Organizing Your Mail into Folders

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    It is helpful to organize your mail into appropriately named folders. The Inbox is the default mail folder under your account name in Outlook Express. You will want to create appropriately named folders in which to “file” mail messages and then move messages to the appropriate folders. This can also help to reduce the disk space you use on the mail server.

    To create a new folder to hold mail messages:

    • Select File —› Folder —› New Folder.
    • Type an appropriate name.
    • In the box below, select an existing folder under which to create the new folder.
    • Click OK.
    • You will now see the new mail folder listed in your Mail Folders List.

    To delete a folder:

    • Right-click the folder in the folder list.
    • Click Delete on the toolbar.

    To view messages located in a mail folder other than the Inbox:

    • Click on a folder in the Mail Folders List.
    • Notice that all the messages contained in that folder are listed.
    • Select the message you wish to read by clicking on it.

    To move or copy a message to another folder:

    • In the message list, right-click the message you want to move or copy.
    • Select Move To or Copy To
    • Click on the folder into which you want to move or copy your message.
    • Or you may select and drag a message to another folder.

    Note:    After you move the message to the new folder, if your view is set to show Deleted Messages, you will still see the message name listed in the original folder with a red x.  You can either change your view, purge deleted messages explicitly, or wait to exit and have the purge occur then.


    Automatically Checking for New Messages

    To set how frequently Outlook Express checks for messages:

    • Select Tools —› Options —› General tab
    • Check the box next to "Check for new messages every x minutes."
    • Fill in the number of minutes.

    To check for messages at any time, click the Send and Receive button on the toolbar.


    The Address Book

    Outlook Express includes an address book feature that allows you to keep a list by an individual’s name of email addresses and to maintain distribution lists of groups of individuals.

    You can add individuals to your address book by typing them in, by adding them when you are sending a message, or by setting up automatic entry from replies. You can also import address book entries that you may already have in other programs.

    To add an individual to your address book:

    • On the toolbar, select Address Book —› New Contact
    • Under the Personal tab, type in a first name, last name, and the individual’s full internet email address such as someone@ottawaonline.com
    • Under the Home and Business tabs, add post office address, phone, and other information if desired.
    • Click OK to save.

    Tip:    If you know that this person is not using a graphical mail utility program, you may want to click on Send email using plain text only.

    To automatically add all individuals to whom you reply:

    • On the menu, select Tools —› Options —› General tab
    • Select “Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book.”

    To add an individual you are about to send a message to:

    • While composing a message, right-click on the name then click “Add to Address Book

    To delete an entry:

    • Select a name and click Delete on the toolbar.

    Tip:    If you delete an individual who is also a member of a group (see next section), their name will also be deleted from the group.

     


    Creating a Distribution List

    Sometimes it is helpful to define a group of people to whom you will be sending the same messages. This is known as a distribution list.

    • In the Address Book, select New Group.
    • Choose a descriptive name for your group and type it in under Group Name.
    • Click Select Members, then select entries for your Address Book list.
    • Click on OK when you are done selecting names
    • Click on OK to close your Group.

    To remove a name from your group:

    • Double click the group name.
    • Select the individual name in the list and click Remove.

    To remove an entire group:

    • Select the group and then choose Delete on the toolbar or under the File menu.

    You can create as many groups as you need and each individual can belong to as many groups as needed.

    Tip:    To view your groups in a separate window in your Address Book, select View —› Groups List.

     


    Using Address Book Entries

    If you start to type in the To: field and have address book entries, Outlook Express will try to fill in the rest of the name for you. If you have several people with similar beginnings to their names, you can be more specific.

    To be as specific as needed:

    • Select Compose Message
    • Click on the index card icon next to the To:
    • Double click to select a name or group name to the To box. This can be the name of an individual or the name of a Group which you have created (see above).

    To Cc (“carbon copy”) or Bcc (“blind carbon copy”):

    • Select an individual’s name or a group's name.
    • Click on Cc or Bcc to insert the name(s)


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