Using E-Mail
Microsoft Outlook Express brings the world of online communication to your home! You can view your entire list of e-mail messages and read individual messages at the same time. You can organize and manage your folders and messages. You can customize how you view and manage your e-mail to suit your own preferences. It's easy!
Opening and reading e-mail messages
To open Outlook Express
- Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Outlook Express.
To read your messages
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In Outlook Express, click the Inbox folder.
- To view the message in the preview pane, click the message in the message list.
- To view the message in a separate window, double-click the message in the message list.
- To save the message in your file system, click Save as and then select a format (e-mail, text, or HTML) and a location, and then click Save.
To send an e-mail message
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In Outlook Express, click the Create Mail button on the toolbar. A new message window opens.
- In the To box of the new message, type the e-mail name of each recipient. If you are sending the e-mail to more than one address, separate each e-mail address with a comma or a semicolon ( ; ).
- In the Subject box, type a message title.
- Type your message, and then click Send on the toolbar.
- To send a copy of your message, type the recipient's e-mail address in the Cc box.
- To send a blind copy of the e-mail to a recipient, type the e-mail address in the Bcc box. (If the Bcc box is not visible, click View, and then select All Headers.)
- To add e-mail names from the Address Book, click the book icon in the New Message window next to To, Cc, and Bcc, and then select names.
Composing e-mail messages
To format text within individual messages
- Select the text in an e-mail message that you want to format.
- On the Outlook formatting toolbar, click the buttons for the options you want.
If you have trouble formatting, make sure HTML formatting is turned on by clicking the Format menu in a new message window, and then clicking Rich Text (HTML). A black dot appears by the command when it is selected.
To format a paragraph
- Click anywhere in the paragraph of your e-mail message, or select the text that you want to format.
- Use either the formatting toolbar or the commands on the Format menu to change the text.
To change the text style for all messages
- In Outlook Express, click the Tools menu, and then click Options.
- On the Compose tab, click Font Settings.
- Change the settings, and then click OK.
To use HTML formatting
Use the HTML formatting option to change how your message text looks. You can format the text as bold, add color, change the font style, and increase the character size. You can also add bullets to a list, center your text, add pictures and links in your messages, and much more.
- In Outlook Express, click the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Send tab.
- In the Mail Sending Format section, click HTML.
- To use HTML format for an individual message, turn on HTML formatting in the e-mail message window by clicking the Format menu. If HTML formatting is turned on, a black dot appears beside Rich Text (HTML).
To do this |
Do this |
Change the indentation of a paragraph | Click the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent button on the formatting toolbar. |
Add a horizontal line |
Click the place where you want the line to appear, and then click the Insert Horizontal line button on the formatting toolbar. |
Format text written in Rich Text (HTML) mode |
On the Format menu, point to Style, and then select an option. |
Using attachments with e-mail messages
To insert a file into a message
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In Outlook Express, open a new e-mail message, and then click anywhere in the message window.
- On the Insert menu, click File Attachment, and then find the file you want to attach.
- Select the file, and then click Attach. The file is listed in the Attach box in the message header.
To create a business card to attach to e-mail messages
- In the Address Book, create an entry for yourself, and then select your name from the Address Book list.
- On the File menu, point to Export, and then click Business Card (vCard).
- Select a location in which to store the file, and then click Save.
- To add your business card to an e-mail message, on the Insert menu, click My Business Card.
To insert a business card into messages
- In Outlook Express, click the Tools menu, click Options, and then select the Compose tab.
- In the Business Cards section, select Mail, and then select a business card from the drop-down list.
- To insert your business card, you must first create a contact in your Address Book for yourself.
- To change information in a business card, click the Edit button.
- To add a business card or signature to an individual message, in the message window, on the Insert menu, click either Signature or My Business Card.
To insert a picture into a message
- Click the place in the message where you want the image to appear.
- On the Insert menu, click Picture, and then click Browse to find the image file.
- Enter Layout and Spacing information for the image file, as needed.
To insert an Internet address (hyperlink) into a message
- Type or paste the link in your message.
