E-Mail Evolves

Next Outlook Tackles In-Box Flood

Microsoft feels your e-mail pain: It's no coincidence that of all the applications in the company's popular Office suite, Outlook is getting by far the most visible makeover in the next version, due later this summer.

It starts with a new look: The in-box, instead of sitting on top of the preview pane, is now a slim column sandwiched between the Outlook shortcut bar on the left and a much larger preview pane on the right. This layout creates much more room for the actual message (though in-box subject lines may be slightly truncated).

Microsoft has also greatly improved Outlook's ability to locate specific messages--important when you receive dozens a day. For example, you can save the parameters and results of a search to a folder that displays updated search results whenever you open it. And these search folders are virtual, which means that a single message can show up in multiple search folders.

Outlook 2003 also includes improved junk-mail filtering. The default 'low' setting catches only obvious spam, but if you set it on 'high', it's likely to grab the occasional nonspam message (so keep an eye on the Junk E-Mail folder). You can also turn off the filter altogether, or instruct Outlook to treat everything as spam except messages from identified trusted senders.

Another useful management tool: When e-mail arrives that Outlook identifies as legit, the program notifies you with a small, semitransparent window that shows the sender, the header, and a few words of text. The window quickly fades away, adding a charming Cheshire cat-like touch to this newly invigorated desktop fixture.

--Yardena Arar