If you manage others and use Outlook in your organization for e-mail and collaboration, you’ll probably want to assign tasks to others. Outlook sends the task assignment as an e-mail message and the assignee has the option of accepting or rejecting the task. When you assign a task you define a status update distribution list. The people on that list receive status reports when the assignee makes changes to the task.
Click the arrow beside New on the Standard toolbar and choose Task Request to open a new task form that includes message address fields.Try This!
If you want to pass the buck and reassign a task that was assigned to you to someone else, accept the task, open the task, click Assign Task in the Manage Task group of the ribbon’s Task tab, and assign it by typing someone’s name or selecting a name from your address list.
See Also
For information on how to include a document with a task you assign to someone else, see "Inserting Items into a Task".
Tip
When you assign a task to another person, a copy of the task request message goes into your Sent Items folder. If you open the message, its form shows a status message indicating that Outlook is waiting for a response from the assignee. This message changes after the assignee either accepts or rejects the task.
Select Keep An Updated Copy Of This Task On My Task List to have Outlook keep track of the assigned task with a copy on your own task list that updates as the assignee works on the task.
Select Send Me A Status Report When This Task Is Complete to have Outlook send you a status report when the assignee completes the task.
Type the assignee’s name, or click To and select the person to whom you want to assign the task from your Contacts list.
- Click the Mail icon on the Navigation Pane and open the Inbox.
Click the Task Request message to select it. If the Preview Pane is not open, double-click the message to open it.- Click Accept to accept the task, or Decline to decline the task.
Tip
When you accept or reject a task, Outlook deletes the task request message from your Inbox. You can’t control this behavior to prevent Outlook from deleting the message. However, Outlook keeps copies in your Sent Items folder of task requests that you create.
Tip
When you reassign a task that someone has assigned to you and that third person accepts the task, Outlook sends an acceptance notice to you and to the task’s originator. The status update list then includes the originator’s address and yours, so you receive status updates along with the originator.
