You've Got E-Mail
Another piece of e-mail just hit your in-box. You might not have time to read all your messages, but be sure to read this: 68 tips that will help you block spam, speed up downloads, minimize typing, and streamline your in-box.
Microsoft Outlook Express and Internet Mail
Lincoln SpectorCopy an Address
You're reading a message in the in-box's preview pane, and you want to copy and paste the sender's e-mail address into another program. This should be the easiest thing in the world to do. But the e-mail address is seldom displayed on screen--and even when it is, you can't select it for copying.
The solution is simple: Press CtrlR to respond to the message. Select the address located inside the angle brackets (after 'From:' in the original message's header), press CtrlC to copy the address, and then press Alt F4 to close the response window.
Set Up a Mailing List
If you often send e-mail to the same group of people, set up a mailing list. In Outlook Express, select Tools, Address Book or press CtrlShiftB (in Internet Mail, it's File, Address Book), and click the New Group icon. Enter a Group Name, and click Select Members. This will bring up a dialog box with two lists. Double-click a name on the left list to add it to your new mailing list on the right. When you're done with these selections, click OK.
Insert Bits of Boilerplate
Sometimes you have to send out the same snippet of text--a disclaimer, an explanation, or an apology--repeatedly. Instead of endlessly retyping it, insert some boilerplate text. First, use Notepad to create the boilerplate as a plain text file in a convenient folder. To put the boilerplate into a message in the New Message window of Outlook Express, select Insert, Text from File (in Internet Mail, it's Insert, Text File), and select the text file you want to insert.
Redirect Your Mail
Having a hard time slogging through your daily mail? Make some messages skip your in-box and go directly to a specific folder. In Outlook Express, select Tools, In-box Assistant (Mail, In-box Assistant in Internet Mail), and click Add. In the Properties dialog box, enter your criteria for selecting messages. Next, check Move To, click the Folder button next to it, select a folder, and click OK three times.
Mail Files From Applications
Want to fire off a copy of your spreadsheet to the boss? Don't go the long route of saving the file, opening your mail program, and creating an attachment. Word, Excel, and other applications have a Send command for e-mailing the currently open document. Regrettably, the apps default to using Windows Messaging (formerly known as Exchange). You can make them use Outlook Express (but not Internet Mail)--at a price.
To do this, select Tools, Options. On the General tab, check "Make Outlook Express my default e-mail program." Notice that the grayed-out suboption below it, Make Outlook Express my default Simple MAPI client, has now become activated. Check this setting, click Yes in the resulting warning screen, and finally click OK. To put the change into effect, exit and then reenter Windows.
Unfortunately, using this setting disables Exchange, Windows Messaging, and Outlook (not the Express version, but the one that comes with Office) for anything more than e-mail. You won't be able to use Outlook as a PIM or Exchange for faxing while this setting is on.
Avoid Huge Downloads
Some people figure that, as long as they're sending you e-mail anyway, they may as well attach an .avi file of Lawrence of Arabia. Fortunately, you can skip those massive downloads.
In Outlook Express, select Tools, In-box Assistant, click Add, click Larger than, and type the maximum message size you're willing to accept. Check "Do not download from the server," and click OK twice. In Internet Mail select Mail, Options. Click the Server tab and press the Advanced Settings button. Check "Do not download messages over," and enter a maximum acceptable size in kilobytes. Click OK twice.
Say It With Text
Both Outlook Express and Internet Mail can send HTML-formatted messages--appendages that are unreadable by most humans. So make sure you send most of your messages as plain text. In Outlook Express, select Tools, Options (in Internet Mail, Mail, Options). Click the Send tab. For the "Mail sending format," select Plain Text. Click OK.
You can still send HTML to recipients who can read HTML mail. In an Outlook Express New Message window, simply select Format, Rich Text (HTML) (in Internet Mail, Format, HTML).
Banish the Bozos
Tired of getting mail from clowns? Reject it before it even gets to your in-box. In Outlook Express, select Tools, In-box Assistant, click Add, enter each bozo's e-mail address in the From field, and check "Delete off server." Click OK twice to finish. In Internet Mail, select Mail, In-box Assistant, click Add and enter the address of each frizzy-haired correspondent in the From field. Go to the Move To drop-down menu and select Deleted Items. Click OK twice to finish.
Respond Automatically
You have so much incoming mail that you can't answer every message right away, but you want to do the polite thing and acknowledge each piece of mail you receive. Fortunately, Outlook Express (but not Internet Mail, alas) permits you to respond automatically to all or only certain incoming messages.
First, create your response text using Notepad or another text editor. Then select Tools, In-box Assistant, click Add, and enter the auto-response criteria. If you simply can't deal with your e-mail this week and you want everyone to know it, check "All messages." In the bottom half of the box, check "Reply With," then click the Browse button next to it to find and open your response message file. Click OK twice to finish.
