8.7 Just for Outlook Express For you Outlook Express fans out there, here're a few tips to make your software experience even more pleasing. 8.7.1 Killing the Outlook Express Startup Screen If you hate wasting even a nanosecond on the way to your inbox every morning, you can set Outlook Express to take you there immediately. In your Folders pane, double-click the Outlook Express folder (if you don't have the Folders pane open , press Ctrl+Y and in the window that appears, double-click the Outlook Express folder.) At the bottom of the new screen, turn on "When Outlook Express starts, go directly to my Inbox." Ta da. 8.7.2 Renaming the Outlook Express Window Outlook Express's window title (the name that appears at the top of its screen) is, not surprisingly, Outlook Express. But if you're feeling more creative, you can change the window title to any phrase you want. To give Outlook Express your own title, first close the program. Then run the Registry Editor (see Section 15.1.2) and go to My Computer HKEY_CURRENT_USER Identities {UniqueIdentity} Software Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0. (Note: UniqueIdentity is a number such as {E46F102B-802C-4FF4-B1D3-B574483B2F75}.) Create a new String Value named WindowTitle. In the value field, type your own title for Outlook Express ‚ say, Everything That Matters ‚ then exit the Registry. When you open Outlook Express, your own handiwork greets you at the top of the program. 8.7.3 Backing Up Outlook Express If you use Outlook Express and you're the kind of person whose worst nightmare involves losing all your email messages, you've got to back them up. Here's how.
Note: For more tips on backing up and restoring Outlook Express files, including your address book, see http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;270670.
To make a backup copy of your messages: -
Choose Tools Options . When the dialog box open, click the Maintenance tab. -
On the Maintenance tab, click Store Folder . A little box opens showing the location of your message files. -
Highlight the whole folder path , and then press Ctrl+C to copy it . Once you've got it copied , click Cancel twice to get out of the dialog boxes. -
Choose StartRun . Put your cursor in the box and paste in your folder path (press Ctrl+V to paste). Then click OK to open Windows Explorer to the folder holding all your messages (they're labeled by folder, with the extension .dbx). -
In Windows Explorer, select all the messages (Ctrl+A), and then copy them (Ctrl+C) . Browse to the place where you'd like to copy your files ‚ hopefully a folder you backup to a CD or external drive. But you can also choose your desktop or somewhere else obvious for now. -
Create a new folder (FileNewFolder) and name it something memorable . Mail Backup will probably do the trick. -
Open the new folder and paste your mail files into it (Ctrl+V) . That's it. You've got a backup copy that you can now copy somewhere else safe ‚ ideally somewhere not on your PC. (See Section 4.1 for more about backups .)
Tip: Various shareware programs can add even more features to Outlook and Outlook Express See the box below.
ADD-IN ALERT
Adding Features to Outlook and Outlook Express | | If you think your email program is a few features shy of perfection , there are plenty of downloads that can add more bells and whistles to both Outlook and Outlook Express. Generally, there are more downloads available for Outlook than its slimmed-down cousin, but here are a few options for both programs: -
Outlook Express Backup and Outlook 2000/XP Backup . These two programs, from the same publisher, make it easy to backup Outlook and Outlook Express. With these add-ins, you can backup all your data for multiple identities, set up an automated backup schedule, and view the backup file to see what email you've sent and received. With Outlook Express Backup, you can even copy text from a single backed -up message. That way, if you've accidentally deleted an important email message, you can easily retrieve it from the backup file, instead of having to restore every email you've ever sent and received. ($29.95 shareware; http://www. genie -soft.com.) -
Fax4Outlook . This add-in lets you send and receive faxes with Outlook (but not Outlook Express), keeping track of your incoming and outgoing faxes in folders separate from the rest of your data. Fax4Outlook integrates with Windows XP's Fax Wizard, so it uses your phone line--you can't send faxes using an Internet connection. Fax4Outlook is worth getting if you do a significant amount of faxing and don't want to waste precious desk space on a fax machine. ($29.95 shareware; http://www.outlook4team.com). -
Nelson's Email Organizer. If you suffer from email overload, this program can help you get your digital act together--but only with Outlook, not Outlook Express. It automatically sorts your email into a variety of easy-to-use folders (both canned and ones you set up), does lightning-quick searches through your mail, notifies you when new messages arrive , and lets you sort your email into various views (such as mail sent in the past week). ($39.95 shareware; http://www.caelo.com).) -
Annotis Mail . If you're a fan of multimedia email, give this program a try. It lets you easily insert pictures, markers, sticky notes, sounds, and videos into your email, using either Outlook or Outlook Express. ($24.95 shareware; http://www.annotis.com). |
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