Option 1: If you want WORDS ONLY
a. Remove parts in your Notepad that I've typed in green above.
b. change the name from Tracy to your name. Change the words of "Carney Creations" to whatever you want.

Option 2: If you want an IMAGE ONLY
a. Remove all parts in your Notepad that I've typed in red above.
b. ensure that the image you want to use is in the folder:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery
c: Change us_flag.gif too whatever image you want to use. Make sure that you have the .jpg (or .gif) according to the image you're going to use. Some images are .jpg and others are .gif.
Example:
<IMG SRC="C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery\support-our-troops.jpg">

Option 3: If you want BOTH image AND words:
a. change the name from Tracy to your name. Change the words of Carney Creations to whatever you want.
b. ensure that the image you want to use is in the folder:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery
c: Change us_flag.gif too whatever image you want to use. Make sure that you have the .jpg (or .gif) according to the image you're going to use. Some images are .jpg and others are .gif.
Example:
<IMG SRC="C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery\support-our-troops.jpg" >

Step 2:
Click on File Save As
In the middle box at the bottom for Save as type, change it from Text Documents to read All Files
In the File Name box, type in a name you want to use for this signature as in the example. You MUST include the " marks and the .htm
Example: "US Flag Signature.htm"
In the windows explorer, delete the file that was created called New Text Document.

Step 3:
In Outlook Express, click on Tools, Options, Signatures (tab)
Click on the button for New
Click in the circle at the bottom for File
Click on the Browse button next to it
At the bottom for Files Of Type, change that to read HTML Files
Navigate your way to your Stationery folder.
Double click on the signature file you had just saved
Click on Rename and give the signature a name to match (such as US Flag Sig)
Put the check in the box at the top for Add Signatures To All Outgoing Messages.
If you don't want your signature on Forwarded messages or Reply messages, then put the check in the second box there.
Click on OK

Organize Your Mail

After opening your e-mail program, you will see several folders on the left side. Four of the ones that I know you have are Deleted Items, InBox, OutBox and Sent Items.

Now what about all that mail you have. A lot of it is probably just sitting in the InBox folder. Well, get it organized. I not only have the 4 folders mentioned above, but I have Family, Internet, Mark, Steve, Tips and a few others.

In addition to these, some even have sub-folders. It's just like a Windows Explorer. Each time I get mail for my son Steve, I drag the message to his folder. All the tips I get in e-mail are moved to the Tips. But I've also taken it further. I have tips on several different programs. WP, Internet, Publisher and more. So I don't just move a new WordPerfect message I've received to the Tips folder, I move it to the Tips|WP folder. How do you do this? Easy

Right below the words Windows Messaging (or whatever...either way it'll be the top item in the list), click on the first folder that has a little black arrow on it. Now click on File, New Folder. Give it the name Family.

Now click on that folder called Family and again click on File, New Folder and give it the name of Mom. Do this step again and call it Son. (Using, of course, what ever names you choose). This folder called Family is a good place to save messages coming in from your mother, from your son, or whatever.

Now to create a folder for you Son's e-mail that comes in, do the same procedure for creating the Family folder, only call it Son (again, using whatever name you want).

Next time mail comes in that is for him/her, just click and drag it to his/her folder. If you haven't already looked at the e-mail, it will be in bold black letters. When you move his/her e-mail to his/her folder, his/her folder will display in bold black letters denoting that e-mail is in that folder that hasn't been read.

Address Book saved

I strongly suggest that you make a backup copy of your address book periodically.
XP C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book
where Owner may be a different name
Other versions C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book.

Backup addresses book automatically

Here's a way to do a backup of your address book automatically every time you reset your computer
Open Notepad and type the following EXACTLY:

XP
@echo off
echo
copy "C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\*.wab" "D:\zBackups\OE5 Address Book"

Other Versions
@echo off
echo
copy "C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\*.wab" "D:\zBackups\OE5 Address Book"

Make sure that you put the " marks in or it won't work. Where I put "D:\zBackups\OE5 Address Book", you would have the folder where you want your copy saved.
Next, click on File, Save As and give it a name such as Address.bat (include the .bat at the end of the name)
Navigate to where you want to save the file. C:\Windows is a good place

Open a Windows Explorer, go to the directory C:\Windows and locate the file you just created called Address.bat. Right-click on it and choose Properties. Click on the Program tab and put a check in the box for "Close on exit". Click on OK.

