In the days of desktop calendars it was quite usual to have a calendar permanently on display. This not only made it quick and easy to enter new appointments when necessary, but also to check what was happening in the days and weeks ahead. With the move to digital calendars such as Outlook, it is easy to lose your calendar under a sea of windows. This is something that Outlook on the Desktop aims to address, ensuring that your Outlook calendar is never too far away.

As you’ve probably guessed from the name, this is a program that adds your Outlook calendar directly to the desktop. This means that when you need to check what is planned for the week ahead, all you need to do is press the Windows key and M to minimize all open windows and you’ll be able to see in a flash. All you need is a copy of Outlook 2003 or later and you’re good to go.

The benefit of using this app rather than sticking with working with Outlook in the more traditional way is that while your calendar can still get buried, getting it back it just a keyboard shortcut away. To prevent the calendar from being too distracting if you are the sort of person that makes extensive use of the desktop for other things, the opacity of the app can be adjusted to give a slightly more faded and subtle look.

Outlook on the Desktop really does provide you with a complete, customizable Outlook window integrated into the desktop. As such, anything you can do in Outlook, you are now able to achieve from the desktop. You are not restricted to viewing the calendar; you can also switch to your inbox, contacts and other sections of the app. There is support for drag and drop, and a system tray icon provides access to even more options.