop".

"Diane Poremsky [MVP]" wrote:

You can add shortcuts to the Shortcut pane - you need to drag them from
Explorer though and shortcuts to the file system folders will open in
Explorer. You can add shortcuts to programs and files, as well as
folders.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut
feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!

Perhaps Microsoft would be kind enough to give those of us who want it, an
add-in that gives us back this function.

"keezwyner" wrote:

What a shame. Thanks

"Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

I think Microsoft agreed with you and that's why they had the option through
all versions until 2003. It was their usage studies that finally convinced
them too few people used the feature to warrant its continued inclusion.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is true that you can add shortcuts by dragging them from Explorer; the
problem is that you cannot launch or open them (when they decide not to
disappear all by themselves) Items dragged and dropped in the shortcuts
pane
are only good for the session you are currently in. When you reopen the
program, some or all of the shortcuts simply have disappeared and the ones
remaining have an Internet Explorer icon which cannot launch the program
or
open the file. Microsoft should have really marketed the incredible
convenience that Outlook formerly offered. In my opinion, Outlook could
have
completely replaced the need for "desktop".

"Diane Poremsky [MVP]" wrote:

You can add shortcuts to the Shortcut pane - you need to drag them from
Explorer though and shortcuts to the file system folders will open in
Explorer. You can add shortcuts to programs and files, as well as
folders.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Outlook Tips: http://www.outlook-tips.net/
Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com
Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/


"keezwyner" wrote in message
...
It is totally inconceivable that they would render the best organizing
feature of Outlook completely useless. Why would you need shortcuts to
folders in a program that you are already in? With the shortcut
feature
pre-Outlook 2003, everything was at your fingertips within Outlook. I
seldom
left the program because I seldom had to. Someone, please EXPLAIN!