Microsoft Outlook Express Tips #3



*1.  EVERYONE NEEDS AN EDITOR

May 3rd, 1999

Have you ever received a really funny joke via e-mail (An 
e-mail joke worth keeping? Hey, it could happen.), but didn't 
want to have to keep scrolling through 54 comments left by 
others who've been forwarded the same message? Sadly, Outlook 
Express won't let you edit messages in your inbox, forcing you 
to save the whole message in its entirety. Fortunately, there's 
a workaround--just resend it to yourself!  

- 1. Open the offending message.  
- 2. Click the Forward Message button.  
- 3. Type your own e-mail address in the To: field  
- 4. Edit away--feel free to delete text, get rid of others'
     comments, etc.  
- 5. Click Send.  
- 6. Once you receive the message (from yourself), save it in
     your folder for good jokes.  
- 7. Don't forget to delete the original message, or you'll
     have identical e-mails cluttering your inbox.  

Presto! Now you can be quick on the draw when you need a good 
riddle for your co-workers.


*2. THE GANG'S ALL HERE--PART 1 of 3

May 4th, 1999

Do you regularly send e-mail message to the same groups of 
people? You know, the gang in marketing, your Tuesday night 
bridge club, or your family? Why not create a mailing list 
(Outlook Express calls it a group) so you don't have to 
manually add each person in the To field of your outgoing 
message. Follow these steps: 

- 1. In the Address Book, click the New Group button on the
     toolbar.  
- 2. In the Group Name box, type the name of your group; for
     example "Bridge Club."  
- 3. Click Select Members, and then click a name from the
     Address Book list.  
- 4. Click Select to add the name to the group, and repeat as
     necessary. 
- 5. Click OK twice.  

When Tuesday rolls around, just type Bridge Club in the To box 
when you send messages. You can create multiple groups, and 
contacts can belong to more than one group.


*3. THE GANG'S ALL HERE--PART 2 of 3

May 5th, 1999

In our last tip, we told you how to create a Group, or e-mail 
mailing list. If you've created a few of them, you've probably 
noticed that they get displayed in your Address Book along with 
all your other contacts. To see a list of your groups 
separately from your contacts, do the following: 

- 1. Click the Address Book button. 
- 2. Click the View menu. 
- 3. Make sure that Groups List has a check mark next to it. 
- 4. If it doesn't, select it. 

Now your Address Book window should be divided into two panes. 
The left pane will show all your groups.


*4. THE GANG'S ALL HERE--PART 3 of 3

May 6th, 1999

In the last two tips, we told you how to create and view 
Address Book groups, or mailing lists. But what if you want to 
send a message to multiple people, but don't want everyone's 
name to be displayed? 

Simple! Add them to the Bcc (also known as Blind Carbon Copy) 
list. Adding contacts to this field accomplishes the same thing 
as adding them to the Cc (Carbon Copy) list except for one 
important detail  recipients can't see who's on the blind 
carbon copy list. Say you want to keep a colleague in the loop 
about your meeting with a client, but said client only wants to 
deal with you. You can send your co-worker a copy of the e-mail 
on the sly.  

- 1. Click the Compose Message button. 
- 2. Type the primary recipient's name in the To: box. 
- 3. Type the secret recipient's name in the Bcc: box. If
     you're mailing an entire group, type the group's name in
     the Bcc: box. 
- 4. Inside the New Message dialog box, address and compose
     your message as usual. 
- 5. Click the Send button. 

Don't forget to type an address in the To: box. If you address 
a message using only the Bcc box, the message will be addressed 
to "undisclosed recipients" when the recipients view the 
message. If you're sending blind carbon copies to a group, you 
can put your own name in the To: box, and put the group name in 
the Bcc: box.


*5. SPACE SAVERS--PART 1 OF 2

May 7th, 1999

Folders are great when it comes to organizing your messages--you
know just where to find what you're looking for. They're also 
good at hogging precious disk space, which could be better 
used, say, downloading pictures of, umm... your dream home. But 
don't give up on those folders! 

To save a little space by compacting, or compressing, your 
folders, start at the Inbox window, select a mail folder, and 
then click File + Folder + Compact. 

Voila! Smaller (and still useful) folders!


*6. SPACE SAVERS--PART 2 OF 2

May 10th, 1999

In the last tip we told you how to save disk space by 
compacting your folders. There's another way to keep Outlook 
Express the lean, mean e-mail machine it strives to be. By 
default, the program saves copies of the mail you send in the 
Sent Items folder. By changing this setting, you can recover 
some lost disk space. When's the last time you looked at that 
folder, anyway? 

- 1. Click Tools + Options.  
- 2. Click the Send tab, and clear the check box next to Save
     copy of sent messages in the 'Sent Items' folder.  

(Tip-in-a-tip) If this seems too drastic, and you like having a 
copy of sent messages, be sure to periodically go through the 
Sent Items folder and manually delete message you don't need.


*7. WHO ARE YOU?

May 11th, 1999

A reader asks, "How do you change how your name is displayed in 
the default 'From' when sending a mail message?" 

When you created your e-mail account, you told Outlook Express 
which name to attach to outgoing messages. If, in a fit of 
whimsy, you told it to identify you as Goofy, you may want to 
change it back to your real name. Here's how: 

- 1. Click Tools + Accounts. 
- 2. Click the Mail tab. 
- 3. Select the appropriate e-mail account, then click
     Properties. 
- 4. In the Name Box (under User Information) type the name you
     want displayed in the From field in outgoing messages. 
- 5. Click OK. 

You're ready to go! From now on, the right name will be on your 
outgoing e-mail messages.


*8. 999
      
Did you know you're not stuck with the default Outlook Express 
window? With just a few clicks in the Layout dialog box, you 
can display or hide the Outlook bar, the folder window and the 
folder bar. 

- 1. Click View + Layout. 
- 2. Under Basic, check the items you want to appear and
     uncheck those you don't. 
- 3. Click OK.


*9. HAVE IT YOUR WAY--PART 2 OF 3

May 13th, 1999

In the last tip, we told you how to display or hide the Outlook 
bar and folder windows. You can also customize your Outlook 
Express toolbar by changing its position in the window and 
adding or removing toolbar buttons:   

- 1. Click View + Layout. 
- 2. Under Toolbar, choose the toolbar location you
     prefer--Top, Left, Bottom, or Right. 
- 3. Check the box next to Show Text on Toolbar Buttons if you
     want text; remove the checkmark if you don't. 
- 4. Click on Customize Toolbar, select which buttons you'd like
     to appear, then click Close. 
- 5. Click OK. 

Now your toolbar has exactly what you need!


*10. GO DIRECTLY TO INBOX. DO NOT PASS GO

May 21st, 1999

Why bother with the main Outlook Express screen, with its 
unnecessary graphics of mail, news, Address Book, and so on? If 
you're a person who saves time wherever they can, you'll want 
to skip that stuff and go straight to your messages. 

- 1. Click Tools + Options. 
- 2. Click on the General tab. 
- 3. Place a check next to the box When starting, go directly
     to my 'Inbox' folder. 

(Tip-in-a-tip: You can accomplish the same thing by checking 
the box on the main Outlook Express screen.)
