Outlook Express

Posts Tagged: Outlook Express

Save pictures from email – Video Tip

It’s been almost one year since I first posted this tip. We have many new visitors this year, and not enough of you are heading my advice yet on this subject, so I’m posting it again. Please believe me when I tell you that this tip alone can save you countless dollars, time, and tears!

Through my travels, I have noticed that many computer users save emails with pictures because they are unsure of how to save those pictures. Saving lots of pictures in your email program can drastically slow down the performance of the email program over time. Email programs typically can handle thousands of messages, but if something happens to the email database, and you haven't backed up those databases, the pictures will be gone for good. Your best insurance for saving pictures is to save them to a folder on your computer (like My Pictures or a subfolder of My Pictures) then back them up on a regular basis.

To save pictures from your email to a folder on your hard drive, do the following:

1. Click the paper clip icon in the preview pane*
2. Click Save Attachments
3. In the "Save To" box at the bottom of the dialog box that pops up, click Browse and choose where YOU want to save the pictures and click OK
4. Click Save

* If you read your Outlook Express email in its own window, then RIGHT Click on the attachment name and click Save As

AOL

Click the "Download Now" button at the bottom of the email you are reading and follow on-screen instructions. Remember that most AOL versions automatically download to an AOL Downloads folder in the AOL directory. It differs, however, from version to version.

Juno/NetZero

Depending on your method of reading messages, the technique changes, but generally you should be able to RIGHT click on an attachment and save it.

For any email program that you can see the picture in the body of the message, you can RIGHT click on the photo itself to save it by clicking "Save As" or "Save Picture As".

Keeping your pictures stored in a known folder allows you to access the pictures easier, print them easier and most importantly gives you the ability to back them up. For more tips about receiving, printing and sending pictures via email, browse through our tips archive.

Watch the video below for a demonstration of this tip.

Gmail convertee

Three weeks ago, I switched from using Microsoft Outlook (which I had used since 1998) to Gmail.

What is Gmail?

Gmail is the fast, free web based email from search giant Google. Gmail offers free POP3 access (if you want to download your email into Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc), 6.5 GB of storage (and the number continually grows), and the best web based spam filter I’ve seen so far.

Why did I switch?

I used Outlook because I could manage my contacts, calendar, email, to-do list, and memos in one program and then synchronize to my Palm Treo. After I purchaed and started to use Vista last year (solely to learn it and to be able to support it), my Treo and Outlook stopped talking to each other. Strike One. This was Outlook 2007 and some of the features I enjoyed (like being able to print just selected text and using just the basic Outlook email editor instead of the slower Word Editor) were dropped and features I knew how to work with in all prior versions were moved, renamed, and/or changed. Strike Two.

I started using Gmail as an experiment on both my desktop and my Palm Treo since Gmail lets you retrieve any other POP3 (standard email) accounts directly into Gmail. After a couple of weeks, I got the hang of Gmail’s Label system which replaces the traditional folder organization in Outlook and all other email systems. I found that I liked the ability to have ALL of my email available to me from ANY computer. My biggest hurdle in leaving Outlook behind was my Cloudmark Desktop anti-spam system. Cloudmark kept my eamil sanity by quietly and efficiently shielding my delicate eyes from the massive amounts of spam I receive every day. Well, after my two week Gmail trial and now my full three week marriage to Gmail, I can say that the Gmail spam filter is every bit as effective as Cloudmark’s. Strike Three!

What do I like about Gmail?

The always available email from any computer or Internet device (like my Treo) without concern for space.
Great spam filter.
Fast and simple interface.
Labels…after working with Gmail Labels, they make much more since than folders.
Fast searching of email.
Wonderful Rules system that makes creating email rules a snap.
Ability to retrieve external email addresses.

My transition to Gmail has been painless and liberating. If you are thinking of changing email addresses or adding a new one, definitely give Gmail serious consideration. Look for future how-to videos about using Gmail here at HelpMeRick.com.

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 3 Comments
21
Mar 08

AVG Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade Advice

The past few days calls and emails started filtering in about the new AVG 8.0 version folks have seen appear on their free versions of AVG Antivirus. The common query is, “Should I upgrade?”

No, home users of AVG Antvirus do not need to upgrade at all. The current free version of AVG will continue to be updated and as it has been for years. The new 8.0 version is the newest commercial product from AVG Technologies (they changed their name from Grisoft last week).

