Microsoft Outlook Express Tips #1



*1.  BE AS LONG-WINDED AS YOU PLEASE--FOR FREE

April 9th, 1999

In a previous tip, we pointed out that you can read messages 
offline to conserve online time. But reading isn't the only 
activity you can do offline. You can compose messages 
offline, too:

- 1. Choose File + Work Offline. 
- 2. Disconnect from the Internet (for example, by
     right-clicking the dial-up icon in your taskbar and
     selecting Disconnect). 
- 3. Compose your message(s) as usual. (Click Compose
     Message and so on.) 
- 4. Click Send. 
- 5. If necessary, click OK to close the Send Mail dialog box.
     (It just tells you that your message is being moved to
     the Outbox.) 
- 6. Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for each new message. 

Ready to send them off? Click Send and Receive; then click Yes 
to confirm that you want to go back online. Outlook Express 
reconnects you and delivers your mail.


*2.   DON'T FORGET TO SEND A HOUSEWARMING GIFT

April 12th, 1999

Did one of your contacts or friends just move across the 
country? Switch to a new ISP? Get a new job? When you receive a 
message that includes his or her new e-mail address, be sure to 
put it in your Address Book right away. Otherwise, you risk 
deleting the message by mistake and losing the new address. 

To add a new address to your Address Book: 

- 1. Select the new e-mail address. 
- 2. Press Ctrl + C to copy it to the Clipboard. 
- 3. Open your Address Book (press Ctrl + Shift + B). 
- 4. Double-click the entry whose address you want to change. 
- 5. Select the default e-mail at the bottom of the dialog box
     (assuming that's the one you want to replace). 
- 6. Click the Edit button. 
- 7. Press Ctrl + V to paste in the new e-mail address. 
- 8. Press Enter. 
- 9. Click OK. 

Of course, you can follow these same steps to copy and paste 
any other changed information into your Address Book, such as a 
phone number or a street address. Not that anyone really use 
phones or snail mail anymore. . . .


*3.   HOW NICE--A HAND-WRITTEN MESSAGE!

April 13th, 1999

Tired of reading your incoming messages in that same, boring 
font? Then change that old, boring font to something spiffier. 
Depending on the fonts installed on your system, you might want 
to choose one that makes text look handwritten or one that's 
purely whimsical. Which one you choose all depends on your mood.

To change the font: 

- 1. Choose Tools + Options. 
- 2. Click the Read tab. 
- 3. Click the Fonts button. 
- 4. In the drop-down list under Proportional Font, select a
     new font, such as Lucida Handwriting (or any other one
     you want).
- 5. Click OK twice. 
- 6. Exit and restart Outlook Express. 

-From now on, your incoming messages have a whole new look! 

(Tip-in-a-tip: You can't preview fonts from within Outlook 
Express's Fonts dialog box. So unless you know the exact font 
you want to select, use another program, such as your word 
processor, to preview fonts before following these steps. For 
example, in Microsoft Word, select Format + Font and then 
select any font to view it in the Preview box.)


*4.   SIZE MATTERS

April 14th, 1999

In our last tip, we pointed out that you can spiff up your 
incoming messages by changing the font used to display them: 
Choose Tools + Options; click the Read tab; click Fonts; under 
Proportional Font, select a new font; click OK twice; and then 
exit and restart Outlook Express. 

Depending on the font you chose, you may find that the text in 
your messages appears too small to read comfortably. Or you may 
discover that it's so big you can hardly fit a whole message 
on-screen. Happily, you can adjust the size of your 
text accordingly. 

- 1. Choose Tools + Options. 
- 2. Click the Read tab. 
- 3. Click the Fonts button. 
- 4. Click the Font Size down arrow and choose one of the five
     options. If the text is too big, for example, you may want
     to change this setting from Medium to Small. 
- 5. Click OK twice. 

As before, you need to exit and restart Outlook Express for 
this change to take effect.


*5.  OVERRULED!

April 15th, 1999

In a previous tip, we pointed out that you can spiff up your 
incoming messages by changing the font used to display them: 
Choose Tools + Options; click the Read tab; click Fonts; under 
Proportional Font, select a new font; click OK twice; then exit 
and restart Outlook Express. 

So why did you just get a message that uses some random font 
you've never seen in your life? Because the sender said so, 
that's why. If someone sends you an HTML message that uses a 
font of their selection, that's what you see. 
You've been overruled.


*6.  F5: SHORT AND SWEET

April 16th, 1999

Psst. Want to see a neat trick? With Outlook Express open, 
press the F5 key on your keyboard. The result is exactly the 
same as you would get if you clicked the Send and Receive button.

(Tip-in-a-tip: If you don't want to reach up that high on your 
keyboard, Ctrl + M does exactly the same thing.)


*7.  FOLLOW THE FORMAT LEADER

April 19th, 1999

Want to be sure that people who send you plain text messages 
get plain text messages back or that people who send you HTML 
messages get HTML messages from you? Fortunately, you don't 
have to adjust your reply's message format by hand each and 
every time. Outlook Express sets the format for you, based on 
the message to which you're replying. Here's how to use this 
nifty feature: 

- 1. Choose Tools + Options. 
- 2. Click the Send tab. 
- 3. Select the option Reply to Messages in the Format in Which
     They Were Sent. 
- 4. Click OK 

-From now on, even if your default message format is HTML (as 
determined on the Send tab of the dialog box that appears when 
you choose Tools + Options), when you reply to a plain text 
message, Outlook Express creates a message in that same, simple 
format. If your mail sending format is set to Plain Text, 
replying to an HTML message automatically sets up an 
HTML response.


*8.  