Q:
Is there a way to stop my email program from automatically checking my mail when I turn it on?
A:
I’m not sure why, but I like to have control over when my email downloads. I decide when to push the Send/Receive button. Setting your email up to only check email at your command is easy.
With Outlook Express go to Tools/Options then under the “General” tab… Continue reading
Did you ever want to forward just part of an email? You know, without all the previous addresses, or with only the relevant information? Maybe you want to quote the original in a reply. Well, today is your lucky day.
Both situations start off in a similar way: in the original email highlight the text you want in the forward or reply.
To forward the highlighted text in a new… Continue reading
You can save space on your C drive by moving your Thunderbird email storage folder to another drive or partition.
First, you need to find out where the folder is hiding. Go to Tools/Account Settings and click on “Local Folders”. You’ll see the location under “Message Storage” where it says “Local directory”. The path will look something like this…
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\ApplicationData\Thunderbird\Profiles\ID #\Mail\Local Folders
Note that the “ID #” folder… Continue reading
Q:
Is there any way to get my Outlook Express email to save on the “D” drive?
A:
Yes, you can move the storage folder for your email program to any drive or partition then point Outlook Express to the new location.
First you need to figure out where OE keeps all your messages. Outlook Express uses small databases to store your information. Once you figure out where… Continue reading
Q:
My Outlook Express is bogged down. Is there a way to just start over?
A:
Often when a program doesn’t work properly the instinct is to totally reinstall. This may not be the case with Outlook Express. You can reset the folders, allowing you to get a fresh start.
To do this, find your way to the OE store folder. Not sure where it is? Go to… Continue reading
Q:
What is this “web based email” that you always talk about?
A:
Short answer: email that you check using your web browser.
Outlook Express and Thunderbird are referred to as email “clients”. They’re programs on your computer whose main goal in life is to manage your email.
“Web based”, on the other hand, is located on a server and can be accessed from any computer using a… Continue reading
You’ve probably heard about the soldier killed in Iraq whose family wants to get into his email account. Well, due to the privacy agreement, Yahoo won’t let them.
You may agree or disagree with this, but here’s what we can learn from: if you plan on going into combat, or if you want your email accounts taken care of when you pass on, let your spouse, a trusted relative, or… Continue reading
Q:
Can I add a picture to an AOL email?
A:
Yes, you can insert .art, .jpg, .gif, and .bmp images into AOL email.
Select the “Write” icon in the AOL toolbar to bring up a new email window. Over on the right hand side you’ll see a camera icon.
Select “Insert Pictures” from the menu.
In the “Open” window select the folder where the picture… Continue reading
Are there people you email every day? Of course you have them in your address book, but wouldn’t it be cool to have a desktop shortcut for them? Double-click and you’ll get a message window from your default email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird) ready for your message. This doesn’t work with web based email: Yahoo, MSN/Hotmail, AOL.
Right-click the desktop and choose New/Shortcut.
The New Shortcut Wizard will guide… Continue reading
What do you do about missing pictures in Yahoo Mail?
Well, they added a “feature” that blocks pictures that load from a server (like our newsletter).
To fix the problem, go to Mail Options, Spam Protection, the check the radio button marked “Don’t block any images”.
~ David
David Samuel Thomas… Continue reading
Q:
Is there a way to back up my Address Book?
A:
It would ruin my day if I lost all the contacts in my address book. That’s why I save it to disk, just in case, and I’m going to show you how too.
With Outlook Express type Ctrl+Shift+B to bring up your Address Book. Under “File” choose “Export” then “Address book (WAB)”
Give it… Continue reading
Q:
How do I block senders using Thunderbird?
A:
We’ve told you how to block senders and domains with Outlook Express, but how about those of you who use Mozilla Thunderbird?
First you need to activate your Junk Mail Controls. Go to Tools>Account Settings. Under “Junk Settings” check off “Do not mark mail as junk mail if the sender is in: Personal Address Book”.
Next you… Continue reading
Q:
My Outlook Express Blocked Senders list disappeared and whenever I add new addresses they vanish too. What’s going on?
A:
Somewhere along the line the registry key for the OE Blocked Senders became corrupt.
If you are comfortable editing the registry you can reset your blocked senders key and rebuild it.
First, close OE and open the registry by going to Start/Run and typing in “regedit” (without the… Continue reading
When you’re surfing along in Internet Explorer you might decide to send an email by clicking the little envelope button in the toolbar. Or if you’re in Firefox you might hit Ctrl+M to send one. Either way, you’ll probably get an Outlook Express window. But wait, you use Thunderbird or Incredimail for your email. How can that default be changed?
