Microsoft Outlook Express Tips #4



*1.  GET SOME NEW THREADS--PART 1 OF 3

May 24th, 1999

Ever find yourself hunting through you inbox trying to track 
down a specific reply to a message? Say you can't remember 
where your book group is meeting. You've got 7 messages that 
say Re: Book Group, and the meeting location is buried in 
there somewhere. 

For an easier way to track all those e-mails, just group them 
together. To do this, click View + Sort By + Group Messages 
by Subject. 

Ta da! Your inbox is now sorted by subject, making it easier 
to search.


*2. GET SOME NEW THREADS--PART 2 OF 3

May 25th, 1999

In the last tip, we told you how to group your inbox messages 
by subject, making them easier to read and search. You can do 
the same for your newsgroup messages--handy when hundreds of 
people are weighing in on a particular topic. 

To get started (assuming you've already entered your news 
server information), follow these steps: 

- 1. Switch to your news folder. 
- 2. Click View + Sort By + Group Messages by Thread.


*3. GET SOME NEW THREADS--PART 3 OF 3

May 26th, 1999

In the two previous tips, we told you how to display your inbox 
and newsgroup messages by thread. You also know from past tips 
that a plus sign next to a message in your inbox means there 
are replies, and you can view them by clicking on that plus 
sign. However, if you prefer to not manually expand those 
threads each time, do this: 

- 1. Click Tools + Options. 
- 2. Select the Read tab. 
- 3. Select Automatically expand conversation threads by
     placing a check mark in the box. 
- 4. Click OK. 

Now all your messages are not only grouped by subject, but 
each thread is also displayed, making them easier to read.


*4. SORT
      
May 27th, 1999

Who was that guy from last Tuesday's meeting? You can't 
remember his name, but you remember his email address starts 
with "bizguy." Not a problem. You can sort Address Book 
contacts alphabetically by first name, last name, or e-mail 
address, and you can order the list in ascending or descending 
order. To sort by e-mail address:

- 1. Switch to your Address Book. 
- 2. Click the E-mail Address column heading. 
- 3. To switch between ascending and descending sort order,
     click the column heading again so that the arrow points
     up or down. 

There you go! All your contacts, alphabetized by e-mail 
address. Of course, you can do the same thing to sort by first 
or last name.


*5. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT

May 28th, 1999

Imagine this scenario: You drag yourself to work, shoot the 
breeze at the coffee pot, fire up your e-mail, and discover you 
have 30 new messages to read. Next Monday's staff meeting 
announcement. Marketing report. Announcement of corporate 
restructuring. And so on and so forth. All boring, boring, 
boring--until you get to number 30, which announces a plate of 
freshly baked cookies in the kitchenette! Unfortunately, while 
you were reading e-mail, your coworkers were eating your share. 

You could have avoided this disaster if the cookie-baking 
sender had remembered to mark that message as high-priority. 
You would have seen the red exclamation point next to the 
e-mail and been motivated to read it first. To avert tragedies 
like this in the future, make sure you mark high-priority 
e-mails as important: 

- 1. Click Compose New Message. 
- 2. Compose the message as usual. 
- 3. Choose Tools + Set Priority + High. 
- 4. Click Send.


*6. PUT IT IN STORAGE

June 1st, 1999

One of the joys of technology (and Outlook Express) is that if 
you have an Internet connection at home, you can still get 
e-mail from your work account--all while lounging in your 
jammies and fuzzy slippers. But before you download new 
messages from your work mail server, make sure that you can 
still access those messages when you return to your desk at the 
office. To do so, you specify that messages be left on your 
mail server and not just downloaded to the hard drive of your 
remote computer. Follow these steps: 

- 1. Choose Tools + Accounts. 
- 2. Select the mail account and click Properties. 
- 3. Click the Advanced tab; under Delivery, select the option
     Leave a Copy of Messages on Server. 
- 4. Choose OK.


*7. BETTER THAN A BUNCH OF FLOWERS

June 2nd, 1999

To forward a bunch of e-mail messages to one person, you don't 
need to send all the messages individually. For example, 
suppose that your sister has relieved you of your duty as 
family reunion coordinator (whew). You can forward those saved 
e-mails from far-flung family members to your sister in one 
fell swoop, provided that all the messages are in the 
same folder. 

To forward multiple messages at one time: 

- 1. Switch to the folder that contains the e-mails you want
     to forward. 
- 2. Hold down Ctrl and select the messages by clicking them. 
- 3. Click the Forward button. A New Message window appears
     with the messages attached (you can see them across the
     bottom of the window). 
- 4. Just address the message, compose your own note,
     and send it off.


*8. SOUNDS GOOD

June 7th, 1999

Whenever you get new mail, Outlook Express plays a handy little 
sound. But you're a unique individual, so why should you be 
stuck with the same notification sound that everyone gets? 
Personalize your e-mail by assigning a new sound--like a bird 
chirping or a bar or two from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony--to it:

- 1. From your Windows desktop, choose Start + Settings +
     Control Panel. 
- 2. Double-click Sounds. 
- 3. In the Sounds Properties dialog box, scroll to and click
     New Mail Notification. 
- 4. Click Browse, find the .wav file you want to use,
     and click OK. 
- 5. Click Apply; then click OK.


*9. SIGNATURES WILL BE GIVEN ON A NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS

June 3rd, 1999

Signatures--those little sign-off messages that automatically 
appear at the end of your messages--are a good thing. They let 
people know who you are, how to reach you, and, if you included 
a witty quote, whether or not you have a sense of humor. But 
too much of a good thing can get repetitive. Often, you don't 
need to attach a signature--for example, when you reply to a 
message or forward a message to someone else. To exclude a 
signature from forwards and replies, follow these steps: 

- 1. Choose Tools + Stationery. 
- 2. Click Signature. 
- 3. Select the Don't Add Signature to Replies and
     Forwards option. 
- 4. Click OK. 

Now your signature is attached to only new messages (assuming, 
of course, you have this feature selected in the dialog box 
just described).


*10. SIG ALERT!

June 4th, 1999

In our last tip, we showed you how to send messages without 
attaching your signature at the bottom. But what about all 
those other messages that do get signatures? If you're going to 
send a signature, why not make it as personal as you can. 
What's more personal than a pithy quote, you ask? How about 
a picture. 

To add a picture to your signature: 

- 1. Choose Tools + Options. 
- 2. Click the Send tab. 
- 3. Under the Mail Sending Format section, select the
     HTML option. 
- 4. Click OK. 
- 5. Open a New Message window and compose your message. 
- 6. Choose Insert + Picture and choose a picture. (Note: Make
     sure that the image is suitable for a signature; in other
     words, pick a small one.)

Voila! You've got a picture-perfect signature!