As much as we like AVG Antivirus and their anti-spyware product, we don’t like their full Internet Security package. Like all the other all-inclusive security packages from Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, etc, the AVG Internet Security product packs in too much software that will decrease the performance of your system. If you like the Swiss Army approach, it is probably the best of these types of packages, but we prefer you select your security packages a la carte.

To review our security recommendations for Windows home users, we recommend:

AVG Antivirus Free Edition
Mozilla Firefox (or Opera) web browser (don’t use Internet Explorer)
Keep the Windows Firewall enabled
Use a router with high speed Internet connections
If you use Outlook, Thunderbird, or Outlook Express, there is nothing better than Cloudmark Desktop to fight email spam
IF you have teenagers (or immature adults) who use your system regularly, add SpyBot Search & Destroy and the AVG AntiSpyware product to the mix and update and scan at least weekly.

Links to all these products can be found on our Links & Resources page.

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 2 Comments
19
Mar 08

Where to buy a book manual for your computer

“Why didn’t my computer come with a manual?”

One of the most common complaints we hear is about how new computers don’t come with manuals. I am here to explain why this is the case.

The sad answer is that if the computer company came with a manual, it would weigh more than the computer.

“But my old computers used to come with manuals…,” Is the next comment.

Back in the old days of computers there weren’t many uses. You would use computers for word processing, finances, Internet and email. In each case there were only a handful of options.

Putting together a manual meant covering how to do email in AOL or Outlook Express. Word Processing was done in Word or WordPerfect. Finances were done with Quicken. Internet was AOL or Internet Explorer.

Today the options are endless. The method of attaching a file to email is different depending on whether you use AOL, Yahoo, Comcast, Yahoo, Juno, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Gmail, etc. Just covering how to read an email could take up 10 pages of a book because the book would have to explain how too do it on each system.

In every case the book would be more confusing than having no book and you would pay a premium for it because of the size.

Add to that the fact that we now use computers for phone calls, digital photography, movie editing, calenders, games, and holographic teleportation. Covering all of these processes in depth would mean including a manual that covered Picasa, Word, WordPerfect, Photoshop Elements, every email system, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Skype, iTunes, Windows Media Player, MusicMatch, Google…

In other words, once you turn on your computer, you actually never use your computer. You use the software.

If you want to learn how to use the computer, you need to learn the program that you are using. If you want to learn Quicken, buy a book on Quicken. If you want to learn email, buy a book on your specific email system.

If you don’t want to buy a bunch of books, simply buy one book on Google and that will take you into the world of free answers on the Internet.

Oh, and make sure to always check HelpMeRick.com first and we will point you in the right direction.

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
3
Mar 08

Remember to take out the trash!

If you really like saving all of your email, you might seriously consider getting a Gmail account. With today’s emails sometimes weighing in at 5 megabytes and more, email programs (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc) can get extremely sluggish. Sluggish performance eventually leads to corrupt data which means you lose all your email.

You can take steps to avoid this, however, by following a few simple email cleanup rules (or get Gmail).

Many computer users regularly empty their “recycle bins” to delete unwanted files, but I recently discovered that many email users don’t realize that email has a trash as well.
When you delete a message from your Inbox, it doesn’t disappear. The message moves to the email trash or deleted items folder. To permanently delete unwanted email, you need to Empty deleted items or trash folder by either RIGHT clicking the appropriate folder or using the Empty Deleted Items option found in either the File or Edit menus. Then your deleted emails are truly deleted.
Most email programs are setup to keep a copy of every email you have ever sent. If you have never peeked in your “sent” folder, you may be surprised! Remember to clean this folder out occasionally as well by highlighting the messages then pressing Delete on your keyboard…then empty the deleted items as well.
If you really don’t want to lose pictures or videos people send you vial email, you should save them to your My Documents folder then delete them for your email program (unless you use Gmail). Read my tip on how to do this by clicking here.
Lastly, most desktop email programs keep track of your email via database files you never see. Use the program’s Compact folder option (usually found in the File menu) at least once per month to keep these files running lean and mean.

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
25
Feb 08

Using your backups

This weekend, an emailer asked the question of how to use the backups that we describe on our site. An excellent question I’m sure others have had as well.

Over the years, I laid out step-by-step methods for backing up your email address book, favorites/bookmarks, and even your email. To use these backups, simply use the “Import” function to bring them back into a new installation of a program or even a new computer.