Next, on the left side of the Windows Explorer, click on the + for Start Menu, then click on the + for Programs. Now RIGHT CLICK and HOLD on the right side on the file called Address.bat. As you are holding down the right click, drag it over to the StartUp folder. Release the click and choose Create Shortcut Here.

Creating now, sending tomorrow

You're creating a message. But you're interrupted and have to leave for a few hours. What do you do with the message. Just click on the little x to close the message. You will be asked if you want to save changes to the message. Choose Yes.

Using this will put the message in the Draft folder. It will not be sent by accident.

When you want to finish the message, just click on the Draft folder and double-click on the message. It will open up and you can continue typing as usual.

When you're done with the message, now you would press the Send button and it will go to your Outbox to be sent next time you send/receive mail.

Column labeled "!"

You have a column titled ! right? What is this? Well it's a column that will show a ! if the message has a Priority set. The sender is noting that this message is important and should be read As Soon As Possible.

You can sort this by this column just as you would sort any other column, like sorting according to the date received. Just click on the column title.

If you don't want this column, then go to View, Columns. You can add or delete the columns to your liking.

Now if you want to send a message to someone that you want THEM to read ASAP (as soon as possible), create you message as usual, then before sending it, click on Tools menu, Set Priority, and then click a High.

Note: This setting changes the priority only for the current message

Columns sorted in 2 ways

Group mailings

Do you find that you send mail to a group of people. Well, now you can send mail without having to click on each persons name. All you have to do is click on 1 recipient and it will send to all the people in a group.

Example: I have a group with all my family members who have e-mail. I want to let everyone know that I will be on vacation for a week and won't be around to check mail to "chat" with them online.

Here's what you do:

Click on the Address Book button on your Toolbar. Then click on the New Group button. In the top box, give the group of people a title. This will show up in your address book just like any other name listed. Such as Family Group, or Family Members.
Next click on Select Members. Find a name you want to add to the group from the left side and click once on it. Now hold your Control key down click and continue selecting all the other names you want from the left side. When you're done selecting names on the left side, click on Select on the right side. This will put all those names in the box on the right side.
Now click on OK, then OK again. You will have a new contact in the Name column called Family Group (or what ever you called it. Also notice a new icon for it). Now close the Address Book.

Here's where the shortcut comes in when sending mail...Back to the e-mail program, click on the button for Compose Message. Now in the top box, click on the button for TO: (for Outlook, click the icon just before the long white box where the name would appear.) Double-click on Family Group, then OK.

All you will see is Family Group in the top box labeled To. But that's okay..it should be. Now compose your message as usual.

This procedure is a lot faster than clicking the icon for the To: box for each member you want to send the message to.

Group mailings edited

You've created a group, but now you need to delete one of those names because they no longer have e-mail, or maybe their address has changed.

Quick fix here.

Open the Address Book, double-click on the group you need to edit. Click on the name of the person you need to remove/change. If you need to remove it, then click on the Remove button. If you just need to change it, then double-click on it. You can change the e-mail address from there.

Fear Not, if you change the address from the Group, it will change the individual address too (and vice-versa, if you change the individual address, the address in the Group will change)

Downloading the same mail to 2 computers

You have 2 computers. One that your son uses and one that you use. (Or think of it as a computer at work and a computer at home using the same Outlook Express program and login ID)

Problem: You want to be able to download all the mail, or if your son downloads mail, you want to make sure that you get the mail into your computer too. If he downloads the mail, all the mail sitting on your server will download into his computer. So, when you download mail, nothing is there for you download.

Here is the best suggestion I can make:

Let your son download the mail. But first you need to make a minor change on his computer in Outlook Express. Go to Tools, Accounts, Click on the Mail tab, click on the account name and press Properties, then click on the Advanced tab.

Now place a checkmark in the box for Leave A Copy Of Messages On Server.

This will allow him to download the mail (while leaving a copy for you to download later) and delete anything he doesn't want or need from his computer. Then when you go to download the mail on your computer, you will get the same mail that he did. But this time, when you download, the messages will be deleted off the server as they should be.

Changing fonts and MUCH more changing all over the message

When you start with a new message, you may have a second Toolbar immediately above your message area. If you do, click on the down-arrow and select a different font. If you don't have the Toolbar, then select Format, Rich Text. Click on the message area box then from there you can change the font and even the size of the text.

Examples:

Change the color of text
Bold, Underline, or italic text
Increase the font size of a text
Change the font style of a text
Create bullets
Indent paragraphs
And More....

