Timely Tips APRIL 2009: Drag & Drop the "Right" Way

Many of you that have attended my live Taming E-mail and Finding an Extra Hour/Optimizing Outlook programs know that I extol the virtues of "drag & drop" in Microsoft Outlook. Basically, you can take any e-mail and "drag" the e-mail over to your calendar, task, notes, or contacts icon to convert the e-mail into one of those items, with virtually no keystroking. (Left-click the selected e-mail, hold the click, and drag the e-mail over to the appropriate icon, then "drop it" on the icon - this was a previously featured Timely Tip, but for the many new subscribers, that is a quick replay of how this works.)

In the past, I indicated that the only issue with "drag & drop" is that any attachments to the e-mail do not move with the message. But, thanks to Scott Kerr of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, who attended my recent Affordable Meetings Taming E-mail session in Chicago, I've got a new wrinkle on the "drag & drop" routine. Scott showed me by "right-clicking and holding the message" (rather than "left-clicking and holding") when I drag & drop, that when I actually drop the message onto the desired function (calendar, tasks, contacts, etc.), I get a short list of options, including "Copy Message with Attachments" and "Move Message with Attachments". Thus, when you "right click, drag & drop", you can now move related attachments too!! Very handy if you have a document you need to refer to in that new task or calendar item you just created.

Now, of course, if you start using the "Copy Message with Attachments" option, you will be posting that attachment in two places in your Outlook - keep this in mind if you have limited memory storage in your account! I'd recommend going back to the original message and removing the attachment so you only have it stored in one place in your Outlook. And, if you use the "Move Message with Attachment" option, remember that the original e-mail will now disappear from your inbox - keep that in mind if you like to file messages in subfolders for later reference.

Still, this is a VERY cool enhancement to my past demonstrations in this area, and I encourage all of my Outlook users to test this one out and start using it when appropriate - yet another great keystroking time saver!




Now Using OUTLOOK 2007

YES, I've finally UPGRADED to MS Outlook 2007!

I know a few of you have prodded me for a bit on this upgrade, and I have finally done this. (To note: I had a few key clients that were asking me to hold back while they were still using Outlook 02/03. Also, I firmly believe that you should resist upgrading software until it has been out on the market for at least 6 months, while the developers work out the bugs!)

What is interesting is that I've figured out a way for me to still hold programs using the Outlook 02/03 version, so if your company is still working on this platform, we can do that too!! But any of you that are thinking about having an Outlook 2007 time management or e-mail training, please let me know. I'll even give a special deal that includes a few copies of my new Taming E-mail paperback to the first five companies/groups that contact me about a new program or session (mention this newsletter).

IN CLOSING ...

You may find it hard to believe, but I actually had to cut out some content this month that I planned to share. With the launch in progress, we'll be making a few special announcements here and there as merited, but you can also count on another new Timely Tip here in May. Please feel free to forward this message on to your co-workers, friends, relatives, and colleagues to help spread the word of the new Taming E-mail paperback on Amazon and B&N.com (as well as the great programs coming up), and keep sharing those great ideas and comments.
Have a wonderful spring, and until next time, Stay Timely!