Checking Off Completed Tasks in Outlook 2007

If you can see the task you want to mark as complete in either the To-Do Bar or your Task List in Outlook 2007, just right-click the item and choose Mark Complete. Nothing could be simpler.

Otherwise, to mark a task complete, follow these steps:

1. Click the Tasks button in the Navigation Pane (or press Ctrl+4).

The Tasks module opens.

2. Click the words Simple List in the Current View section of the Navigation Pane.

Actually, you can choose any view you want, as long as the task you're looking for shows up there. If the task that you want to mark as complete isn't in the view you choose, try the Simple List, which contains every task you've entered.

3. Click the box next to the name of the task that you want to mark complete.

Check the box in the second column from the left. When you check the box, the name of the task changes color and gets a line through it. You're finished!

You can view a list of the tasks you've marked complete by clicking the words Completed Tasks in the Current View menu on the left side of the screen. All the jobs you've polished off show up there in a nice, neat list.

Outlook has more than one place for marking tasks complete. You can look at the Task List, as well as certain views of your calendar and the list of tasks in Outlook Today.

Marking several tasks complete

Perhaps you don't race to your computer every time you complete a task. Marking off your completed tasks in groups is faster than marking them one by one. Outlook lets you check off as many tasks as you want by making a multiple selection.

To mark several tasks complete, follow these steps:

1. Click the Tasks button in the Navigation Pane (or press Ctrl+4).

The Tasks module opens.

2. Click the words Simple List in the Current View section of the Navigation Pane.

Again, you can pick any view that enables you to see the tasks that you want to mark.

3. Click the first task that you want to mark.

4. Hold down the Ctrl key and click each of the other tasks that you want to mark.

All the tasks you click are highlighted, showing that you've selected them.

5. Right-click one of the tasks you highlighted.

A menu appears.

6. Choose Mark Complete.

The tasks you selected are marked as complete.

You have two good reasons for recording your tasks and marking them as complete: to remember everything you have to do; and to tell other people everything you've done (think about your boss at raise time). It pays to toot your own horn, and keeping a completed Task List helps you remember what to toot your horn about.

Picking a color for completed or overdue tasks

When you complete a task or when it becomes overdue, Outlook changes the color of the text. The completed tasks become gray, and the overdue tasks turn red, which makes it easy for you to tell at a glance which tasks are done and which tasks need to be done, pronto. If you don't like Outlook's color choices, you can choose different colors.

Here's how to change the color of completed and overdue tasks:

1. Choose Tools --> Options.

The Options dialog box appears.

2. Click the Task Options button.

The Task Options page appears.

3. Click the box labeled Overdue Task Color.

A list of colors drops down.

4. Choose a color for overdue tasks.

5. Click the box labeled Completed Task Color.

A list of colors drops down.

6. Choose a color for completed tasks.

7. Click OK.

Your completed and overdue tasks appear on your list in the colors you selected.

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