Sound for mail notification

Don't like that little click sound telling you that you have mail? Maybe you have something that says "You Have Mail".

I'm sure that you have many sounds on your computer. Do a search of your computer for *.wav. This will show you where all of waves are. They will not be all in the same directory, I'm sure. But to use a sound for mail notification, it can be anywhere on your computer.

Just go the Control Panel and double-click on Sounds. Scroll down and click on New Mail Notification. Click on the Browse button. This will take you to where most of your sounds are located. If not, you may have to change directories to find them. Click on a file once and you can then press the "play" button to hear what it sounds like. If you don't like/want it, click on another file and press the play button. Keep going until you find one that you like. Then press OK twice to close everything.

Here's a great one that I use. Click on this to hear what I use: Mail Notification. If you like it, then right-click on it and save it to the location where your other sounds are on your computer.

Tip: Do a search of your computer. Start, Find, Files & Folders, type in *.wav and press Find Now. You can double-click on any of the files that show up to hear what they sound like. You will note that not all the sounds are in the same directory. When you find one you want to use, take note of the directory so when you go to the Control Panel, you will now where to Browse to.

Creating a link in a new message

The ever-loving "click here" message.

Option 1:

Well you don't need to use the Click Here words, you can use just about anything you want and still create a link that when clicked on, will take your reader to that web page.

Start a new message by clicking on the Compose New Message. Next click on Format, Rich Text. Fill in the field for who it's to and the subject, then place your cursor where the message will go.

You will now see a second Toolbar just above your message. Just type something like:
Check out Tracy's homepage

Now highlight those words, then on that second Toolbar click on the second button from the right (looks like a chain link). Type in the address of the page you want them to go to. In this example I would use the following (because it's my homepage):

index.html

Then click on OK. Now click somewhere else in the body of the message and the highlighting will go away and you will see your words in blue underlined words.

Type anymore of your message you want. Then just send the message as usual.

When your recipient receives the message, they will be able to just click on that link and go directly to the page you want them to see

Option 2:

Just type the URL address of the page you want the person to go to. When you press the space bar at the end of the address, the link will perform automatically.

This option will show the address of the web page, where as in option 1, you can put in your own words instead of the long ugly address.

Change/Remove a link in a message

If you created a link and now want to change or remove a link, Right-click somewhere within the blue words and choose Properties. Now just delete the URL address, or change it to something else.

Full Width View

If you'd prefer to have the e-mail message viewed completely across the window, here are some changes you can make. This will make it so that the Folders do not show on the left side of the window, but give you a button to click on so it drops down and you can select the folder you want to view.

Choose View, Layout.

Place a check mark in the Folder Bar box. Remove checkmarks (if you have them) for Outlook Bar or Folder List then click on OK.

You will now see just 2 frames...the list of mail in that folder in the top frame, and one of the messages in the bottom frame. You will see a long box with the title of the folder you are presently viewing (with a small down-arrow key next to it). Click on the down-arrow key and it will show you the folders, actually showing all 3 frames. Just click on the folder you want to view and it goes back to just 2 frames again

Delete Sent Items

Do you have your e-mail set to save a copy of your message in the Sent folder? If so...when was the last time you checked out that folder. Better check now and start deleting those things. If you have a LOT, that is a lot of wasted space on your hard drive. And if you're concerned about space, you better go look right away.

Address Book to change directory

You want to change the location of your address book file. That way when you do a backup, you don't have to keep looking through all the directories.

Warning: This involves editing the Regedit:

Click Start, Run and type: regedit

Navigate your way to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB\Wab4\Wab File Name

On the right side you'll see the the path of your address book.

To change the folder, double-click the icon on the right side.

Now change the directory to where you want the address book to be stored. Make sure that you don't change the very end where it probably says UserMPS.wab (or something similiar)

In an Explorer, find the address book file from the original location
XP C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book
Other Versions C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\

Now move it to the location you want. I use: C:\0tracy\zbackups

Close Regedit and restart your computer.

Save e-mail addresses to take along

Save computer space with email cleanup

The Deleted Folder in Outlook Express can really add up if you're not careful, and it can really take up space on your computer. I just found that my Deleted Items folder was almost 400MB !!!
And in Outlook Express, my Deleted folder was EMPTY!!!
So...where's it coming from? "Ghost Mail". Read on to get rid of the "ghosts" and get back more computer space.