For Bookmarks or Favorites; use the Import function found in the File menu in Internet Explorer or the Import function in the organize bookmarks section of Firefox
For Address Books; open the address book you want to import into, then click File –> Import
For email; use the File –> Import –> Messages in Outlook Express, or the File –> Import in Microsoft Outlook.

Great question and make sure to keep backing up your files on a regular basis!

Email Tips — 6 Comments
20
Dec 07

Backup Your Email Address Book – Video Tip

You can back up your address book very simply to a floppy disk or USB Flash drive and the heartache it has the potential to prevent far outweighs the thirty seconds it takes to complete the task. Follow these steps depending on the program you use:

Outlook Express Windows Mail Users

Insert USB Flash Drive
Start Outlook Express
Click the Address Book icon from the toolbar.
Click File –> Export –> Other Address Book from the menus
Choose the Text (CSV) option
Click Next
Click in the Save In box and choose your flash drive
Type “address book backup” in the File name box
Click Save
Click OK after backup completes
Pull out your disk, label it and keep it someplace safe

Windows Mail Users(Vista)

Insert USB Flash Drive
Start Windows Mail
Click File –> Export –> Windows Contacts from the menus
Choose CSV option
Click Export
Click in the Browse button and choose your flash drive
Type “address book backup” in the File name box
Click Save
Click Next
Put a checkmark in the First and Last Name fields
Click Finish
Click OK after backup completes
Pull out your disk, label it and keep it someplace safe

Thunderbird Users

Insert a USB Flash Drive
Start Thunderbird
Click Window –> Address book from the menus
Click File –> Export
Click in the Save In box and choose your flash drive
Type “address book backup” in the File name box
Click Save
Pull out the disk, label it and keep it someplace safe

AOL Users

Version less than 6.0, Start AOL, open the address book, insert a floppy or USB flash drive and use the “Save/Replace” button to save your address book.

Versions greater than 6.0 do not have the option of saving to a floppy because the address book is actually saved on AOL’s computers.

Juno Users

Refer to the instructions at Juno’s web site for details if you are using Juno 5.0 or earlier. Juno Platinum users can retrieve email in Outlook Express and use the instructions above.

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
17
Sep 07

Delete your email twice

No, I’m not so obsessive-compulsive that I do things twice. What I’m referring to in the title of today’s Shotgun/Email Tip is that almost all email programs require you to delete your email twice. Whether you use Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Thunderbird, AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, or any of the myriad of other email services, when you delete your email, the email isn’t gone. Deleted email ends up in the “Deleted Items” folder or “Trash” folder of your email.

To get rid of your email for good, go to your deleted items folder and use its “empty all” option or delete the individual emails you want to get rid of permanently.

Also, don’t forget that your Sent mail folder also needs cleaned from time-to-time.

Internet Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 16 Comments
29
Aug 07

Internet Explorer prints only HTML

Today I ran into a problem that I hadn’t seen before. A customer’s MSN and Internet Explorer browser (including MSN email and web mail) would only print the HTML coding of a web page or email.

HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language and is the programming that is used to present web pages to us and the coding behind text color, bold, etc. in email. We had cleaned some spyware from this users computer earlier in the day, and even printed out some pictures, but a few hours later I received a call about this strange symptom. At first, I thought it was just a forwarded email gone awry, but after arriving on the scene and seeing that word processing documents, test pages, pictures, and spreadsheets all printed fine, the culprit was definitely in Internet Explorer 7.

Deleting temp files, using the IE 7 reset settings button, and changing printers didn’t work. After a few minutes of searching the web for an answer, I came across this jewel of a solution that worked!

Close any open programs
Click Start –> Run
Type: regsvr32 /i mshtml.dll
Press Enter on your keyboard
Click Start –> Run Type: regsvr32 /i shdocvw.dll
Press Enter on your keyboard

That did it! If your Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, MSN, or AOL browser prints only HTML coding, which usually starts with the following text, use the above six steps to restore sanity to your Internet and email printing.

DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd”>
<html xmlns=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml” lang=“en” xml:lang=“en”

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 9 Comments
27
Aug 07

Outlook Express Spell Check – pardon my french

Many people are installing Office 2007 and then discovering that their spell check for Outlook Express is set for French. This is fine if you are writing emails in French, but most of us aren’t.

Microsoft is aware of the problem and their solution is the upgrade to Windows Vista.

Our solution is do download and install this free spell check program.

Another less than elegant solution is to: