Configuring Outlook Express

Before you can use Outlook Express, you have to configure it for your current e-mail and newsgroup accounts. You can also reconfigure the interface to look a little more sophisticated, like the interface for the Microsoft Outlook program.

Setting Up E-mail Accounts

Outlook Express has to be set up for each and every e-mail account you might have. If you used the Internet Connection Wizard to create a new Internet connection, Outlook Express was automatically configured at that time. If you didn't use the Internet Connection Wizard, you'll need to configure Outlook Express manually. You'll also have to manually configure Outlook Express if you add a new e-mail account to your portfolio.

To add a new e-mail account to Outlook Express, you'll need to have the following information handy:

• Your e-mail address (in the form of [e-mail]) for the new account

• The names of the new account's incoming and outgoing e-mail servers (may be the same)

• The new e-mail POP account name and password

After you have the proper information in hand, follow these steps to set up a new account:

1.	From within Outlook Express, select Tools, Accounts.
2.	When the Internet Accounts dialog box appears, select the Mail tab, and then click the Add button and select Mail.
3.	Outlook Express now launches a subset of the Internet Connection Wizard. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete your new account's configuration.

If you have more than one e-mail account, or accounts with multiple ISPs, repeat these steps to add your additional accounts.

Setting Up Usenet Accounts

While you're setting up Outlook Express, you also need to configure it to access Usenet newsgroups from your ISP's newsgroup server. As with the e-mail setup, if you used the Internet Connection Wizard to create your Internet connection, Outlook Express was automatically configured at that time. If you didn't, you'll need to configure Outlook Express manually for your newsgroup server.

NOTE

The first time you use Outlook Express, a wizard launches automatically to walk you through the new account setup.

Follow these steps:

1.	From within Outlook Express, select Tools, Accounts to display the Internet Accounts dialog box.
2.	Select the News tab, click the Add button, and then select News.
3.	Outlook Express now launches a subset of the Internet Connection Wizard. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete your account configuration.

TIP

Outlook Express lets you access multiple news servers. For example, you may want to access the newsgroup server at your ISP for standard newsgroups, but access Microsoft's news server (msnews.microsoft.com) for discussions specific to Microsoft software. This is a good strategy when you find newsgroups that aren't available on a specific server.

Personalizing the Interface

The Outlook Express window can be configured for a number of different views. For example, you may want to change the traditional "tree" view of the Folders list into an icon-driven sidebar more like the one used in Microsoft Outlook.

Figure 9.1 showed the Outlook Express window in standard configuration. Figure 9.2 shows a different configuration, with the Outlook bar to the left, folder bar to the top, and preview pane underneath the message pane.

Figure 9.2. An alternate configuration for Outlook Express, mimicking Microsoft Outlook's look and feel.

To configure the Outlook Express window:

1.	Select View, Layout to display the Window Layout Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 9.3. Figure 9.3. Use the Windows Layout Properties dialog box to customize the program's look and feel.
2.	To display or hide various other parts of the interface, check or uncheck the options in the Basic section of the dialog box.
3.	To display a preview pane, check the Show Preview Pane option. You also can choose to display the preview pane below or beside your messages, and to display a header for the preview pane.
4.	To add, delete, or rearrange the buttons on the toolbar, click the Customize Toolbar button. When the Customize Toolbar dialog box opens, make your selections. (You also can configure how the buttons are displayed with large or small icons, no labels, normal labels, or selected text to the right.)
5.	Click OK when done.

You also can select which columns are displayed in the Message pane. Select View, Columns to display the Columns dialog box. Check those columns you want to show, and uncheck those you want to hide. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to rearrange the columns to your liking, then click OK.