First, check to see how big YOUR folders are:
Go to
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{0CE5F......}\Microsoft\Outlook Express
(Where Owner could be your name, and the numbers will be different on every computer)
NOTE: Ensure that you do NOT go to the folder of C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Identities
WRONG folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Identities
CORRECT folder
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{0CE5F......}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

The Fix:
In OE, click on File, Work Offline (this prevents any new messages from coming in while you do this)
On the left click click right ON the line at the top called Outlook Express
Click on File, Folder, Compact All Folders
When it's done, click on File, Work Offline to let the program get your mail again.

Saving a message with or without attachments/pictures

You have a message that came in. For some reason you want to "save" the message (maybe so you can take it to another computer, or to get it out of your e-mail program).

Say someone sent you a message with an attachment (or even as stationery). If you choose File, Save As: and leave the type as .eml, then you will be saving the file just as you see it, as a message, with picture (if you have stationery), and any attachments (such as a .zip file).

However, if you choose File, Save As, then change the type from .eml to .txt, then you will be saving only the words of the message.

I guess it all depends on what you want to save and how.

Insert a picture (Cheating way of using stationery)

You're ready to create a message, but don't want to use stationery because you want to include a picture you found that you'd like to show someone.

You can do this 2 different ways. Start a new message as usual, then ensure you're using Rich Text (Format, Rich Text)

1. Drag and Drop the image on the message you've just started. But this puts the image at the end of the message.

2. This second option will place the image right where you want the image to be. Click on the very last button on the Toolbar between the 2 sections of the message (it looks like a mountain).

Click on Browse to locate the image and double click the image file when you find it.

In that dialog box, change the Alignment to Left and type the number 3 in the box for Border Thickness (just to give you an idea of what a border will look like). One more thing. Place the number 10 in the box for Horizontal. This will give you a 10 pixel margin next to your picture (as well as 10 pixels away from the left border)

Try playing around with the Alignment and the Vertical. They can do various things.

Change your mind? Right-Click on the image and choose Properties. You're back to the picture dialog box again to play around some more.

BCC Always Available

BCC is to used to send a message to many people and NOT have their e-mail address be shown to anyone else. Example: You want to send a message to 10 people....but you don't want any of those 10 people to know the address of the others. BCC hides the E-mail address of all the people your sending the message to. I use BCC to send a message to everyone in my Stationery Mailing List. When people read the message they don't know the addresses of the other 400 people I sent the same message to.

To always have the BCC available for sending mail, start a message. Then, at the top of the message, click on View, All Headers....then continue with the message. Next time you start a message, the BCC will be there automatically....but that doesn't mean you have to use it. It'll be there...just in case ;)

Note: If you send a message with someone in the BCC area, then go back to the Sent folder and right click on that message. Choose Details and, you WILL see a list of who you put in the BCC. But the people who are receiving the message will not see it.

Backup your Mail Accounts and Newsgroups Accounts along with the settings

Click Start, Run, type
regedit
To backup up the accounts so they'll be there in case of a crash:
Navigate your way to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Account Manager\Accounts
Click on Accounts, then click on Registry, Export. Give it a name and save it in a safe place.
To restore, just double click on it.

Backup filter rules for messages

So you can save your rules and filters, you'll need to go into Regedit.
Open Regedit and go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities
On the left side, click on the + by the long string of numbers
then click on the + for:
Software, then Microsoft, then Outlook Express,
Next click ON the 5.0 (or whatever version you have) on the left side.
Click on Registry, Export, save to a safe location

When needed to set it all back (say after a reformat), then just double click on that file. It will be saved as a .reg file (Registry Entry file)

IMPORTANT NOTE: If this is all to be imported onto a new or different computer, then you need to continue here:
On the new computer, ensure OE is closed
Open the following programs:
Wordpad
Regedit
Windows Explorer

In Regedit:
go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities
On the right side, double click on Default UserID
copy (ctrl+c)
Cancel
Close Regedit
In the Windows Explorer, click and drag on that .reg file you saved earlier and drag it to the Wordpad on top of the word File on the Menu bar
Highlight the top long line where the long numbers are, selecting ONLY the long part of numbers including the { and }, but NOT the \ marks.
Click on Edit, Replace
In the second long box, click in there and paste (ctrl+v)
Click on Replace All
Click on File, Save
Close Wordpad
In the Windows Explorer, double click on that .reg file again and choose Yes to import the registry entry.

