The Journal is especially useful for recording information related to phone calls to and from people in your Contacts list. The first time you open the Journal folder (using the icon in the Folder List or the Journal icon in My Shortcuts list on the Outlook bar), a message appears, asking whether you want to turn the Journal feature on. Click Yes. The Journal Options dialog box appears.

In the dialog box, you can specify what type of events you want to have automatically recorded in the Journal. Check boxes are provided to include e-mail messages, meeting requests, and other events that are received from people in your Contacts folder.

Step by Step

1. In the Automatically Recorded These Items list, check those items you want Outlook to automatically record in your Journal. (The items recorded correspond with the people selected in the list of contacts in step 2.)
2. In the For These Contacts list, check any contacts you want automatically recorded in the Journal. Outlook records any items selected in step 1 that apply to the selected contacts.
3. In the Also Record Files From list, check the applications for which you want to record Journal entries. Outlook records the date and time you create or modify files in the selected programs.
4. When you have completed your selections, click the OK button. The Journal opens. It is now ready to automatically record the items that you chose in the Journal Options dialog box.