Oh Boy
Oh boy, you give them the appetizer and they want the whole meal (just kidding!)
Is there a way to set the new windows to come up without the folder list without changing the default for my Outlook startup?
This one takes a little work:
From the Outlook Bar -- There is no one-step way to open a new "plain" window that displays a folder without the Outlook Bar or Folder List. However you can create a shortcut (in the manner described above) that opens a new plain window with the default folder. From there you can switch to whatever folder you want using the View menu or a tool bar button (see the thread at
http://www.gettingthingsdone.com/fo...ght=tabs&sid=c079168a873867785e27ba55dec84a99). To do this, use the following format in your shortcut "location of the item":
"C
rogram FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice10OUTLOOK.EXE" /Folder The /Folder switch creates a plain window. Unfortunately you cannot combine the /Folder switch with other switches, so you have to use a two-step process to open the desired folder.
From the Tool Bar -- Here we need a little macro to do the job, but we can accomplish exactly what you are looking for. Below is a macro to open the Contacts folder in a new window without the Outlook Bar or Folder List, but you can modify to open other default folders. Follow the usual macro creation process:
1) Back-up your pst file!!!!! (in case of any unexpected results).
2) In Outlook set your macro security to low or medium (Tools | Macro | Security on the menu bar).
3) Open the VBA Editor (Tools | Macro | Visual Basic Editor on the menu bar).
4) In the Project Explorer (upper left window pane -- open from the View menu if it's not there),
.....a) Right-click on the Modules folder
.....b) Select Insert and then Module from the drop-down
5) In the Module window that opens, copy and paste all of the code that I have posted between the horizontal lines below.
6) Close the Module window.
7) From the menu bar, select File | Save VbaProject.OTM.
8)Close the VBA Editor.
9) From the Outlook menu bar, select
Tools | Macro | Macros.
10) In the Macros dialog box, select the "OpenContacts" macro and click "Run".
Here's the code:
_____________________________________________________________
Code:
Option Explicit
Public Sub OpenContacts()
Dim objApp As Outlook.Application
Dim objExplorer As Outlook.Explorer
Dim objNS As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim myFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder
Set objApp = New Outlook.Application
Set objNS = objApp.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Set myFolder = objNS.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts)
myFolder.Display
Set objExplorer = objApp.ActiveExplorer
With objExplorer
If .IsPaneVisible(Pane:=olFolderList) = True Then
.ShowPane Pane:=olFolderList, Visible:=False
End If
If .IsPaneVisible(Pane:=olOutlookBar) = True Then
.ShowPane Pane:=olOutlookBar, Visible:=False
End If
End With
End Sub
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To call the macro from your Tool Bar (similar to the hyperlink procedure above):
1) Right-click somewhere on your tool bar and select "Customize" from the dropdown.
2) From the "Commands" tab, select "Macros" in the "Categories" list.
3) Select Project1.OpenContacts in the "Commands" list and drag it to the Tool Bar.
4) Right-click the new button, and enter a new Name, and then press Enter. If you want the button to open with a keyboard shortcut, insert an ampersand (&) character before the character in the name that you want to use as the shortcut. Outlook will assign Alt+character to that button.
5) Click Close in the "Customize" dialog box to finish adding the hyperlink button.
Is there a way to pick up the folder icon rather than the standard toolbar button icons?
There is no way to grab the "standard" folder icon. However, you can customize the icon on the Tool Bar button:
1) Customize the Tool Bar and right-click on the button you want to change;
2) Select "Change Button Image" from the dropdown, and select an image from the (meager) collection presented; or
3) Select "Edit Button Image" and make your own icon with the Button Editor.
Warning!!! Playing with this will burn up more than two minutes.
Hope this explanation is clear enough.
Regards.....Bill Kratz
Maybe not too clever to you, but I'm sure glad you shared - I had no idea I could do this, and it's going to be a big help! Thanks!