This does not backup your e-mail messages...only the rules & filters. To backup your e-mail, see next tip.

Backup E-Mail messages

To backup your e-mail messages, all you need to do is go to your mail directory in a Windows Explorer and copy the files.

Other Versions
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Identities\{2E88AEC0-0E92-11D3-8735-BE9F0647181A}\Microsoft\Outlook Express
The numbers will be different for YOUR computer
XP
C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities
First, create a folder for saving your mail. Open a Windows Explorer
Click on the left side on the C: drive. Now click on File, New Folder and call it Backup E-Mail (or whatever you want to call it).
Next, navigate your way to the e-mail folder as seen above. Then click on the folder on the left called Outlook Express (when you finally get down to it after digging), then choose Edit, Select All.

On the LEFT side, scroll up until you can SEE your new backup e-mail folder...just to SEE it.
Now right-click AND HOLD on any one of those files on the right side. While you're still holding down the right click, drag it to a that new folder. Release the click and choose Copy Here.

If anything happens to your mail, you'll at least be able to copy all those files back into your original mail directory and get them back.

Wrapping lines in messages

I'm sure you've gotten mail from someone that looks like this:
<<<<<<and the text just keeps>>>>>>
<<<<<<getting>>>>>>
<<<<<<all wrapped in the wrong places. This can>>>>>>
<<<<<<be very>>>>>>
<<<<<<annoying to read>>>>>>
Right?

Help stop this garbage from going around. Click on Tools, Options, then click on the Send tab. Click on the first button that says Settings in the line for Plain Text.
Now put in a number of 72 for the Maximum number of characters to display per line. And while you're at it...remove the check in that bottom box for Indent original text with >>. That's annoying to look at when you forward a message to someone.

Wrapping line: how to remove the > characters

Now..if you DO get messages that have all the > characters and you want to remove them so you can forward a "clean" messages, here's a great little freeware program you can use to clean it all up. It's called E-Cleaner.
You can get it here at: eCleaner
To use it, after you install it
(1) Select and copy the desired text that you want to clean.
(2) Run eCleaner
(3) Hit F1
(4) Paste the reformatted text into a new e-mail message. That's it!

Automatic Replies when you're gone

Create a message you want to send back to everyone who sends you mail. Create it just as you normall would only do NOT fill in the TO box...just fill in the Subject and type your message that you want them to read.

Click on File, Save As.
Navigate your way to the directory where you want to save this message. Give the file a name, then click on Save. Next click on File, Close.

Now click on Tools, Message Rules, Mail
Click on the button for New
In the top box, scroll to bottom, click in the box For All Messages.
In the second box, click in the box for Reply With Message
In the third box, click on the blue highlighted words called Message. This opens a dialog box asking where that message is you just created and saved. Go to that directory and double click on it.
In the bottom box, give the rule a name, such as Reply While I'm Gone
Click on OK twice.

If you ever want to edit the message, in a Windows Explorer, go to the directory where the message is saved, right click and choose Open. Change the message, then close it again (choosing Yes to save it).

After you change it, you'll see that your Draft folder in Outlook Express has a new message in it. You can just delete it, because any changes you make that THAT message will not be made in the message that goes out automatically.

Those procedures will tell Outlook Express to send that message every time you get mail from someone. You'll have to remember to change the rule when you no longer need it. Just go to Tools, Message Rules, Mail and take off the check mark for that rule. The rule will stay there, but will temporarily be turned off.

Create New Stationery

So, you want to create your own stationery with your own picture. It's not all that hard to do, really. These instructions are for sidebar stationery. Topbar stationery has one adjustment and is noted below

The basic instructions are in bold.

It may seem like a lot of steps to take, but it can really be worth the tasks. We'll start with just a light background (no real pictures...we'll get that on another tip)

I think the best way to create your own stationery is to first open a Windows Explorer and find the file called Ivy.htm in the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery. Copy this Ivy.htm file to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\.

Next, rename the file that is in the Microsoft Share directory to something else that you want. Something that will relate to the background you are going to use, such as: Light Tex Background. This will be the name of the stationery. Now move this file back to C:\....\Stationery

Find a .jpg (or .gif) picture that you want to use for your stationery background and place it in the C:\....Stationery directory. The best type will be a *.jpg (or .gif) file that is very light. You can find plenty of pictures on your hard drive, if not on the Internet. Try going to my Bookmarks page and go to Graphics for suggestions on places I've got bookmarked for graphics. You will definitely find a lot of different light graphics you can use. Or, if you have WordPerfect, try in the ...\Template directory. WinWord might have some too. If you like the background on this page, then click here. When you view the picture, right click on the picture itself and select Save Picture As, give it a name and save it in the C:\.....\Stationery directory.

