Microsoft Outlook 2003 [OLD VERSION]

I really like the changes. The ability to make it so that it doesn't appear on your Windows taskbar when minimized is my favorite. This leaves room for other applications and then Outlook is easily accessed from the task manager.

I also like the new look and interface. It is more efficient and I like being able to read more of an Email when I select it. I also like how it hides graphics unless you want to view them. This greatly speeds up my Email reading time. And the new junk mail filter is wonderful. Again, it speeds up my Email reading time again. My biggest gripe is that when a new Email comes in it creates a window in the task manager (that's not my gripe, I like that), but when you read the message, you need to change Email messages in order for the envelope to go away. I keep opening up Email to see new messages only to find that I'm still viewing the last new one that came in. Maybe in the future service pack that I know will come out.

The ability to view unread messages also speeds up Email reading time. And having a "favorite folders" view pane is very nice, again making my day more efficient.

Another great benefit is to allow others to know you are busy without requiring an Exchange server. YAY!!!

If you don't upgrade your entire Office product to Office 2003, at least upgrade the Outlook portion of it. Outlook was originally designed to make your day more efficient, and they have finally come out with a version that does just that. Highly recommended, especially for those who use Outlook a lot!


Big improvement, new folder features are great   April 16, 2004
Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA)
32 out of 35 found this review helpful

I use Outlook for managing tasks, contacts, mail and schedules. The new 2003 version is a vast improvement, at least in look and feel. The folder management is revised to split the window on the left to "favorite folders" and "all folders." Folders are a great way to organize and store emails, so this is a welcome change.

Then, the mail is organized by "today", "yesterday", and then the days of the week and back weeks. This helps to organize and trim out the inbox, which can get cluttered. For this attractive new feature alone, it's worth upgrading.

The look of the user interface is consistent with Windows XP, with the snazzy shaded bars. Nice to work with. Other improvements --the calendar also has been expanded, and tasks and contacts have new features, too. For example, the mail reading pane is larger, less scrolling required (yay!) and you can organize messages by subject thread to delete an entire series. Pretty cool.

If you are a dedicated Outlook user, the upgrade is well worth it, in my opinion.


Upgraded and happy   October 17, 2005
M. Bhatia (Chicago, IL USA)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Outlook 2003 was a huge difference from my previous version. It is very user friendly if you just install and get going. I purchased an Outlook book to help me get going, and it was great.

Pros- faster from contact to email to notes. friendlier to my pop3 email. you can get more done faster when it comes to organizing. Lots of good plugins online.

Cons-not backwards compatible with the rest of the office suite. If all you want is outlook to stand alone, it is great as a single upgrade. If you want to use it with word and the rest, upgrade the whole office package.

Hope this helped.

Marty


E-mail is once again an enjoyable EXPERIENCE!   October 22, 2003
Andre Da Costa (Jamaica W.I.)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Outlook, is so revamped, this alone is a worthy upgrade. Three panes in Outlook 2003 make e-mail an enjoyable experience. The Mail Pane holds all of the necessary tools found in prior versions of Outlook such as the Outlook Bar, and the different folders such as inbox, calendar, etc. The second pane gives an expanded view of the different items listed in the Mail Pane, like your incoming mail, contacts and calendar, which makes reading these information resources easier on the eye and productive by providing a better view. Reading your e-mail in the third pane (Preview Pane), the user views the message in portrait layout, more content is seen compared to prior versions. Its even better to view e-mails with "Clear Type" turned on for Windows XP users. Other features such as improved Virus and Spam protection makes Outlook 2003 a great upgrade. Outlook is not placed on the desktop by default, it can also be minimized to the system tray in Windows, for users connected to an Exchange Server, this displays all the network settings available.


Wow!   March 23, 2004
Daniel Ruiz (Rahway, NJ United States)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is by far the best Outlook version Microsoft has ever released. Yes it is true the integration is not so good if you only have Office 2000 (Word, Excel, etc...) however the product is incredibly flexible. I use it for personal use, however my fiancé runs her own online business and we get TONS of emails from clients... a task which was extremely challenging to keep up with prior to this new version. You can simply manage your emails in a very neat and orderly fashion. Never mind the selection of setting up Hotmail accounts! Outlook allowed us to manage our personal, business, and Hotmail accounts with out the need of multiple profiles. Another advantage is the improvement of managing your follow-up emails. The application creates a Follow-up folder where all of your follow up emails are easily accessible. If you are running Windows XP you can make Outlook look really nice for cosmetic purposes and really enjoy the new look. Hope this review helps you with your buying decision. :)