Turn an Outlook item into another type of item

You can also view an animated version of this procedure, Animation: Turn an Outlook item into another type of item.

Has this happened to you? You've had a lengthy e-mail conversation and now you realize a face-to-face meeting is necessary. Instead of creating a new meeting request and then copying and pasting text from the e-mail message, you can use the Outlook AutoCreate feature to quickly create a meeting request and capture all the information in your e-mail thread. And best of all, AutoCreate lets you convert any item into an item of another type, such as a contact into a task or a note into an appointment.

Step to Turn an Outlook item into another type of item

1. Drag the message onto the Calendar icon on the Outlook Bar.
2. Enter the location for the meeting, and then make any changes and select any additional options you want on the Appointment tab. (Relevant information from the message has already been added to fields in the new meeting request. The entire message appears in the meeting text box.)
3. On the Actions menu, click Invite Attendees.
4. Enter a name or names in the To box.
5. Click Send.

That's it. You've turned an e-mail message into a meeting. Now that you know how easy it is to use AutoCreate, see what other kinds of items you can create from existing items.

Note If you prefer menu commands, you can select the item and then click Copy to Folder on the Edit menu to create a new item.