Unique signature per account You can now have a different default e-mail signature for each e-mail account.
New Data File Type (.pst) Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 introduces a new file format for Personal Folders files (.pst) that offers greater storage capacity for items and folders and supports multilingual Unicode data. A file created with the new Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders file (.pst) format is not compatible with earlier versions of Outlook. For compatibility with earlier versions of Outlook, create a file by using the Microsoft Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders file (.pst) format. Outlook 2003 can view and create files of either type.
Unicode Support Outlook supports the Unicode text encoding standard, which allows Outlook to display text correctly, no matter what language it's written in, provided the operating system supports the characters specific to that language.
Integration with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services You can view a SharePoint event list next to your Calendar and drag events from the SharePoint event list to your Calendar. You can also view SharePoint contact lists from within Outlook and copy and link these to your Contacts. If you have access to a Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server Web site, you can store a central calendar or contacts list on the server, for easy sharing of information.
POP enhancements Download speed has been significantly increased, and you now get detailed progress information.
Tablet PC support On a Tablet PC, you can quickly provide input using your own handwriting directly into Office documents as you would using a pen and a printout. Additionally, you can now view task panes horizontally to help you do your work on the Tablet PC the way you want to do your work.
Research task pane The new Research task pane offers a wide variety of reference information and expanded resources if you have an Internet connection. You can conduct research on topics using an encyclopedia, Web search, or by accessing third-party content.
Microsoft Office Online Microsoft Office Online is better integrated in all Microsoft Office programs so that you can take full advantage of what the site has to offer while you work. You can visit Microsoft Office Online directly from within your Web browser or use the links provided in various task panes and menus in your Office program to access articles, tips, clip art, templates, online training, downloads, and services to enhance how you work with Office programs. The site is updated regularly with new content based on direct feedback and specific requests from you and others who use Office.
Improving quality for the customer Microsoft strives to improve quality, reliability, and performance of Microsoft software and services. The Customer Experience Improvement Program allows Microsoft to collect information about your hardware configuration and how you use Microsoft Office programs and services to identify trends and usage patterns. Participation is optional, and data collection is completely anonymous. Additionally, error reporting and error messages have been improved so that you are provided with the easiest approach to reporting errors and the most helpful information about alerts at the time you encounter a problem. Finally, with an Internet connection, you can give Microsoft customer feedback about an Office program, help content, or Microsoft Office Online content. Microsoft is continually adding and improving content based on your feedback.
Improvements when using an East Asian version of Outlook If you are using an East Asian version of Outlook, when you right-click a name and then click Add To Contact As, a list of first and last name character combinations is displayed. This allows you to pick the correct combination instead of cutting and pasting the characters into the appropriate first and last name fields.