Microsoft Outlook Express Tips #9



*1.  IT'S THE 70'S ALL OVER AGAIN

August 5th, 1999

When someone sends you a message with multiple pictures 
attached, why bother with opening and closing them one by one? 
Take advantage of technology: View the pictures as a slide show:

- 1. Choose Tools + Options and click on the Read tab. 
- 2. Select Show Multiple Pictures as a Slide-Show. 
- 3. Make sure that Automatically Show Picture Attachments in
     Message is also selected. 

The next time someone sends you a message with more than one 
picture attached, you see the first picture, along with 
navigation buttons that say Previous, Play, and Next. (We 
don't recommend inviting the neighbors over to look at your 
e-mail -- they might think you're a little strange.)


*2. HOW BIG IS IT?

August 6th, 1999

Have you ever wondered just how much space the messages in your 
e-mail folders eat up? Here's an easy way to check: 

- 1. In the Folder Bar or Outlook Bar, right-click the folder. 
- 2. Select Properties. 
- 3. Read the size (in parentheses) next to the number of files
     in the folder. 

If those folders are more crowded than the closet in the spare 
bedroom, there's no time like the present to clean house.


*3. SIDE-BY-SIDE, HAND-IN-HAND

August 9th, 1999

We all know that the Preview pane lives underneath the message 
list in your Inbox, but there's no law that says it has to stay 
there. If you want your Inbox to look more like a typical 
Windows Explorer window, move the Preview pane over to the side:

- 1. Choose View + Layout. 
- 2. Under Preview Pane, select Beside Messages. 
- 3. Click OK. 

If you decide the Preview pane should go back from whence it 
came, simply repeat these steps but select Below Messages 
in Step 2.


*4. HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, PAL

August 10th, 1999

Say you're on the road, checking messages using an ancient 
(meaning more than a year old) notebook computer. Chances are 
you don't have the time or the patience to download a 2 MB 
Adobe Acrobat file. That's what the Inbox Assistant is for. Ask 
that it not download messages that exceed a certain size 
limit--at least, not until you're good and ready. 

- 1. Choose Tools + Inbox Assistant. 
- 2. Inside the Inbox Assistant, click the Add button. 
- 3. Select the Larger Than box and set this number to the
     desired limit (500 KB, for example). 
- 4. Select Do Not Download from the Server. 
- 5. Click OK twice. 

Don't forget to turn this option off when you're back in the 
office; otherwise, those large messages just sit on the server.


*5. FORMING AN ATTACHMENT TO YOUR E-MAIL?

August 11th, 1999

Reader Mary B. asks, "When I receive my mail, some of it comes 
with a paper clip icon. How do I open these?" 

Those paperclips are Outlook Express's way of telling you 
there's a file attached to the message. To open the file: 

- 1. Open the e-mail. 
- 2. Double-click the file icon at the bottom of the
     message window. 

If you're using the Preview pane, you can open the attachment 
from there by clicking the paperclip icon in the message header 
and then clicking the filename. The file opens in the 
right application.


*6. KEEP IT CLEAN, BUDDY

August 12th, 1999

Reader Gary Rue writes in with a tip for cleaning up messages 
you want to save: 

- 1. Open the message. 
- 2. Click Forward; then type your own e-mail address in the
     To: field. (To make any changes to the message, you first
     need to forward it to yourself.) 
- 3. Position your cursor at the beginning of what you'd like
     to keep. 
- 4. Press Ctrl + Shift + Home to select everything above your
     cursor and then press Delete to remove the stuff you
     don't want. 
- 5. Position your cursor at the end of the text you want
     to keep. 
- 6. Press Ctrl + Shift + End to select all the text between
     your cursor and the end of the message; press Delete. 
- 7. After you clear out the unnecessary clutter, press Send
     to send the message to yourself.


*7. BACK UP THERE--PART 1 OF 2

August 13th, 1999

If you had to choose one piece of advice when it comes to 
computers, this would be it: Back up. Losing all your data can 
not only be catastrophic and inconvenient, but it also makes 
you feel like a fool for not taking one simple step. Here's how 
to back up your mail files: 

- 1. Click the Start menu; then choose Find + Files or Folders.
- 2. In the Named box, type

*.mbx 

- 3. Click Find Now. (There is an .mbx file for each folder in
     your folder list--Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, and so on.)
- 4. Copy every one of the .mbx files to a floppy. 

Note: Do not copy the .idx files that live in the same 
directory. They are index files, but you're better off letting 
Outlook Express re-create them if you need to reinstate your 
mail folders.


*8. BACK UP THERE--PART 2 OF 2

August 16th, 1999

In the last tip, we showed you how to back up your mail 
folders. Today, we explain how to back up your Windows Address 
Book so that, even if your hard drive goes kaput, you can still 
get to your little black book. 

- 1. Click the Start menu; then choose Find + Files or Folders.
- 2. In the Named box, type in 

*.wab 

- 3. Click Find Now. (Typically, the .wab file is in
     C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book.) 
- 4. When you find the .wab file, simply copy it to a safe
     location, like a floppy disk. 

Note: Do not rename your Windows Address Book file.


*9. WHAT'S YOUR HANGUP?

August 17th, 1999

Apparently, Outlook Express would like to think that sending 
and receiving e-mail is the only reason you bother to connect 
to the Internet. Otherwise, why would it hang up on you after 
it's done downloading your mail? Fortunately, you can keep it 
from disconnecting: 

- 1. Choose Tools + Options. 
- 2. Click the Dial Up tab. 
- 3. Deselect Hang Up When Finished Sending,
     Receiving or Downloading. 
- 4. Click OK. 

-From now on, Outlook Express stays connected until you 
disconnect manually (for example, by right-clicking the Dial-up 
icon in your taskbar tray and selecting Disconnect).


*10. ALL IN THE FAMILY--PART 1 OF 3

August 18th, 1999

Need to send an e-mail about the family reunion to your whole 
family in one shot but don't want to search through your 
Address Book name by name? No problem. You can track the names 
down in a snap by using the Find button in your Address Book. 

- 1. Press Ctrl + Shift + B to bring up your Address Book. 
- 2. Click the Find button (or press Ctrl + F) to bring up the
     Find People dialog box. 
- 3. Click Clear All. 
- 4. Click in the Other text field and type the info that your
     contacts share (if you had designated all your relatives
     as Family in the Other field, for example, you'd type
     in "family"). 
- 5. Click Find All. 
- 6. Press Shift + End to select the entire list of contacts
     that pops up. 
- 7. Right-click anywhere on the highlighted list and choose
     Send Mail. 
- 8. Fill in the message and click Send as you normally would. 
- 9. Press the Esc key to exit Find People. 
- 10. Press the Esc key to exit the Address Book.