If you find the perfect picture only it's a *.bmp instead, try using IrfanView (freeware) to change it to a *.jpg (or use any program that you might have that can perform the same function...changing a .bmp to a .gif)

Next open the program WordPad. Then, after you click the button for Open File, navigate your way to the C:\...\Stationery directory and open the file called Light Tex Background.htm (you will have to change the box for Files Of Type, to All Documents)

At the top, after the tag </title> and before tag </head> you need to add the following:
<style>
body
{
color: #FFFFFF;
font-size: 14pt;
font-family: Arial;
background-repeat: repeat-y;
background-color: 000000;
margin-left: 200;
margin-right: 5; }
</style>

Toward the bottom of the document you will see
<BODY background="Ivy.gif">
Change the name of the gif Ivy to the name of your new picture, in this case lighttex making sure that you leave the .gif in place (or change it to .jpg if it's a .jpg image instead of a .gif image)

Now just click on the Save button, and select Text Document.

When you open Outlook Express, click on the down-arrow on the Compose Message button. Click on More Stationery, and select your new stationery.

That's really about all you need to get started. You will have to make a few adjustments for the margin-left area to make your text placement proper

If the picture doesn't look right, then repeat the procedures for Find A Picture, or maybe you'll just need to resize the picture before pasting in MS Paint it a little more.

If the margin isn't big enough or is to big, then, using WordPad again, adjust the left margin from 100 to something bigger or smaller.

Using Reply with stationery

When you want to use Reply and use stationery, In part A, there are a 2 different ways to continue.

A: 1. If you are replying to a person who used stationery (or html format), then after you click on Reply, and the new message window shows up, click on Format, Apply Stationery...then choose one of the stationery's (or click on More Stationery to pick others.)

What this will do is use only the basic background of the selected stationery. Margins, fonts and extra pictures will not be applied.

2. If you are replying to a person who did NOT use stationery/html format, then click on Reply. Then click on Format, Rich Text. Then you can click on Format, Apply Stationery (as in option 1)

B:

Formatting will not apply when you use Reply. You will need to fix it manually. Just click on the button on your second Toolbar for Increase Indentation (3rd button to the right of the 1,2,3 button). You may need to press the button a few times for the cursor to move to the right far enough to get past the image going down the left side). This will move the margins closer together...from the left AND the right.

Now change the font to anything you want. Just click on the down-arrow next to Arial and select a font. Change the size also, if you want.

Now just continue with your message as usual.

Compose new stationery message PROPERLY

To start stationery message, do not use the Compose button, then click on Format, Rich Text.
Instead do it right:
Use the down arrow key and select one of the stationery files listed there (10 previous stationery files will show first). Or choose Select Stationery to select another stationery from your stationery directory.

This will start your stationery with proper formatting of text, margins and image placements.

After you fill in the TO:, and Subject, press the Tab key (since your hand are already on the keyboard.
By pressing the tab key after th subject, the cursor will go right where it's suppose to...unless you are instructed to "Insert Text There". In that case you would use your mouse to click there and type your message.

Subject field automatically filled in for a message

Next time you want to send the a message with that subject already filled in, and with that sationery, then just double click on the icon on your desktop, fill in the To: and type your message.

If you want to use different stationery, you will need to create a new message, then Save As, again in the .eml format, then save it on your desktop (or where ever you want), then double click on that one.

Link clicking for a new IE window

In an Internet Explorer window, click on Tools, Internet Options.
Click on the Advanced tab
Down where it shows the Browsing options, uncheck the Reuse Windows for Launching Shortcuts option.

Spellchecker for those who don't have MSWord

If the link ever fails, let me know and I'll send you the very tiny program myself. Just let me know.

