How To's
Create My Outlook User Profile
- Click the Microsoft Start Button.
- Click Control Panel from the menu.
- Click User Accounts. Click Mail.
- Enter your name to create a new profile name in the "New Profile" dialog box.
- Click OK to return to the "General Mail" dialog box. Your newly created profile name will appear in the Profile list located in the "General Mail" dialog box.
- Click OK. Outlook will prepare for your first-time use (this should take less than 1 minute).
- Launch Microsoft Outlook. Your email will open as normal.
- A pop-up window will appear in the lower right hand corner of your screen indicating Outlook is downloading your mail folders. (This process can take up to 20 minutes.)
Create My Microsoft Outlook Signature
- Open Microsoft Outlook.
- On the Home tab, select New Email.
- Select the Message tab. Click Signature (found in the Include group) and select Signatures from the drop down.
- Under Select signature to edit, select New and type a name for your signature.
- Under Edit signature, type the signature that you want to use and select OK.
Note: Be sure your email address appears in the Choose default signature, E-mail account list box. If does not appear, click the drop down to select your email address.
Create an Appointment or Add Someone's Calendar
- Open Microsoft Outlook.
- On the Home tab, select New Meeting.
- You will now be able to edit and send a meeting.
- To add someone's calendar, click Open Calendar on the Home tab.
- Then, select how you would like to find contact's calendar. To add a colleague, From Address Book will allow you to search NYS Employees.
Common Questions
When I email someone, what does a colored box next to their name mean?
A colored box indicates a user's "presence" on Microsoft Teams. Green indicates the user is available for chat, yellow means they may be away from their computer and red indicates the user is in a meeting or occupied. To start a chat, just click on their name and the chat icon in the dialogue box that pops up.
Troubleshooting
I received an error message Indicating that Outlook is using an old data file (image below).

If you receive an error message indicating that Outlook is using and old data file with an .ost extension, follow these steps to resolve the issue:
- Close Outlook.
- Click the Support folder on your desktop.
- Click on OST Cleaner.
- A dialog box will pop up. Press any key to continue the process. This will close Outlook and Skype and repair Outlook for you.
- Open Outlook. The issue should be resolved.