Weekly Tech Tip: Clear up your Inbox

Welcome to 2014! 

Start the year off on the right foot by clearing your inbox of emails you don't read, BEFORE they arrive, by making use of the Unsubscribe option!

Image via Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Emails you should unsubscribe from:

• Emails that you receive on a regular basis and NEVER read
• Vendors or services that you don't use (did you attend a conference or convention in the last year or two
• Anything that you don't remember signing up or opting in for

HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE:

Option 1: 

If you use Gmail or Yahoo, check out UnRoll.Me (Chris Smith  from InmanNext wrote a great article on it). This service will scan your inbox and create a list of your subscriptions. You can then unsubscribe en masse. My favorite part is the RollUp feature, which automatically moves all of my subscriptions to a Label/Folder and out of my inbox, as well as sends me a daily digest of what I've received. This way, I don't necessarily have to unsubscribe, but it keeps my inbox clean.

Option 2:
Whatever email service you use (Gmail, Outlook, etc.), you can manually unsubscribe from emails as they come in. Simply find and click on the Unsubscribe link (this is usually at the bottom). Depending on the service, you may need to click a few more times to confirm.

Q/A Friday: 5 Ways to Backup Outlook

Image via Microsoft

Q: How to I backup my emails, contacts, calendar (basically my entire life) on Outlook? And what if I only want to backup a portion of it?

A: Excellent question! I can’t stress enough how important it is to backup your files, just in case something goes wrong. Backing up your Outlook files will also make for a seamless move to a new computer, without having to reconfigure your calendar or contacts.

Here's what you need to know first: 
Outlook data is stored in what's called a Personal Folders (PST) file, which can grow to be rather large depending on how many emails/attachments/calendar events/contacts/other data you have. If your email account is set up as POP (see below), your emails are stored in this PST file also. If your account is set up as IMAP, your emails are not stored in Outlook (see below).

The PST file is meant to be difficult to find so that it will also be difficult to delete/move/corrupt. As stated above, it can also be quite large, meaning that some storage services (for example, Carbonite) will not automatically backup this file. Also, a PST file can also only be opened in Outlook. If you need to create an electronic communication log that can be opened without Outlook, see Option 5 below.

It is also recommended that you clean up your emails before backing up. Empty your Deleted Mail folder (after verifying that you’re totally done with whatever’s in there), sort your mail into folders (for example, keep all your buyers/sellers/etc emails together on your transactions) and just make sure that everything is in order. However you back it up is how you’ll get it back if you need it at a later time. Once you’re happy with your organization, time to do the actual backup.

And now, without further ado, here are 5 ways to backup Outlook.

1. Use IMAP instead of POP

*Note: This isn't a true backup, but it's a good start!

There are two mail ways to have mail delivered into Outlook: IMAP and POP. 

POP: Outlook downloads your email from the server and removes them, making those emails accessible only from the computer in which Outlook is installed. 

IMAP: Outlook accesses your emails directly from the server. This is especially handy if you use multiple devices (Outlook, online log-in, cell phone, tablet, etc.) as it will mark those same messages as read, deleted or moved to a folder.

Should something disastrous happen to your computer and your email is set to POP without being backed up, those emails are lost forever. However, when your email is set to IMAP, you will still be able to access them from the server. Recreating your account in Outlook will bring back all those old emails as well as their organization.

2. Manually backup your entire PST File (calendar, contacts, emails, etc.)

Use this method for: Moving to a new computer, Manual data backup any time, Manual backup of POP emails

1. In Outlook, select “File” and “Import and Export.” This will open the Import and Export Wizard.
2. Select “Export to a File” and click “Next.”
3. Under File Type, select “Personal Folder File (.pst)” and click “Next.”
4. Under Select Folder to Export From, select “Personal Folders” and check the “Include Subfolders” box below. Click “Next.” 
5. On the Save Exported File As page, click the “Browse” button. In the browse window, navigate to your Desktop, and name the file OutlookBackup[Date] (IE: OutlookBackup05312012). Click the “OK” button. Click the “Finish” button.

Depending on the size of your file, it may take a little bit to complete the backup. Let your computer work and don’t interrupt this process!

Once the backup is complete, you will see the file on your desktop. Simply burn this file to a CD (if less than 700MB), DVD (if less than 4.7GB) or to your external hard drive or thumb drive.

3. Automatically backup your entire PST File

Use this method for: Knowing your data is safe anytime
If you are using an automatic backup system such as Carbonite, you can include your PST file in your regularly scheduled backups. Since it is very likely that your PST file will be larger than 4GB, you will most likely need to manually include that file for backup. Each cloud-based back up system is different,  but adding any file larger than 4GB to Carbonite is as easy as Right Click > Carbonite > Back This Up:

Since there are so many different configurations, the easiest way to find your Outlook file is to Google "Access PST Outlook [year] [Operating System]".