Move Incoming mail to another folder

Want to sort out all that incoming mail? Example...all the mail coming in from your mother will go to a folder called Mom. Or....all mail coming in has a subject of Health in it would go to a folder called Health Issues

Here's a way to filter your messages so they go right to a folder of your choice instead of going to the Inbox

First create a folder in OE by clicking on Local Folders, then click on File, New Folder and give it a name.
1. Click on Tools, Message Rule, Mail
2. Click on the New button
3. In the top box, put the check in the box for Where the subject contains certain words
(or click on Where the From Line Contains People if your want all message coming from a certain person to be moved)
4. In the second box, put the check in the box Move it to the specified folder
5. In the bottom box, type in the name of the rule, such as Mark's Mail, or whatever you want.
6. In the third box, click on the blue words saying "contains certain words"
7. Type in a something like: Air Force (or whatever you think the word(s) will be that will always be in the subject line of the incoming mail for messages you want to move), then click on Add, then click on OK
9. Now click those blue words saying specified (for where to move them), then click on the folder that you want it moved to.
10. Click on OK...all the way back

Next time you get a mail with that word (or words) the mail will automatically be moved to that other folder instead of cluttering up your Inbox.

You can play around with the settings in there and use different filters all the time.

Delete junk mail automatically

Here's a way to filter out that unwanted junk and not even receive it in Outlook Express at ALL.
1. Click on Tools, Message Rule, Mail
2. Click on the New button
3. In the top box, put the check in the box for Where the subject contains certain words
4. In the second box, put the check in the box Delete From Server
5. In the bottom box, type in the name of the rule, such as Junk or whatever you want
6. In the third box, click on the blue words saying "contains certain words"
7. Type in a word such as sex. then click on Add. then type another word such as insurance, then click on add, then type in the word confidential, click on add, type in loan, click on add...keep going with all the words you can think of that junk mailers use.
8. Click on Ok...all the way back.

Next time you get a junk mail, you can just add another word to your list:
Click on Tools, Message Rule, Mail.
Click on the Junk rule, then click on Modify (or click on the blue words in the bottom section)
Start adding new words again.
Click on OK all the way back.

Junk mailers even try to use something like this:
I n s u r a n c e (with all those spaces)
I've even added those to my list.

Identities not working after Windows XP SP1

Links not working when clicked on

Identities...using them with 2 e-mail addresses

Ok...don't like it? Any mail you got in your Yahoo identity, on each message, click on Forward, and send it to your regular e-mail address. Do this for all mail that came in.
Go to File, Identities, Manage Identities. Click on the Yahoo identity and remove it...and say yes that you're sure.

Stationery won't work properly

Duplicate E-Mail messages

Passwords Saved In Outlook Express  XP

Question: I have Windows XP Home, and my Outlook Express doesn't remember my e-mail password. I have checked the "Save password" checkbox, but Outlook Express still doesn't remember my password. What is the problem and what can I do to fix it?

Answer: The problem is that your Windows Registry doesn't have the correct information for the Protected Storage System Provider subkey. I will warn you that this fix will involve having to edit your registry. That being said, I would suggest that you back up this registry subkey before you edit it. To do this, click Start | Run, type "regedt32" (sans quotes), and click OK. Now you need to navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Protected Storage System Provider" (sans quotes) and then click File | Export. From here, just type in a file name you'll recognize, and in the "Save In" box navigate to a familiar place, like My Documents or My Desktop, and click Save. You have successfully backed up this registry key.

Since we are already at the proper key in the registry, we might as well continue on from here. Click Edit | Permissions. Ensure that "Read" and "Full Control" permissions are both set to "Allow" for the account you are logged in as. Now, click the Advanced button to ensure that the user that is currently logged on has Full Control listed in the Permissions column, and that This Key and Subkeys is listed in the "Apply To" column. If not, then just click Edit to add the appropriate permissions. Make sure there is a check in the checkbox next to "Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects." From here, click the Apply button, and then click "Yes" when you receive a prompt to continue. Click the OK button until you get back to the Registry Editor. Now, expand the Protected Storage System Provider registry key and delete the user subkey folders listed inside. The user subkey folder should have a name like: S-1-5-21-124525095-708259637-1543119021-16701. You can delete the folder by clicking on it, and then clicking Edit | Delete.

The next step is to close the Registry Editor and then restart your computer. When your computer comes back up, you will want to re-enter your password in Outlook Express. Open Outlook Express, and if you get a login error, then just close the dialog box and continue. Once in Outlook Express, click Tools | Accounts. In the Internet Accounts window, click on the Mail tab. Choose your e- mail account where the password needs to be re-entered, and then click the Properties button. On the Server tab, type your e-mail password in the Password box and put a check in the checkbox next to "Remember password." Now, click OK and close all the way back to the main Outlook Express window. Go to the File | Exit to close Outlook Express. The next time you open Outlook Express, you shouldn't have the password problem anymore; just click the Send and Receive button to test this.

