Follow Up with Emails

How to Follow Up with Emails in Outlook

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Follow Up with Emails

You can flag emails to create tasks that remind you to follow up with them. When you flag an item, a flag icon (Follow Up With Emails) appears next to it, and a task is added to your To-Do List.

Flag a Message

  1. Select a message.

    You can also flag contacts, notes, and tasks.

  2. Expand the Tags group, if necessary.
    Follow Up With Emails
  3. Click the Follow Up button.

    This menu lets you choose when you want the task to be due. You can choose one of the options, opt for no due date, or set a custom due date.

  4. Select a flag.
    Follow Up With Emails

A flag icon appears over the email, indicating that a corresponding item has been created in your To-Do List.

When hovering your mouse over an email, click the flag icon to assign the Today flag.

Change Flags

Once an item has been flagged for follow up, you can easily change it to another flag.

  1. With the flagged item selected, expand the Tags group, if necessary.
  2. Click the Follow Up button.
  3. Select a different flag.
    Follow Up With Emails

The due date is changed.

Right-click the flag on the email and select a new flag from the menu.

Add a Reminder

If a visual flag icon isn't enough, you can add an audio reminder and alert message.

  1. With a flagged item selected, expand the Tags group, if necessary.
  2. Click the Follow Up button.
  3. Select Add Reminder.
    Follow Up With Emails

    The Custom dialog box opens. From here, you can add a reminder, as well as change the Start and Due dates for the task.

  4. Check the Reminder checkbox.
  5. Choose a date, time, and sound in the Reminder section.
  6. Click OK.
    Follow Up With Emails

A reminder is set, indicated by a bell icon appearing on the selected item.

When the reminder alert appears, you can request another reminder, or click the Dismiss button.

Remove a Flag

If you realize that you don't need a task or reminder to follow up on an email, just remove the flag.

  1. Select a flagged item.
  2. Expand the Tags group, if necessary.
  3. Click the Follow Up button.
  4. Select Clear Flag.
    Follow Up With Emails

The flag icon is removed from the email and the corresponding task is deleted from your To-Do List.

Follow Up with People

You can also follow up with people, just as you would with email.

  1. Click People.
  2. Select a person.
  3. Expand the Tags group, if necessary.
  4. Click Follow Up.
  5. Choose a flag.
    Follow Up With Emails
  6. Click the ellipsis button in the Navigation pane.
  7. Click Tasks.
    Follow Up With Emails