Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archive

More Outlook Express Tips
By Cate Eales

Appeared December 22, 2005 on castanet.net

Last week’s column led to more questions about Outlook Express. Now that you know how to create new folders and move messages to them, it should be easy to find messages when you want to red them again.

Well, it SHOULD be easy, but, as we sometimes say around here, “Where the heck did I file that message, anyway?” Good news. If you remember anything at all about a given message, you can use Outlook Express’ “Find Message” feature to … well, to find that message without looking at every message you’ve ever saved.

Find Outlook Express Messages
Open Outlook Express and click on the Find button (usually the one farthest right on the menu). That will open up a new window where you can fill in as much as you can remember. You don’t need to fill in all the blanks (If you could do that, I bet you could find the message without any help!), but you should fill in anything you’re reasonably sure of so that you narrow your search results down to something manageable.

For example, if you know the message was from someone@somewhere.com and it had the words “shower curtain” in it, then put the email address in the “From” field, and in “Message” put shower curtain. Make sure you’ve set it up to “Look in” Local Folders, and that the “Include subfolders” box is checked. Click on “Find Now” and have a look at the bottom of the search window.  If your search is successful  you will see a list of messages that meet your search criteria. You can click on any message in the list to open it.  If your search is unsuccessful, you’ll just see a blank area.  Try a New Search with different criteria.

Group by Conversation
Outlook Express 6 now includes one of my favourite features from another email program called Thunderbird. This feature allows you to group messages that belong together. The feature is called “Group by Conversation.” A “conversation” includes all the messages with a particular subject. Let’s say you send a message called “Christmas Party” and save a copy for yourself. Then you get a reply. The subject will say, “Re: Christmas Party.” That’s the beginning of a conversation. (Some people will know this as a “thread.”)

You can activate this feature by clicking on “View”, and then “Group messages by conversation.” So now, every message in a conversation is grouped together. You’ll see a + sign in front of the first message in the conversation. Clicking on that will show all the others in the group. If you find you don’t like your messages grouped that way, go back to “View” and clear the checkmark next to “Group messages by conversation.” Your folders will look normal again.

Send Santa Email Whatever email program you use, you can send Santa an email at NorthPole@OfficialSantaMail.com. Don’t forget to check out the NORAD Tracks Santa site at http://www.noradsanta.org/en/default.php. They’ve added some great videos and colouring book projects. It’s a great effort from Canadian and American military personnel, and a lot of fun for kids.

Holiday Cheer
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you from all of us at Real Life Internet Solutions. Have a happy and safe holiday season!

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com  with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.

© Cate Eales 2005 – All Rights Reserved