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Make the To-Do Bar work for you!

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We’ve previously blogged about the To-Do Bar in Outlook. Here are a few tips that show how this little slice of screen real estate is more than just a static list; in fact, you can easily customize it to reflect the priorities in your work day and week.

First off, don’t get rid of the To-Do Bar when you need more screen space on a smaller monitor! You can easily minimize it by clicking the clip_image004 at the top of the To-Do Bar. You can then conveniently expand and collapse it while working that way, instead of banishing it completely by turning it off. All of these options are available on the View menu:

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Now, how about the general appearance of the To-Do Bar? You have the option to show the Date Navigator (which is the handy calendar at the top of the Bar), a selection of appointments and meetings from your Calendar, and the Task List at the bottom.

You can make changes to display any or all of these items in the To-Do Bar Options dialog box. You can right-click on the To-Do Bar header or go to the Views menu, then choose ‘To-Do Bar’ followed by ‘Options’.

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Customizing the Task List

The real workhorse of the To-Do Bar is the task list. Here are a few tips for customizing the To-Do Bar’s task list that may make it more efficient for you.

You’ll make changes to your task list from the Customize View: To-Do Task List dialog box.

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Open the View: To-Do Task List dialog box

Right-click the column heading of the To-Do list and then click Custom.

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I like to show the Icons column in my task list to easily show the type of item the entry is. For example, it can show if an entry is a Task or a Mail item, or if you’re a person who flags RSS items during the day then you’ll be able to see them differentiated in the To-Do Bar.

Customizing the task list is all about seeing more information, and you can choose the different information included with each entry on the list. I like to keep the due date for an item visible, so I display Due Date on my task list. I also like to display icons to indicate the type of item listed.

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Add the Icon column to the task list

  1. Right-click the column heading of the To-Do list and then click Custom.
  2. In the Customize View: To-Do Task List dialog box, click Fields (columns are also called fields in Outlook).
  3. In the Available Fields list, select Icon and then click Add.
  4. To position the column where you want it, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons.
  5. Click OK.

If you don’t see the column or field, that you want to add, click the arrow to see more under Select available fields from for extra choices.

Change the number of lines for entries in the task list

You can also see more in the task list is by viewing the information on multiple lines.

  1. Right-click the column heading of the To-Do list and then click Custom.
  2. In the Customize View: To-Do Task List dialog box, choose the number of lines you want displayed from the Maximum number of lines in compact mode dropdown list.

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Filter the To-Do Bar to just show tasks

For some of you, flags may have a whole different meaning, and the fact that the To-Do Bar is cluttered with your flagged mail and flagged contacts may not be working for you. Here is a solution: filter the To-Do Bar to just show tasks.

  1. Click on Arranged By: in the To-Do Bar and then select Custom.
  2. Customize View: To-Do Task List dialog box, click Filter.
  3. In the next dialog, click the Advanced tab, and click the Fields button in the middle of the dialog, and then choose All Mail Fields->Message Class.
  4. Create the criteria "Message Class" "Contains" "Task" and add it to the list.
  5. Click Ok, then Ok again to exit the dialog.

Reset the To-Do Bar to the default settings

If after playing around while customizing the To-Do Bar you decide to go back to the default view in the task list, here’s how you do it:

  1. Click the column heading of the To-Do task list, and then click Custom.
  2. In the Customize View: To-Do Task List dialog box, click Reset Current View.

There are many ways you can customize the To-Do Bar and task list so that you have quick access to the information you need while you’re working. Give it a try!

Laurie Hughes
Outlook UA writer

Posted: Friday, January 25, 2008 8:34 PM by outblog

Comments

Guy Burstein said:

Thanks, very helpful.

Is there any way to select an appointment from the To Do Bar and mark it for not to be shown at the To Do Bar? Some appointments in my calendar are just place holders, and I don't want them in this list.

Please advise,

Guy

# January 25, 2008 4:10 PM

GoodThings2Life said:

The To Do Bar is by far my favorite feature in Outlook 2007. That said, I'd like to take a moment to offer a suggestion for the Outlook To Do Bar (for Service Pack 2, perhaps?).

It's already possible to create tasks quickly using the To Do bar, but why not calendar appointments? My thoughts:

1. Have the option to RIGHT CLICK on the calendar day and have a selection of New Appointment.

2. Have a Task List-esque entry field that automatically prompts for Date/Time when you press Enter (along with an "Advanced Options" that opens the full appointment window).

3. Be able to Double-Click a blank space on the "Upcoming Appointments" list to open the "New Appointment" window.

Any/All of these solutions would be great improvements over a feature that is already fantastic! :)

# January 26, 2008 9:46 AM

Andrew said:

Is there a way to make the To Do Bar show calendar events from a calendar other than the main calendar? Preferably, I'd like it to show events from two different calendars I use.

# January 29, 2008 11:58 PM

outblog said:

Andrew: The To Do Bar only shows appointments and meetings from your default calendar. There is no way to configure it to show items from a different calendar.

I'll make sure your suggestion is recorded as part of our planning for a future release.

--Ryan

# January 30, 2008 1:32 PM

Jakub Anderwald said:

I think everyone said it already, but please allow the To-Do bar to show all-day events as well. After you've removed the "Mailbox" home page with collumns for appointments & tasks, there's no good way of having an overview of the calendar apart from to-do bar.

# January 31, 2008 10:02 AM

Nathan said:

Is there any way to make a different calendar the default so that the to-do bar references it without changing the default data file? I use an exchange server at work and on my personal laptop ever since I installed my exchange account I have lost access to my personal appointments on the to-do bar on my laptop.

