How Long Does it Take to Learn Microsoft Outlook?

While some people have considered more training with Microsoft Outlook, many may not place a priority on training to improve skills for using an application that they already feel comfortable with using every day. Training to learn basic or intermediate skills with Outlook can take only a few hours but learning to take advantage of the advanced features and functions could take a few days. Outlook is a simple and accessible application, and because of most people’s familiarity with the email software, students should likely feel comfortable about learning how to expand their knowledge, which includes interfacing with Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint available through Microsoft 365. Advanced training could also help with learning about Outlook as a resource for helping to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace.

What is Microsoft Outlook?

Microsoft Outlookis among the most used email servers on the planet. However, Outlook provides more than email access. Outlook facilitates email communication, setting up contact lists for your organization, and using the calendar to organize business meetings and other events. It also serves as a web app manager that allows coordinating and integrating Microsoft Office applications like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for the workplace or personal use. Also, Microsoft Outlook does not share data collected for integrating Office applications within Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Outlook began as Hotmail in 1996 without any connection to Microsoft before the company purchased the email site and renamed it MSN Hotmail and eventually Windows Live Hotmail. The product became Outlook.com in 2012. As stated, Microsoft provides Outlook as the center for managing its software applications for mainly work settings and personal use. Outlook allows users to conveniently access the software needed for establishing an efficient working environment, allowing an organization to communicate through email or share content using the Web or the cloud through Microsoft 365. This includes sharing content from the Office software bundle that offers a variety of functions for word processing, building databases, organizing spreadsheets, or designing promotional material.

Read more about what Microsoft Outlook is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Microsoft Outlook?

Microsoft Outlook is mainly considered an email facilitator but also functions as an application manager for Office software programs provided through Microsoft 365. Outlook allows users to control emails using filters and folders, locate names in the address book, or schedule emails to respond automatically when the user is unavailable. Outlook also provides a calendar for organizing meetings, events, or project deadlines.

With being able to interface with other Microsoft Office applications, Outlook functions for tasks as wide-ranging as accounting, data entry, word processing, or presentations through access to software like Excel, Access, Word, or PowerPoint. Outlook provides an efficient tool for any workplace, academic institution, or home.

In addition to many using Outlook for their personal email, business corporations, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations use Microsoft Outlook for getting projects done in addition to email communication and organizing schedules. Outlook provides an assortment of features and functions for getting work done efficiently:

• Outlook offers a variety of options for sending, receiving, and forwarding emails, as well as navigating the inbox and folders.
• Outlook interacts with other Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Microsoft Outlook users can collaborate with coworkers by exchanging Microsoft Office content easily.
• Companies and organizations can share Outlook calendars among staff members to optimize collaboration in the workplace.
• Users can sync personal data using Microsoft Outlook on computers, smartphones, or tablets.
• Outlook allows entering information into the calendar that syncs with a variety of devices.
• Personal data can be integrated into Outlook, including virtual sticky notes, calendars, address books, and to-do lists.
• Microsoft Outlook can integrate with other online services and apps, including Uber, Google Play, Facebook, Yelp, Skype, Boomerang, and Evernote.
• Microsoft Outlook has font options for professional-looking formatting and various color themes.
• Users can set the Microsoft Outlook calendar for daily, weekly, or monthly schedules to keep track of important appointments and meetings.
• Users can send out meeting requests to people listed in their contact list through the calendar feature.
• Outlook also provides security features, including data encryption for a user's mailbox after sending an email.
• Premium Microsoft Outlook automatically deactivates unsafe links containing viruses, malware, or phishing scams and can recover important files from Microsoft OneDrive.
• Users can run Skype directly through Microsoft Outlook for online chatting in real-time.

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Average Time it Takes to Learn Microsoft Outlook

Users should be able to pick up on how to use Microsoft Outlook with only a few hours of interfacing to quickly get used to the tool.

People use Microsoft Outlook to organize emails, calendars, contacts, tasks, and to-do lists. All this is contained in an Outlook email account. However, as indicated, Outlook provides far more than email communication. For instance, users can set appointments with the Outlook calendar feature, move email addresses from received emails into contacts, and interface with Office applications like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint available through Microsoft 365.

