Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Tips #2



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*1.   KEEP YOUR ISP SETTINGS 

Reader Jay N. sends this ISP question. 

"I recently reinstalled Internet Explorer 4 and had to call the
 ISP to get the system working again. If there's a way to back up
 the information, it would certainly make it easier for people
 when they have to reinstall the program. Could you cover this
 topic again?" 

ISP (Internet Service Provider) information is stored in the
 Registry. To make a backup of the data, click Start, Run,
 type in 

regedit 

and press Enter. As we always point out, you can do serious
 damage to your system installation using RegEdit. So be careful
 to enter only what is shown here. 

When RegEdit opens, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\RemoteAccess.
 Click RemoteAccess to select it and then choose Registry, Export
 Registry File. When the Export Registry File dialog box appears,
 type in a name and choose a location for your new file. Now
 click Save to save the file and close the dialog box. Back in
 RegEdit, choose Registry, Exit to close the program. To merge
 the data with the Registry after a new installation, locate your
 new REG file and double-click it. 

Note that this doesn't save any of your passwords. To save the
 passwords, run Windows Explorer and locate your PWL files
 (you'll probably find them in the
 Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book). Copy these
 files to a floppy disk for safekeeping. 


*2.   OUTSTANDING MAIL TEXT 

Regular reader Leslie D. sends this question: 

"I like Microsoft Internet Mail. It's easy to use and maintain.
 However, now that most people no longer use bland, completely
 text-oriented e-mail, I'd like to send more fancy text. The only
 options I see are plain text and HTML. I don't want to use HTML.
 Is there a way to get Microsoft Internet Mail to send special
 text formats without using the HTML format?" 

The term HTML confuses many Mail users. This doesn't mean you can
 send only HTML Web pages; you can also work in HTML mode to
 create special text formats. To do this, run Mail, then choose
 Mail, Options and click the Send tab. Select the radio button
 labeled HTML and click OK. Now, click New Message. When the New
 Message window opens, type in a recipient and then click the
 Font Color button (its icon is a paint palette). Select a color
 and type in some text. The new text will appear in the selected
 color. You can also use boldface, italic, and underlining in
 your text. You can even change the font altogether by clicking
 the down arrow next to the font field and selecting from the
 list that appears. In HTML mode, all the text will be sent just
 as you format it. And assuming their software can handle it,
 recipients will receive messages just as you send them. 


*3.   A SOLITAIRE BUTTON 

Subscriber Larry C. asks if we can describe how to put a program
 and its icon into the Internet Explorer 4 Links bar. Larry would
 like to add Solitaire to Links. 

You can add almost anything you want to the Links bar. If you
 want a Solitaire button on the Links bar, run Windows Explorer
 and navigate to the \Windows folder. Now, find the Links folder
 (\Windows\Favorites\Links). Locate sol.exe and use the right
 mouse button to drag it to the Links folder. When you release
 the right mouse button, a menu will open. From this menu, choose
 Create Shortcut(s) Here. 

A fully functional Solitaire icon will now appear in the Links
 folder. Watch out for the boss! 


*4.   WHITHER THE WEATHER 

Weather is always a big topic of conversation, especially in the
 winter when conditions can be particularly harsh. One of the
 best resources for weather reports is the NOAA Regional Weather
 Centers Web site. NOAA supplies weather forecasts, general
 climate information, and long-term weather outlooks. The
 regional offices also provide up-to-date local weather and
 forecasts. To check out the weather in your neck of the woods,
 surf on over to the NOAA Web site: 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-msie0112%2C00.html 


*5.   BACKING UP YOUR MAIL 

Don't forget to back up your e-mail files. This lesson was driven
 home recently when we lost a bunch of stuff from the Inbox. It
 seems the last thing we remember to back up is our e-mail files. 

Open Windows Explorer and go to
 \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Mail
 In the Mail folder, you'll find a group of *.mbx files. If
 you're interested only in what's in the Inbox, copy Inbox.mbx to
 a floppy disk. If you want to be really safe, copy all the files
 in the Mail folder to a floppy. 

You'll also want to retain your Address Book. You'll find it in
 \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book
 Copy the file(s) to a floppy. 


*6.   SIGNATURE MAIL 

A question that we frequently get involves adding a signature to
 Microsoft Internet Mail messages. Many people are under the
 impression that they can add a scanned version of their
 signature to Mail messages. This is not the case. The confusion
 is brought on by Mail's use of the word "signature." A
 signature, in Mail terms, is nothing more than a text message
 that gets attached to all your e-mail messages. You can't use a
 scanned signature because scanned data is saved in a file format
 other than text, and Mail can only accept signatures in text
 file format. 

