Entourage 2008: Three Questions!

[jmk8811]

Hi all,

My job has just switched me to Mac (so please forgive me if my questions are a bit simplistic) and am running across a couple of issues with Entourage 2008. I'm accustomed to using Outlook 2007, so I may be looking for some things under the wrong lingo.

1. When a new e-mail comes in, I don't see any visual indicator. If I have Entourage minimized on my dock, I'd never know that any new mail came at all. I'm used to seeing a little envelope on on the taskbar in Windows ... is there an option to enable a similar feature on the Mac? This seems like a pretty basic and critical function, so I'm sure that I'm missing something somewhere. (Am I looking at the wrong part of the screen?)

2. I've created a singature. How can I set it so that it is automatically used with every new e-mail that I start? As of now, I see that I can choose to implement it manually from the icon bar in the message ... but I'd like it to already be in place.

3. While making the change from PC to Mac, I have both machines running. In Outlook on the PC I have several saved "notes." But they don't pull over into Entourage on the Mac. I've also created a new note (as a test) from my BlackBerry ... it appeared on the PC but not the Mac. Any ideas?

 

[jmk8811]

Update

Okay, so I have a PARTIAL answer to my question one.

If I choose to HIDE (Command+H) Entourage, then a mail envelope appears over the program icon running on the dock when a new message comes in.

But if I minimize Entourage -- so that a tiny screenshot is on the far right side of the dock bar -- no message alert shows at all.

Assuming that I might at times have more than one program window open (and Entourage won't always be on top) or that I might occassionally have Entourage minimized instead of hidden, does anyone know how I can show a new mail alert like when I've "hidden" the program on the dock?

It's a small thing, but with a huge potential impact. I'd really like to get this issue sorted ASAP.

Thanks, all.

 

[Pittsax]

I usually just close the window instead of minimizing/hiding. It doesn't quit the program, and you get the envelope notification.

As for the default signature, the preference is located in the Account settings. Select "Accounts..." from the Tools menu and double-click the account you want the signature applied to. The first option under the Options tab should say (after "Message Options") "Default Signature." Just choose whichever signature you want to appear from the drop-down menu.

 

[jmk8811]

Ok ... a little closer

Thanks, Pittsax!

The signature setup worked perfectly. Closing Entourage without quitting is a great idea too. Nothing to think about (or forget to think about) like there would be with Hiding the program.

There's still the risk of my loosing track of messages though if I open attachments from within Entourage (or have layered open windows up for any reason). So if anybody else knows of a potential solution for that end of the problem, I'd love to hear it.

In the meantime, I'm in a much better position than before. Thanks again.

 

[Pittsax]

Not sure what you mean by "losing track of messages." If you close the main Entourage window using the close button, any messages that are open in their own window stay open.

 

[jmk8811]

I just mean that if I have Entourage open, but have another window over it (say, for example, because I've opened an attachement from within a message) that I won't know when more new messages come in. That's all.

 

[blodwyn]

I just mean that if I have Entourage open, but have another window over it (say, for example, because I've opened an attachement from within a message) that I won't know when more new messages come in. That's all.

You might want to consider using Growl. It looks like Entourage can be made to trigger a Growl notification when new mail arrives, and you can configure the notification to be sticky or fade after a few seconds