[RESOLVED] Outlook Notes question

[NickC]

I'm currently using Outlook 2000 for my personal information - Calendar, Notes, etc.

I use the Notes section quite a bit - similar to the Memopad of the old Palm OS days. In Outlook 2000, I use the View -> Current View -> Notes List to view the notes. It makes them look like emails - the list of notes in one pane and the other pane showing the text of the note that I have selected.

I was playing around with the trial version of Outlook 2007 to see if I want to upgrade. I was surprised that this Notes List no longer has a scroll bar appearing for long notes! I have Outlook 2003 at work, and it does not have the scroll bar either! But my old Outlook 2000 does have it.

Does anyone know why MS disabled that feature for the newer versions of Outlook? Seems like a step backwards to me.

[Steve R Jones]

Does 2000 have the ability to drag the note to a larger size to see all of it?

[NickC]

Yes. However, for Notes that have lots of text, this is not very practical.

But even easier than that "sticky note" looking default is to use Notes List like I said above. This makes Notes look more like the Inbox or like the Memo section of other PIM software. You see the list of notes in one pane and the details in the preview pane (which can be set to below or right just like Inbox).

Playing around with it a bit - it seems Journal might be more like what I want in the 2003/2007 versions of Outlook. I don't know if Journal entries will sync properly with a Blackberry or Windows Mobile device. I can try it out...

[BrianG07]

If you're not happy with the fact that there are STILL no scroll bars in the Outlook Notes component (Remember that even the ancient Windows Notepad.exe has scroll bars, as well as Windows Mobile Notes!!!), then PLEASE provide feedback to Microsoft. This design issue needs to be fixed with the next version of Office so please submit this suggestion..

• Improvement Suggestions - Use the following the "Send Us Your Comments" link (http://Office.Microsoft.com/en-us/suggestions.aspx) and selecting "Products" category to submit your suggestion. Note that community participants may vote for suggestions, and Microsoft may use the votes to help prioritize features in upcoming versions.

Sample message:
"Hello, I feel most strongly that one of the most BASIC and USEFUL features missing from the OUTLOOK NOTES component are SCROLL BARS for the Notes.

BOTH the WINDOWS MOBILE NOTES application and WINDOWS NOTEPAD.exe application have scroll-bars, so why not such a popular and valuable tool as Outlook??? This is a gross omission that needs to be added to the next Outlook Service Pack or at least the next revision of Outlook. If scroll bars were added to Outlook Notes, then all applications would be consistent. It would even be fine if the scroll bars were the same color as the note to keep a clean look but still provide functionality."

[NickC]

Thanks - I will use that link. I did send them feedback about it when I was first trying out Office 2007. But I can't remember whether it was an email or maybe the trial version had a direct feedback link.

[BrianG07]

Both Office 2003 and Office 2007 have "Feedback" links either through Help or through the Office 2007 Button program options that both redirect to the link I provided in my previous message. I believe there used to be an older page that Office 2003 redirected to and there also used to be a wish list e-mail which doesn't work anymore.

[BrianG07]

I have recently finished speaking to Microsoft's Outlook team and found out the "proper" way to submit feature requests (disregard my previous posts as I could not edit them).

If you're not happy with the fact that there are STILL no scroll bars in the Outlook Notes component (Remember that even the ancient Windows Notepad.exe has scroll bars, as well as Windows Mobile Notes!!!), then PLEASE provide feedback to Microsoft. When finally speaking to Microsoft's Supportability Program Managers, they stated that my request was the FIRST time they heard about this issue, so make sure they continue to hear about it until it is fixed! This design issue needs to be fixed with the next version of Office so please submit this suggestion now!.

• Improvement Suggestions - Use the following "Microsoft Supportability Program Managers (SPM)" link to submit your suggestion/request (https://Feedback.Office.Microsoft.com). Note that community participants may vote for suggestions, and Microsoft may use the votes to help prioritize features in upcoming versions, but most important of all, Microsoft needs MULTIPLE requests for this fix to put it higher in the the list of fixes.