- Press the spacebar and Outlook Express automatically activates the link. For example, type http://www.microsoft.com into your e-mail message and then press the spacebar. The link is now active and when your message recipient clicks on it, it will automatically open the Web site.
Organizing Outlook Express folders and messages
To move or copy an e-mail message to another folder
- In the message list, select the message you want to move or copy.
- On the Edit menu, click Move to Folder or Copy to Folder, and then select the destination folder.
- You can also move a message by selecting it in the message list and dragging it to a new folder.
To delete an e-mail message
- In the message list, select the message you want to delete.
- On the toolbar, click Delete.
- To restore a deleted message, open the Deleted Items folder, and then drag the message back to the Inbox or another folder.
- To manually empty all deleted items, select the Deleted Items folder. On the Edit menu, click Empty 'Deleted Items' Folder.
To add, delete, or switch folders
- Do one of the following in Outlook Express:
- To add a folder, on the File menu, point to Folder, and then click New. In the Folder name text box, type the name, and then select the location for the new folder.
- To delete a folder, click the folder in the Folders list. On the File menu, point to Folder, and click Delete.
- To switch to another folder, click the folder in the Folders list.
You cannot delete or rename the Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, or Drafts folders.
To change the folder list, status bar, or toolbars
- In Outlook Express, on the View menu, click Layout, and then select the options you want in order to hide or display the Folders list, Contacts list, Outlook bar, status bar, or toolbars.
- To display subfolders in the Folders list, double-click the plus sign (+) to the left of each of the main items in the folders. All of the subfolders appear beneath their main folder or server, and the plus sign becomes a minus sign.
Managing Contacts
The Address Book is a place to store e-mail addresses, home and work addresses, phone and fax numbers, and personal information such as birthdays or anniversaries. You can also store Internet addresses and link directly to them from your Address Book.
To add a contact to your Address Book
- In Outlook Express, click Tools, and then click Address Book.
- In the Address Book, select the folder to which you want to add a contact.
- Click New, and then click New Contact.
- On the Name tab, type at least the first and last name of the contact. This is the display name.
Be sure to include an e-mail address for your contact. While your Address Book can be used for many purposes, its most immediate benefit is in providing e-mail addresses when you are composing mail.
A display name is required for each contact. If you enter a first, middle, or last name, it will automatically appear in the Display box. You can change the display name by typing in a different name or by selecting from the drop-down list. The drop-down list will contain variations of the first, middle, and last name, as well as anything you typed in the Nickname box or the Company box on the Business tab.
- On each of the other tabs, add any information you would like to include.
To add contacts to your Address Book from Outlook Express
When you receive e-mail, you can add the sender's name and e-mail address to your Address Book from within Outlook Express.
- Open the e-mail message from the contact you want to add to your Address Book.
- On the Tools menu, click Add to Address Book, and then select the user you want to add.
To add people automatically to your Address Book when you reply to their messages
- In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Options.
- On the Send tab, select the Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book check box.
To change contact information in your Address Book
- In the Address Book list, locate and double-click the name you want, and then change the information as needed. Click the tabs to access different information sections.
- To delete a contact, select the contact name in the Address Book list, and then click Delete on the toolbar. If the contact is a member of a group, the name will also be removed from the group.
To use Outlook Express from your Web browser
You can set Outlook Express to be your default e-mail program, so that whenever you click an e-mail link on a Web page or select the e-mail command in your Web browser or newsreader, Outlook Express opens.
- In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
- In the Default Messaging Programs area, click Make Default for news or e-mail.
To organize names in your Address Book
When you have a large Address Book, you can organize it in several ways to make it easy to retrieve contacts and groups.
- To sort contacts by name, e-mail address, or phone number, click the appropriate column heading above the name list.
- To switch columns between ascending and descending sort order, click the column heading.
- To change the order of the columns, point to a column heading (Name, E-mail Address, Home Phone, and so on), and then drag the column to the left or right until it's located where you want it.
- To view a list of your mailing groups, on the View menu, select Folders and Groups.
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