Whether
OK, maybe you don’t want to use Outlook Express but would rather check your AOL email using Thunderbird or Netscape 7.2—well, here you go…
In Thunderbird go o to Tools/Account Settings then click the “Add Account” button.
Make sure the “Email Account” radio button is selected. Click “Next”.
Enter your screen name and your email address (screen name plus @aol.com). Click “Next”.
Select the IMAP radio button
Type “imap.aol.com” (without… Continue reading
Not too long ago you were stuck checking your AOL email in the AOL browser. I think it was because they wanted you to see the banner advertisements littering the desktop. Anyway, recently they decided to allow netizens to access their mail using an email client like Outlook Express.
Rather than using POP3, AOL’s open mail access allows any email client with IMAP support to read and send mail. Outlook… Continue reading
Q:
When I send an email why doesn’t it go into my “Sent” folder?
A:
Most email clients are set up to save every email you send, but sometimes it might get changed or whoever set up your computer turned this feature off. Turning it back on is easy.
In Outlook Express go to Tools/Options and select the “Send” tab. Make sure that “Save a copy of sent… Continue reading
Q:
I get email coming to me with a paper clip preceding the sender but half the time there is no attachment. Is there a ghost attachment in there somewhere?
A:
I have this happen to me all the time in Outlook Express. Finally I decided to investigate and noticed that they always had one thing in common: there was a little message at the bottom… “No virus… Continue reading
If you receive a lot of email chances are half of it is unwanted.
Here’s an easy way in Outlook/Express and Thunderbird to scan through mail quickly and delete the garbage: hold down the Shift key and use the down arrow key to zip through each message. This will highlight each one.
When you get to a message you want to keep, arrow up one and hit “Delete”.
Bad email… Continue reading
One way to safely open suspicious email is to open in plain text mode. This prevents any nasties malicious code or rogue images hidden in the HTML from doing their thing. It will, however, also take out any formatting and pictures so don’t try reading the HTML version of our newsletter in plain text or it will look lame and plain. Here’s what to do…
Outlook Express: Go to Tools/Options… Continue reading
If you know how to create a web page using HTML, or have a program like FrontPage, Dreamweaver, or Go Live for creating web pages, then you can also create attractive emails that will impress and amaze your friends. As far as I know, only Outlook Express can do this—I checked in Thunderbird, Eudora, and Outlook, but didn’t see a way to use this method.
First off, Outlook Express needs… Continue reading
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. It’s a way to get news, weblogs, announcements, and any other information automatically updated right on your desktop. You can avoid going from web site to web site for the latest news or constantly checking a favorite page for updates.
In order to get an RSS feed you’ll need a reader. There are many RSS readers… Continue reading
Q:
Is the government going to start charging a five cent tax on every e-mail we send out?
A:
NO!
I’ve been getting lots of people forwarding around this old hoax again. So, if you get something in your inbox that says the government is considering bill 602P to place a 5 cent tax on e-mail, inform the sender that it’s a hoax (and please don’t send it… Continue reading
Q:
I notice that sometimes when I click an e-mail link I get a new message with the subject line already inserted. Is this some kind of programming trick or can anyone pull it off?
A:
Actually, it’s very easy to do. Below is a sample with my e-mail address inserted. When the link is clicked, a new message will start with “hi steve” as the subject.
Sharing Outlook Express Folders
Do you use folders in Outlook Express to keep your e-mail organized? Maybe you have a whole slew of information in one of those folders you’d like to share with a friend. Should you just forward each piece of e-mail to them? Maybe do a printout?
How about just sending them your entire folder?
Didn’t know you could do that, did ya?… Continue reading
Q:
When I am downloading or sending e-mail with an attachment my web browsing becomes really sluggish. Any ideas?
A:
It sounds to me like it’s working properly (assuming you’re using a regular dial-up connection).
The reason for the decrease in speed is that your internet connection isn’t fast enough to do lots of stuff at once, no regular dial up connection is.
Web browsing will become sluggish… Continue reading
We all know AOL’s famous “You’ve got mail” voice, but what about Outlook Express and Thunderbird? Is there a way to use a sound for them when mail arrives?
Yes there is! In XP go to the Start> Control Panel.. Open the ” Sounds and Audio Devices ” icon, then click the “Sounds” tab. In Vista go Start>Control Panel>Hardware and Sound>Sound>Change System Sounds.
Find the “New Mail Notification” item. Click… Continue reading
