How to Allow Emoticons in Outlook

Emoticons have become very common in email communication. They can be used to express happiness, sadness or indifference, among other feelings. Outlook has recognized emoticons since the Office 2003 suite. Allowing emoticons to appear in Outlook involves setting up the emoticons in the AutoCorrect dictionary. After AutoCorrect is established, emoticons will display when the correct keystrokes are made. This feature is shared by Outlook and Word because the both programs share the same dictionary.

Allow emoticons in Outlook by adding them if they don't already exist.

Step

Open Outlook 2010 and click the "File" tab. Click "Options." Select "Mail" and then "Spelling and AutoCorrect." Click "AutoCorrect Options." Click ":)".

Step

Notice the "smiley" emoticon in the AutoCorrect dictionary. By default, there are three emoticons set up in Outlook -- the smile, the frown and the indifferent face. If you don't see the "smiley" face, add them.

Step

Click "New" on the menu bar. A new blank email opens. Click the "Insert" tab. Select "Symbol." Select "More Symbols." The Symbol dialog box appears. Change the "Font" drop-down list to "Wingdings." Locate the smiley face. Click the image and then the "Insert" button. The smiley face emoticon is inserted into the email.

Step

Highlight the emoticon and click the "AutoCorrect" button in the Symbol dialog box. Notice that the smile appears in the "With" field. Type ":)" in the "Replace" field. Click "Add" and then "OK."

Step

Test the emoticon by typing ":)" in the body of the email. Notice that it becomes the "smiley" emoticon.