Sample message:
"Hello, the most BASIC and USEFUL feature still not included in the OUTLOOK NOTES component are SCROLL BARS for the Notes. BOTH the WINDOWS MOBILE NOTES application and WINDOWS NOTEPAD.exe application have had scroll-bars for years, and they are BASIC programs, so why not such a popular, advanced, and valuable tool as Outlook? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE add this feature to the next Outlook update as we have been waiting years for this feature. If scroll bars were added to Outlook Notes, then both Outlook and Windows Mobile applications would be consistent. It would even be fine if the scroll bars were the same color as the note to keep a clean look but still provide functionality. Remember that Notes should be as advanced as the other components within Outlook as this is not the simple Sticky Notes program within newer versions of Windows. But even Sticky Notes should have scroll bars as the original Notepad.exe program still has them."

[BrianG07]

I have recently finished re-speaking to Microsoft's Outlook team again and found out the "proper" way to submit feature requests (disregard my previous posts as I could not edit them).

• Outlook Notes Scroll Bar - If you're not happy with the fact that there are STILL no scroll bars in the Outlook Notes component (Remember that even the ancient Windows Notepad.exe has scroll bars, as well as Windows Mobile Notes!!! However WinVista & Win7 Sticky Notes don't have scroll bars which may have something to do with the underlying form that Outlook Notes may also be using.), then PLEASE provide feedback to Microsoft. After speaking with Microsoft's Supportability Program Managers, they stated that my request was the FIRST time they heard about this issue, and that they need to receive MULTIPLE requests EVERY MONTH to create an internal BUG# to first document this request, so make sure they continue to hear about this EVERY MONTH until it is implemented! Save a reminder in your personal calendar application to click on the following link and re-submit your request, like I am doing at the beginning of each month, until this feature is added to the current or next version of Office!.

• Improvement Suggestions - Use the following "Microsoft Supportability Program Managers (SPM)" link to submit your suggestion/request (https://Feedback.Office.Microsoft.com). Note that community participants may vote for suggestions and Microsoft may use the votes to help prioritize features in upcoming versions, but most important of all Microsoft needs MULTIPLE requests EVERY MONTH for this feature to put it higher in the the list of fixes!!!

Sample message:
"Hello, the most BASIC and USEFUL feature that I would like to see added to the OUTLOOK NOTES component are SCROLL BARS for notes! BOTH the WINDOWS MOBILE NOTES application and WINDOWS NOTEPAD.exe application have had scroll-bars for years, and they are BASIC programs, so why not such a popular, advanced, and valuable tool as Outlook? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE add this feature to the next Outlook update as we have been waiting years for this feature. If scroll bars were added to Outlook Notes, then not only would both Outlook and Windows Mobile applications be consistent, but Outlook Notes would actually be useable. It would even be fine if the scroll bars were the same color as the note to keep a clean look, but at least you would have the functionality. Remember that Notes should be as advanced as the other components within Outlook as this is not the simple Sticky Notes program within newer versions of Windows. But I think even Sticky Notes should have scroll bars as the original Notepad.exe program still has them!"

[BrianG07]

Sorry, I didn't realize my updated message was over 1000 characters, which is a limit on Microsoft's feedback website. Here's an updated sample message:

"Hello, the most BASIC and USEFUL feature that I would like to see added to Outlook's Notes component are SCROLL BARS for notes! BOTH Windows Mobile Notes AND Windows Notepad.exe applications have had scroll-bars for years and they are BASIC application, so why not such a popular, advanced, and valuable tool as Outlook? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE add this feature to the next Outlook update as many people have been waiting years for this feature! If scroll bars were added to Outlook Notes, then not only would both Outlook and Windows Mobile applications be consistent, but Outlook Notes would actually be more useable and advanced than the simple Sticky Notes program within newer versions of Windows. But I think even Sticky Notes should have scroll bars as the original Notepad.exe program still has them! And it would be fine if the scroll bars were the same color as the note, to keep a clean look, but at least you would have the functionality."