What is the Navigation Pane in Microsoft Outlook?

The Navigation Pane is a column that appears on the left side of the Outlook window. It comprises folders and panes such as contacts, tasks, etc. The contents of the Navigation Pane change according to the current view (such as Mail view, etc.) of Outlook. A user can control the view of the Navigation Pane. There are different panes and views available in the Navigation Pane. The following image depicts the area of Navigation Pane in the Outlook window:

Following are the six panes in the Navigation Pane to view different Outlook items:

Mail Pane: In the Mail pane, the e-mail folders that are used frequently and all the Search Folders can be added to the Favorite Folders pane. Folders in the All Mail Folders pane appear in alphabetical order. All the folders in the Favorite Folders pane do not have to be in alphabetical order; a user can arrange them in order by dragging them. A user cannot remove the Favorite Folders pane from the Mail pane. However, he can remove all the folders in it to make it smaller.

Calendar Pane: In the Calendar pane, a user can view other people’s shared calendars side by side with his calendar, and he can click the Share My link to quickly share his calendar. The Date Navigator and the TaskPad are off by default.

Contacts, Tasks, Journal, and Notes Pane: In the Contacts, Tasks, Notes, and Journal panes, a user can use the Share My links to quickly share his folder or open another person’s shared folder. He can also easily switch views by clicking a different view in the views displayed under Current View.

Folder List Pane: The Folder List pane displays all the folders, including Public Folders. There is also a link that a user can use to display folder sizes and manage your Outlook data files.

Shortcuts Pane: The Shortcuts pane contains links to Outlook Today and Outlook Update. Shortcuts or shortcut groups that a user previously added to the Outlook Bar for files or locations outside of Outlook, such as Microsoft PowerPoint files or Web sites, will be automatically migrated to the Shortcuts pane when he upgrades to Office Outlook 2003. A user can create additional shortcut groups, and he can add new shortcuts and rearrange them.

A user can customize the Navigation Pane to see more or fewer buttons, change the display order of the buttons, or gain more space to display items in the pane.

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