Your Email in Outlook

What's Changing

Your email is moving from HCL Notes to Microsoft Outlook. Think of it as upgrading to a new car — the steering wheel is in the same place, the road is the same, but the dashboard looks a bit different. Your @yourcompany.com email address stays exactly the same. The main change is the app you use to read and send email. What Notes calls a memo is simply an email in Outlook.

What Feels the Same / What's Different

Getting Started with Outlook

Opening Outlook on Your Computer

1. Click the Outlook icon on your desktop or taskbar.
2. If you don't see it, search for “Outlook” in the Windows Start menu.
3. Sign in with your work email and your Microsoft 365 password.

Opening Outlook on the Web

1. Go to outlook.office.com in your browser.
2. Sign in with your work email address.
3. You'll see your inbox right away — this replaces iNotes for reading mail in a browser.

The Outlook Layout

• Inbox is front and center, just like in Notes
• Folders are on the left — these replace the folders and views you used in Notes
• The reading pane shows your selected email on the right
• New Email button is at the top left — this replaces “New Memo”

Notes to Outlook — Quick Comparison

Understanding Focused Inbox

There is no equivalent in Notes, so this will be new.

Turning It Off

1. Click View in the ribbon.
2. Click View Settings.
3. Turn off “Sort messages into Focused and Other.”

Setting Up Your Email Signature

1. Click the Settings gear (top right of Outlook).
2. Go to Accounts > Signatures.
3. Create your signature with your name, title, department, phone number, and your @yourcompany.com address.
4. Set it as the default for new emails and replies/forwards.

Your Calendar Lives Here Too

Your Outlook Calendar and your Teams Calendar are the same calendar — they're always in sync. Any meeting booked in Teams shows up in Outlook and vice versa. Click the Calendar icon in the left sidebar to see your schedule without leaving the app. This replaces the Notes calendar.

Troubleshooting: Email Not Showing Up?

1. Check the Other tab — Focused Inbox may have sorted it there.
2. Check Junk/Spam.
3. Search for it — use the search bar at the top and type the sender's name or subject.
4. Give it a moment — after migration, it can take a few hours for everything to appear.
5. Check Shared Mailboxes — if it was sent to a shared department address, it appears in that mailbox's folder, not your personal inbox.

Where Shared Mailboxes Appear

In Notes, your team may have used mail-in databases for shared addresses. In Microsoft 365 these become shared mailboxes. They appear as separate sections in your left folder panel, below your personal inbox folders — they don't mix into your regular inbox. Click the shared mailbox name to expand it and see its own Inbox, Sent Items, and folders.