• PC World
• » Software
• » Browsers & Add-Ons

Ever want to take your Outlook Express mailboxes to another computer, or use one mailbox on two computers? Outlook Express doesn't make it easy. But with a few tweaks, you can force Outlook Express to store your mailboxes on a shared network drive or on removable media like a Zip disk. If you use two computers, you can then carry your mail folders on the Zip disk to the second computer, open Outlook Express there, and work with the same mail folders and messages.

First, we have to locate your Mail folder.

• If you're using Outlook Express 5, you'll find your mail folder at C:\Windows\Application Data\Identities\{CLSID}\Microsoft\Outlook Express. (The {CLSID} is a long serial number Windows assigns to each Outlook Express 5 Identity that you establish.) Use Windows Explorer to navigate to this folder. If you have just one mail identity, then in Explorer's left pane, right-click the Outlook Express folder, and select Copy. If you have more than one identity, right click on the Identities folder and select Copy. Finally, navigate to the folder on the shared drive or Zip disk that you want to use, then in the right pane, right-click and select Paste.
  
  
• If you use Outlook Express 4.x, right-click My Computer, Explore, and navigate to C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\[Username]\Mail. In Explorer's left pane, right-click the Mail folder, and select Copy. Finally, navigate Explorer to the directory on the shared drive or Zip disk that you want to use, then in the right pane, right-click and select Paste. If you have more than one username, repeat this process for each username folder above. Windows will create a duplicate of the Mail directory for each user in the new location.
  
  

After you copy the Outlook Express mail folder to its new location, Outlook Express needs to know where to look for it. Click Start, Run, type regedit, and click OK.

• If you're using Outlook Express 5, click on the little plus signs in the left pane until you've reached HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{CLSID}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0. Double-click the item labeled "Store Root" in the right pane and in the dialog box that opens, type the full path to your new mail folder location (E:\Mobile Mail, for instance). When you close the Registry Editor, the registry will record the change immediately. Open Outlook Express to ensure it can find your relocated mail folder. You'll need to make this change on any machine that you'll use to access your mail.
  
  
• If you're using Outlook Express 4, click on the folders in the left pane until you reach HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express, and select the Outlook Express folder in the left pane. Double-click the Store Root item in the right pane, enter the full path to the new mail folder location, then close the Registry Editor. You'll need to edit the registry the same way on any machine you'll be accessing your mail on.