Outlook is essentially an email service that can be learned quickly but picking up the software’s other functions should not take much longer. Basic Outlook skills include sending, receiving, and forwarding emails, using the calendar feature to schedule appointments, meetings, and assignments, moving emails between folders, and searching for a specific email.

However, Outlook provides far more than simply email communication and related functions. Outlook also serves as the anchor for Microsoft 365 and facilitates integration with associated Office applications for collaboration in the workplace. 

Outlook Is Easy to Setup and Use

Setting up an Outlook account is not difficult. Once you have created an account, you can immediately begin sending and receiving emails, using the calendar feature to schedule meetings and appointments, adding contacts from emails received, and performing various other tasks that include integrating Microsoft Office applications.

Outlook Facilitates Collaboration in the Workplace

Microsoft Outlook is a great tool for collaborating with coworkers in the workplace by allowing users to share content from Office applications and being able to track assignments.

Outlook Provides an Access Bar

Microsoft Outlook has an access bar that allows users to quickly access email, calendar features, and Office applications.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

Deciding to learn more about Microsoft Outlook will depend on an individual's ambitions or goals. Many people may not have considered improving their skills with Microsoft Outlook because they may not realize the potential of having firmer knowledge of this email and app management software. While it's clear that there will be a certain degree of difficulty with learning almost anything new, the fact that people use Outlook with other applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint should make them more comfortable about learning new functions.

Because many people may be complacent about using Microsoft Outlook, learning how to better integrate Office applications with Outlook can provide users with a better understanding of using related Microsoft software. This includes basic tasks like composing documents, analyzing data, or creating professional-looking presentations. Users may also benefit from becoming familiar with Outlook because it serves as the gateway for Microsoft 365, which provides a selection of Office applications for work or personal projects.

Read more about how difficult it is to learn Microsoft Outlook.

Watch a Free Microsoft Outlook Online Course

If you don't feel ready to take on a fully loaded Microsoft Outlook training course, online education providers offer free or low-cost classes for learning skills with email software. For example, Udemy offers the relatively inexpensive Get Started with Microsoft Outlook that provides step-by-step instructions for people with little to no experience with Microsoft Outlook with training on how to use the application's essential email functions or how to integrate Office applications.

You can also find YouTube channels or other video outlets to pick up lessons on fundamentals for using Microsoft Outlook.

Read about more free Microsoft Outlook videos and online tutorials.

Learn Microsoft Outlook with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

If you’re looking to improve on knowledge of using Microsoft Outlook, Noble Desktop has courses that provide training for a better understanding of the software application. This includes in-person classes available in New York City, along with live online courses offered at times that may fit your schedule at varying costs.

Noble Desktop offers in-person and live online Microsoft Office courses that provide hands-on training from expert instructors. These courses provide training that includes lessons for Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Project, and Outlook, which serves as the hub for access to this bundle of integrated Microsoft Office applications. These classes can be taken inside a classroom or live online. 

Students can enroll in Microsoft Outlook Level I for lessons on the fundamentals of the application. This one-day course focuses on teaching participants about using Outlook efficiently with lessons on setting up email folders, automating email, managing calendars and to-do lists, or organizing schedules and contact lists that can all contribute to improving workflow.

People may elect to take the Microsoft Outlook Level II class. This follow-up course builds on the training established in the Level I course. Level II emphasizes lessons for configuring email accounts, performing advanced searches, filtering spam, learning about working with advanced calendars, and handling contact lists.

Key Insights

• Training to learn basic or intermediate skills for Microsoft Outlook can take as little as a few hours, but learning about advanced features and functions could take a few more days.
• Outlook is among the most used email services on the planet and provides more than email access.
• Microsoft Outlook is considered an email service that also functions as an app manager for Office applications available through Microsoft 365.
• Users should be able to pick up on how to use Outlook with only a few hours of interfacing to quickly get used to the application.
• Outlook provides users access to Microsoft applications for composing documents, analyzing data, or creating professional-looking presentations.
• There are online education providers that offer free or low-priced classes for learning Outlook.
• Noble Desktop has in-person and live online courses that provide training to better understand Microsoft Outlook.