The Outlook 2003 interface

The Outlook 2003 interface is split up in vertical sections when you first set up an email account. On the left you will find a folder tree (inbox, Sent Items, etc). In this tree your messages are stored. In the center you will find the list of emails that belongs to the folder currently selected in the left pane. The email contents are displayed in the rightmost pane. This vertical layout can be changed to the 'classic' layout by selecting View > Reading Pane > Bottom.

The folder tree on the left side of the screen offers an overview of your email account. There are tro rows of folders, Favorite Folders and All Mail Folders.

• The Deleted Items folder contains messages that you deleted.
• When you start typing a message, but don't have time or inspiration to finish it, you can save your message. Saved messages are stored in the Drafts folder.
• The Inbox is where your new messages arrive.
• The Junk Email contains junk emails.
• The Outbox is used to store messages before they are sent. Outlook can be configured to send messages directly, or at regular intervals, like every 5 minutes. Messages that are waiting to be sent are placed in the Outbox.
• The Sent Items folder contains all email messages that have been actually sent.
• The Search Folders folder contains three subfolders: For Follow Up, Large Mail and Unread Mail. These folders aren't actually folders. They are selection mechanisms. Unread Mail will yield a list of all unread emails and For Follow Up will yield a list of emails that need answering (as indicated by you, as you will see later in this Outlook tutorial).

You can add folders yourself by right-clicking on an existing folder and choosing New Folder... from the menu that appears. Extending the tree structure with your own folders is a good way to archive your email messages. The entire Personal Folders folder structure is stored in a PST file. This file can be used to backup and restore your email archive. More about this later in this Outlook email tutorial.

Outlook allews you to drag email messages between panes. You can for example drag an email message from the Inbox list in the center pane to one of your custom folders in the left pane.