To see for yourself, open Internet Mail and choose Mail, Options,
 then click the Signature tab. Next, select the radio button
 labeled File. Click Browse and then click the arrow at the right
 side of the Files of Type list box to expand the list. You'll
 see that there is only one file type available:
 text files (*.txt). 

What most people do with the Signature option is enter a famous
 quote, their personal address, a phone number--anything, as long
 as it's in text file format. 


*7.   ATTACH OR INSERT? 

Jeff B., a new subscriber, asks this e-mail question. 

"I understand that when you want to send files along with e-mail,
 you choose Insert, File Attachment and choose the file to send.
 But, what is the purpose of the command Insert, Text from File.
 Can you use this command to attach files?" 

These two commands serve two different purposes--you choose
 Insert, File Attachment to attach any kind of file to your mail
 message. You can insert files generated by word processors,
 spreadsheet programs, or even pictures and sounds. None of these
 files are required to be readable by Outlook Express. 

The other command you mentioned, Insert, Text from File, inserts
 the text from a standard text file into the body of your e-mail
 message. You are not attaching the file in this case, you are
 reading the file and placing its contents into the Outlook
 Express message. 

If you don't have a text file available, run Notepad (click
 Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad) and type something. Save
 the file (choose File, Save As) and give it a name. 

Now, click Compose Message. When the New Message window appears,
 click in the body of the message. Then, choose Insert, Text
 from File. This will open the Insert Text File dialog box.
 Locate your new file and click it. Next, click Open. You'll see
 that the text from the file now appears in your e-mail message. 


*8.   A LOCAL FAVORITE 

Here's a question from reader Penny V. 

"I work in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 most of the time. Is it
 possible to add some of the folders on my hard disk to the
 Favorites folder so I can access them without leaving Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4?" 

Yes, you can add local folders to Favorites. Try this. Run
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and type into the Address Bar the
 folder you want to add to Favorites. For example, you might type 

c:\data 

and press Enter. This will take you to the requested folder. Now,
 choose Favorites, Add to Favorites. When the Add to Favorites
 dialog box opens, you can click Create In to choose a folder for
 your new addition, or you can click OK to put the page into the
 main Favorites folder. 

Let's say you added a folder named 

c:\data 

to Favorites. You can now click Back to go back to where you were
 before you navigated to the local folder. Note that the name
 entered into the Favorites folder will be Data. 

Now choose Favorites, Data and Internet Explorer 4 will take
 you there. 


*9.   READ THE LATEST NEWS 

This request is from Paul P. 

"I used to have a Microsoft newsgroup named msnews (I think). I
 recently purchased a new computer and would like to get this
 newsgroup back. The problem is that I don't know how to get to
 the newsgroup in Outlook Express. Can you help?" 

We'll run through the procedure for you. Open Outlook Express and
 choose Go, News. Now, choose Tools, Accounts. When the Internet
 Accounts dialog box opens, click Add and choose News. This will
 open the wizard. Type the name you want to use in the newsgroup
 and click Next. Type your e-mail address and click Next. In the
 next wizard dialog box, type the server name. The newsgroup you
 had before is probably 

msnews.microsoft.com 

So, type this line and click Next. In the next page, type in a
 friendly name--MS News should do. Click Next again. This takes
 us to Choose Connection type. Here's where we can't tell you
 what to enter. If you already have an Internet connection (we
 assume you do), then select the radio button labeled I Will
 Establish My Internet Connection Manually and click Next to go
 to the last wizard page, where you can now click Finish. 

Back in Internet Accounts, click Close. Outlook Express will ask
 if you want to download newsgroups from your new entry. Click
 Yes. Outlook Express will connect and download the newsgroups. 


*10.   DRAG FROM HERE TO THERE 

Subscriber Pete D. sends this comment. 

"Some readers may not know that you can drag text, etc., from
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 to another Windows application." 

You can use drag and drop between Microsoft Internet Explorer 4
 and other Windows programs that support this feature. If you'd
 like to check this out, open Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and
 navigate to a web page. Now, run WordPad (Notepad won't support
 this feature). Size the two windows so one is above the other.
 Select some text in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and then use
 the mouse to drag it to the WordPad document. 

Release the mouse button and the text will appear in WordPad.