4. Manually backup a portion of your emails or data

Use this method for: Manually backing up specific pieces of data, Manually backing up specific files (IE, a seller file after a transaction is closed)
Repeat the steps from Manually back up your entire PST File, with this exception:

• 4.  If you only want to backup one folder, select that folder. IE: If your client John Smith has closed escrow and you don’t need his emails any longer, select the “Smith, John” folder that you have been keeping his emails in.

A few examples:

Backing up only the Calendar in Outlook

Backing up only the Contacts in Outlook

Backing up only a specific folder in Outlook

5. Manually backup a portion of your emails to PDF

Use this method for: Creating an easily accessible communication log of emails
Sometimes, you need a backup that can be opened outside of Outlook. For example, your real estate broker might require you to submit a communication log for your transaction. *Note: if you have a large amount of emails that you are including in the PDF, this process might take a little time!

1. Install a PDF Printer on your computer. I like PrimoPDF, NitroPDF or CutePDF.
2. Select the emails that you would like to include in your PDF. The fastest way to do this is huge amounts of email is by using Ctrl+A to select all:
   
   
3. Ctrl+P or File>Print. Instead of selecting your normal printer, select your PDF printer. I'm using PrimoPDF:
   
   
4. Each PDF Printer is a little different. PrimoPDF will bring up the following screen. Make sure to select Print quality:
   
   
5. Your PDF will be created. Save it, store it, share it, upload it, or back it up. 

Congratulations; you did it! Now sit back and relax, knowing that your data is safe :)

Q/A Friday: How do I add video (or the illusion of video) to my emails?

Q: I’m finally making videos and LOVING IT. But, I want my emails to look a little more compelling. How do I entice people to click on the links that I send them and watch my movies?

A: I’m so happy you’re enjoying bringing visual content to the web! However, you cannot (yet) embed a video into an email and have it be playable within that email. The good news is that there’s a simple work around to take your emails from this:

to this:
 

YOU WILL NEED:
-Microsoft Outlook
-Microsoft Paint
-Microsoft Publisher (optional)

Watch this video  for step-by-step instructions:

Q/A Friday: How do I customize my email signature?

Q: I want to customize my email signature to include links to all the places I am online. How do I do this?
A: Great question. Take a look at my email signature:
______________________________________________
Tassia Bezdeka
Director of Social Marketing - Century 21 Award

7676 Hazard Center Drive #300, San Diego CA 92108
(760) 504-7087 Cell
(619) 471-2234 Direct

It’s very easy for you to do something similar, just follow the steps below:

1. Obtain Images
First things first, you MUST have the icons or photos that you want to use, in the size that you want to use them with. If you have a headshot or logo you want to use, great! To resize the image if it is too large, open Microsoft Paint (you can find this in your Start menu). Open the image you want to edit. Click the Image menu at the top of the window and select “Stretch/Skew Image.” Choose a percent figure to resize your image (to avoid distortion, choose the same percentage for horizontal and vertical). Click OK. Once you have the desired size, click FILE, then SAVE AS (to prevent overwriting the original image).

For the social media icons, you can find an icon you like by doing a Google Image search, then right-click the image that you like and save it to your computer. You can also download an entire icon set. I use Komodo Media’s Social Media Icon Pack.

2. Open the Mail Signature Editor and Create or Edit your signature
For Outlook 2003
In Outlook, click on the Tools menu, then select “Options.” Select the Mail Format tab and click “Signatures.” Click the “New Signature” button, and give your signature a name in the pop-up window, select “Next.” When the Edit Signature window opens, click on the “Advanced Edit” button. Select “Yes” in the pop-up window; this will open up a Word document, where you will create your signature.
To add images to your signature click on the Insert menu and select “Images.” To hyperlink, look for the “Insert Hyperlink” button on your toolbar. Once you are happy with the signature, save the file and close Word.
For a demo from Microsoft, click here.

For Outlook 2007
In Outlook, click on the Tools menu, then select “Options.” Select the Mail Format tab and click “Signatures.” Click the “New” button to create a new signature, and give it a name in the pop-up window.
Now you will create your signature. The process with regard to text is very similar to Microsoft Word. If you would like to hyperlink anything, such as your website, simply highlight the text that you would like to be clickable and click on the “Insert Hyperlink” button on the far right. Remember that your URL must be complete (ie: http://www.google.com vs google,com)
To insert an image, set your cursor where you would like the image to be (you cannot move an image later if you don’t like its placement; you will have to start over). Now click the “Insert Image” button, next to the hyperlink button. Browse to the location of your image, select it, and click “Insert.” Continue as necessary to add all your images to your signature.
To link an image, such as the Facebook icon, click on or highlight the image, then click the “Insert Hyperlink” button. Repeat as necessary.
When you’ve formatted your signature and are happy with the way it looks, select the signature for the drop-down menus in the upper right. This will automatically add your signature to new emails or replies. Click the “Save” button, and you’re done.

3. Test Your Signature
Open up a new mail window. Your signature should appear. Send a test email to yourself. When you receive it, verify that all the links go to the right place. Everything look good? Congratulations… you have an awesome signature!