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Welcome to ITS Powertivity eNews | March 2025

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We're here to help you SOAR!

Today's newsletter is 638 words... a 2.4-minute read.

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In this issue, we're focused on optimizing Outlook to help you work smarter!

Note: Tips apply to any Microsoft Office 365 experience - WebMail, Mobile, Client/Desktop.

How do you stay focused on the emails that matter?

Leverage the Focused Inbox


The problem: You receive a large number of emails daily and begin to lose track of what's important or where to even focus.


The solution: Leveraging your Focused Inbox. For those on Office365, the Focused Inbox is already turned on for you, but let's show you how to maximize it for optimum productivity.


Learn how to use the Focused Inbox.

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Handy resources at your fingertips...

Two hands holding a mobile phone.

Download the Outlook app for mobile!


The official Microsoft Outlook app provides the best email/calendaring experience for iOS/Android devices. Download the Outlook app to your mobile device from your device's app store for a more consistent and smoother experience.

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Access Outlook Knowledge Base tips!


We've got you covered. The Outlook Best Practices Knowledge Base article overviews the top recommendations from Microsoft.


Access all Outlook Knowledge Base topics for quick tips.

Update or cancel a meeting you organized - which to do?

Why it matters: Your team decides that meeting is no longer needed and to cancel for the remainder of the year. If you cancel the recurring meeting, it will appear as though the meetings never took place. How should you handle this?

Cancel when: Only one or two meeting occurrences need to be canceled. As the organizer, you can select to delete for a single Occurrence or for the Series.


Update when: You want to cancel remaining meetings in a series by sending a meeting update with a new end date.


Note: The below instructions mention that when you do this, the meeting agenda, notes, and attachments that were added to the previous instances of the series will be deleted. We tested this and found that these items were NOT removed from previous meetings or the original meeting invite. 


Access step-by-step instructions.

Handling recurring meetings' end date correctly

You got this! written on a Post-It note

Do this instead!

Microsoft recommends scheduling every recurring meeting with an end date and NOT selecting the 'never ending' option. Ensuring an end date for recurring meetings can help prevent problems in the long run.


Click to access additional Outlook best practices Microsoft recommends.

Keyboard Shortcuts: Boost productivity with shortcuts like:


  • Ctrl + N: Create a new email
  • Ctrl + R: Reply to an email
  • Ctrl + Shift + R: Reply to all
  • Ctrl + F: Forward an email
  • Alt + S: Send an email
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To create your own shortcuts in Microsoft 365 for Mac, go to Create a custom keyboard shortcut for Office for Mac.

"Phew!" ~ Just in time tips!

@Mentions


The Problem: Have you ever sent an email to a dozen coworkers, but only needed an answer from two of them? You might have used text effects like bold and underline and bright font colors to highlight their names. Now, you have another option. 


The Solution: Type @ followed by their name, and several things happen. 

  • Their name is automatically added to the To line of the email message.
  • Their name is highlighted in the message body.
  • When they receive the message in their inbox, they'll see the @ symbol in the message list, indicating they're mentioned by name.

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Need to report an issue or have a question?

Contact the University Help Desk:


helpdesk@fgcu.edu or 239.590.1188



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