.email Files to open with Outlook Express

.eml thumbnails retrieved after SP  XP

Newsgroups links

Outlook Express Stationery:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.inetexplore.ie6_outlookexpress.stationery
Outlook Express:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.inetexplore.ie6_outlookexpress

These are more links for my reference...but you can go there too and check 'em out
news://news.annexcafe.com/annexcafe.downhome.stationery
news://news.annexcafe.com/annexcafe.sff.stationery

Unzipping with XP

Double-Click on the zip file (also known as Compressed File). A new window will open up showing the contents of the zip file. If a new windows doesn't open, but just shows you the contents in that same window, continue with the next step anyway.

On the toolbar click on Folders
On the left side:
click on the + for C:
click on the + for Program Files
click on the + for Common Files
click on the + for Microsoft Shared

You'll now see Stationery slightly indented on the left and the contents of the zip file on the right side.

Click on Edit, Select All
All the files on the right side will be highlighted

Click AND HOLD on any of those highlighted files and drag them over until Stationery is highlighted.
Release the click.
Let the files copy there

Click on the Stationery folder and you'll now see your new files in your stationery folder.
There won't be a zip file in your stationery file.
What you just did was "extract" the zip file into your stationery folder.
You can now delete the zip file that you have in your My Documents folder (or save it somewhere safe (like a floppy disk), or create a folder in your My Documents folder and save all your zip files there so you can back them up on a CD. After they're backed up on CD, you can delete the zips in that folder

You can then go to Outlook Express, click on the down-arrow on the New Message button, click on Select Stationery, then double-click on the stationery you acquired.

SlideShow needs to stop

Constant Crashing on Options tab or on Local Folders

Either way, save the patch file to cd or floppy disk for future use.

Run the program and it should fix your problem.

Music added permanently to current stationery

A: For the One Time Only procedure:
Start your message as usual. Then on the menu bar click on Format, Background, Sound.
Click on the Browse button.
At the bottom where it says Files Of Type, click on the down arrow and change it to read MIDI Files.
Now you can anywhere on your computer you want and double click on any song.
Then click OK.
Your stationery will now have music.
Remember, however, that this procedure is to add music to that message only. It does NOT add music so it'll be there the next time. To have it always there...read on.

B: All The Time procedure:
To make the stationery have the same song every time you start that stationery, you'll need to do a little editing.

1: Start the program NotePad (or go to Start, Run, and type Notepad and press <Enter>)
Go to File, Open... At the bottom of that dialog box change the Files Of Type to read All Files. Go to your stationery folder and double click on the stationery you want to edit. Such as Alphabet Child.html. The file will be either an HTM or HTML document.

2: Now scroll down some, and you'll eventually see something similar to this:
<BODY background="compuwrk.jpg">
Look at the character < and follow it all the way until you see the > character.
AFTER the > character put your cursor there and then press the 'enter' key twice.

3: Copy the following below.

<BGSOUND loop=infinite balance=0 src="C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery\MUSIC.mid" volume=-210>

Use your cursor to highlight that text above, but not this, then press ctrl+c
Back in Notepad, paste right where the cursor is by pressing ctrl+v.

4: Presuming that the actual song is in your stationery folder, all you have to do now is change the word MUSIC to the name of the song in your stationery folder that you want to use. DO NOT change anything else...ONLY the word MUSIC. You MUST leave all the rest exactly as you see it.
Example:

<BGSOUND loop=infinite balance=0 src="C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft
Shared\Stationery\you-needed-me.mid" volume=-210>
Your spelling of the song MUST BE EXACT!!!!!
NOT: you_needed-me
NOT: youneededme
NOT: you_needed_me
But...in this example, the only correct one is you-needed-me
Click on File, Save. Do NOT choose Save As....just FILE, SAVE

5: If the song is NOT currently in your stationery folder, then copy that music file into your stationery folder so your stationery will play the music as it's suppose to.

You can now start a message using that stationery and the music will be there.

If you have troubles, just give me a shout and I'll be happy to help you out.
Email-HELP!!!! with this trick

This page maintained by: Tracy
@ Carney Creations

Disclaimer: I am only responsible for the actions/inactions of myself.
All other use of the tips in connection with my home page and links are the sole responsibility of the end-user.