# February 1, 2008 10:23 AM

Milly Staples - MVP Outlook said:

To Nathan - you cannot split the default store into different folders.  If Exchange is your default, you cannot split out the calendar from your Personal Folders to show in the To Do Bar.  You would need to change your default mail store to accomplish that.  It is an all or nothing proposition.

# February 1, 2008 12:21 PM

Kurt said:

Back to the to-do bar calendar issue.  

I have two calendars, the "default" one tied to my .pst file (which I used to use), and the one on the remote Exchange 2007 server (which I now use).

While I can seem to make the remote calendar be the default one; as it's now on top (and displayed by default when viewing the the calendar view), I still can't ge the to-do bar to show events from the other calendar which resides on the server and is also synced with my smartphone in real time.

I guess Microsoft missed the "big picture" here.

# February 2, 2008 1:41 PM

Doug said:

The main thing I wish the To-Do bar would do is to navigate to emails in the email list when you select a to do item that is actually a flagged email. Double clicking just opens the email, but I want to go to the conversation thread with the flagged email.

# February 4, 2008 1:17 PM

steve said:

how can i get/download the "to do Bar" . i have office 2003

# February 7, 2008 11:39 AM

outblog said:

Hi Steve,

The ToDo Bar is an Outlook 2007-only feature and is not available in Outlook 2003.

Thanks!

-michael

-Outlook Program Manager

# February 7, 2008 11:55 AM

Peter Breeze said:

I have items on my calendar that are not on the to do bar. Some of them are all day event, some are not. They are all in my default folder. What is the criteria for calender items to be on the to do bar?

# February 10, 2008 9:08 PM

Kirk Justus said:

I have a question about the To-Do Bar.  It appears to be the next incarnation of the Task Pad.  I use it often, but am frustrated by the loss of a particular bit of functionality.

In Outlook 2003 (and 02 and 00) the task pad defaulted to Today's tasks.  Which is great for monitoring my day.  But these earlier versions had a better setting that no longer exists.  In the VIEW menu, TASKPAD VIEW submenu, I could select ACTIVE TASKS FOR SELECTED DAYS.

The taskpad would then show me only the work that was active for today (Like it does now), but would also allow me to select a day or range of days in the future to see what my workload was on those days.

It that feature still available? If not that might be nice to add it back in in the next service pack.  It was a killer option for people who manage their time and workloads.

# February 11, 2008 5:43 PM

Jim T said:

Is there a way to get the calendar in Outlook 2007 to have the box format of 2003? The column look is too narrow to show all day events and the to-do-bar does not show the events either.

# February 14, 2008 3:09 PM

Nick brearley said:

Is there anyway of creating a template for a group of to-do tasks as part of a bigger recurring job?

# February 19, 2008 6:12 AM

Donal O'Sullivan said:

Is there any way to get the To-Do Bar to also look at archived email? Because of our corporate policy on InBox size, I have to archive my emails daily. When the emails with flags are archived, they disappear off the To-Do Bar.

# February 19, 2008 10:43 AM

Jeramie said:

+1 for the to-do bar showing events from ALL calendars

+1 for showing all day events

From the amount of posts on these two topics alone, I'd hope it'd be a top priority to get out in an update soon.  Thanks for the attention to the matter.

# February 24, 2008 4:26 PM

cbellero said:

For those that have problems with reminders and the to-do bar...

I found under Tools - Account Settings - Date Files, that I had two "Personal Folders".  They both had the same name and filename.  One was designated default, the other not.  I deleted the non-default one and restarted outlook.  Now everything works great!

Just be careful.  This might lead to BCM not working... :(  I just fixed one problem and created another.

# February 24, 2008 8:02 PM

Kivi said:

When minimized, the To-Do Bar shows just one appointment.  Which is great, but the appointment it shows is the one you're already at.  It would be better if it showed the next appointment you need to get to.

# February 25, 2008 12:28 PM

Judith said:

ALL DAY EVENTS, can they be shown?

Any chance we can get a separator between calendar items for today, tomorrow, etc?

# February 28, 2008 5:11 PM

Val said:

Is there a way to see "All Day Events" in the TO-DO bar? I like everything else about it.

# March 4, 2008 9:26 AM

Richard Thomas said:

My To-Do Bar shows 4 PAST MEETINGS at the top of the list. Two were two days ago, and Two were yesterday. I only want to see today and forward scheduled items!

# March 6, 2008 6:58 PM

Richard Thomas said:

Also, would like to click on a future day in the To Do Bar calendar, and NOT jump to the Calendar view (replacing my mail view), but have the events for that day (and forward) on the To-Do Bar. (Another annoying behavior). Thanks

# March 6, 2008 7:03 PM

Tom R said:

I would like to filter tasks so they will show on the to do bar if the start date is on or before the date I select on the To-Do Bar calendar.

I am almost able to make it work by creating Advanced Filter "Start Date on or before Today", but that does not show tasks that are to start on a future date when that date is selected on the calendar.

Also there appears to be no way to see what acceptable values are for the condition specified.

# March 24, 2008 12:32 PM

Roy M said:

I have just had a microsoft exchange account added for work and now the todo bar shows my exchange calendar instead of my personal calendar. How do I change the todo bar settings so that it always shows my personal calendar.

# April 6, 2008 9:47 PM

Varun M said:

My outlook To-Do bar setting seems to be very delicate. I used to have the tasks show up as Today, Tomorrow, This Week, and Next Week. I tried to change the Sort by setting and now I cant get back the Relative sorting, but am getting hard dates (April 14th, April 15th, etc). Can you help!

# April 15, 2008 11:22 AM

Anup said:

Is there any way I can show the items from an internet calendar in the to-do bar? I really like the overlaid view in the calendar. It would have been nice if I can see the same entries in the to-do bar as well.

# May 14, 2008 9:07 AM
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