Outlook Express messed up....

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Dave Davison
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Outlook Express messed up....

Post by Dave Davison »

.....at least that is what some of my friends are saying about the new format of OE. Just today I needed to read an email I received from Saga re "the insurance document for a forthcoming holiday" and am unable to open it though I can open emails saved in the other folders. Any idea how to open the said (SAGA) folder please? :scratch: Thanks Dave.
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HansV
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by HansV »

Are you sure your friends mean Outlook Express? I don't think Microsoft has updated Outlook Express recently.

What happens if you select the second SAGA icon and click OK?
O-Express.gif
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Best wishes,
Hans

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Dave Davison
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by Dave Davison »

That did the trick, what put me off was the fact that double clicking the other folders opened them without having to hit the OK button and I wondered why the same double click did not open that of the SAGA. Regarding Microsoft not having changed the format of OE lately. mine certainly has as the menu on the right of the next screen shot has been replaced by the one on the left and to bring the former one to view now I need to hit the Ctrl + Y keys together. Seems to me a pointless change as has happened in the past when Microsoft updated the Microsoft Picture manager if I remember rightly. Can't quite remember what the change was but to access it there were more buttons to click. Thanks anyway, I have now printed out the insurance policy to slot into my passport folder. Regards Dave.
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stuck
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

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Dave Davison wrote:Regarding Microsoft not having changed the format of OE lately. mine certainly has as the menu on the right of the next screen shot has been replaced by the one on the left and to bring the former one to view now I need to hit the Ctrl + Y keys together.
MS have definitely NOT changed Outlook Express for many, many, years now. It has been superseded by at least two other email clients. The nearest current equivalent to Outlook Express is Windows Live Mail 2012

However, your PC was recently rebuilt right? I'm not absolutely certain but from the screen shots you've posted it looks to me that the reason you've noticed a change is because your rebuilt pc is using Outlook and not Outlook Express. Don't be fooled by the names. They are very similar, which are very similar. Don't be fooled either by the fact they both do email. Outlook and Outlook Express are completely different applications.

For this reason it is crucial that you know which application it is that you are using as your mail client. I stress 'using' because even if it is Outlook that you are using, your PC could also have Outlook Express installed (but not configured and set up as your mail client).

You can find out what application you are using and it's version number by clicking Help | About.

You can find out what applications are installed on your PC by looking in the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.

Ken

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Dave Davison
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

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Thanks for the comments Ken, I suspect what you suggest is on the right wavelength though I did not have the computer rebuilt -only had the "C" drive wiped to get rid of a gremlin then put back as it was before. [XP reinstalled] The change of appearance only happened since then so I'll have a word with the ship owner and see what he has to say. As the screen shot shows I clicked on Help About which shows what version of Outlook is in use. [O.E.6] When you say it is crucial to ascertain what email client I am using, why is it crucial please? On a slightly different tack, I looked in the "Add / Remove" progs and could not see anything that looked like OE (see attachment) but did note that there are four items for Microsoft .Net and three for Microsoft visual 3 +. From a novices' viewpoint it seems updates have been installed but the previous ones left behind. Should the older versions be deleted please? Also, what is Microsoft Silverlight? :scratch:
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HansV
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by HansV »

Outlook Express does not feature in the list of installed programs since it is a component of Windows XP. Click Add/Remove Windows Components on the left hand side of the Add/Remove Programs control panel to see the list of Windows components.

Please leave the various versions of Microsoft .NET Framework and of Microsoft Visual C++ alone - they are so-called runtime libraries and they are used by other programs that may require different versions to be installed. These versions peacefully coexist side by side.

Microsoft Silverlight is Microsoft's failed attempt to create a competitor for Adobe Flash. It hasn't become a success, but some Microsoft web pages may still use it, so I'd leave it alone too.
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Hans

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stuck
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by stuck »

When I said 'rebuilt' I meant all your software form the operating system up was reinstalled.

I said it was crucial to know which email client you had so that everybody here (yourself included) knows exactly what it is we are talking and so we can be more confident of suggesting something useful. The confusion of Outlook with Outlook Express and vice versa is common if no one has every explained that they are different.

Now that you've confirmed you are using Outlook Express... Click View | Layout and experiment with the tick boxes, one at a time!, until Outlook Express looks the way you want it.

Ken

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Dave Davison
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by Dave Davison »

Thanks Hans, as ever very much appreciate the magic of this forum, have learned so much and don't know what I would do without it. Regards Dave.

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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by Dave Davison »

Please allow me to revive this thread, my daughter uses Windows Live Hotmail and claims that recently her home page has been changed so that it has a list of ads down the right side which she would like to get rid of. This is perhaps the same problem that the other "Friend" in my initial post was referring to rather than OE which I wrongly referred to. Is it possible to delete the said column please? :scratch:
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HansV
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by HansV »

That looks like Outlook.com, the successor to Hotmail. It is a free webmail client from Microsoft.
Just like with Gmail, the advertisements pay for this free webmail service.

One way to suppress the advertisements is to use an ad blocker, such as AdBlock Plus for Firefox (there is also a version for Chrome, and a version for Internet Explorer is in the works).

Another way is to upgrade to the paid version Ad-free Outlook.com (US$ 19.95 per year).
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Hans

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stuck
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by stuck »

Outlook, Outlook Express, Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, Outlook.com, the list of names MS has used/does use for email clients is long and confusing. Perhaps some email basics might help to clarify some aspects. I'll use an analogy with the real world but I must emphasis it is only on analogy because although what follows is near enough it is a gross over simplification...

In the real world your mail usually arrives through the letterbox in your front door BUT it is possible to have a PO Box somewhere and for your mail to be held there. To get that mail you have to go to the box and look for it. Similarly, over the internet email can reach you in two ways. You can do the equivalent getting mail through your letterbox or you can do the equivalent of going to a PO Box and asking for your mail.

Now the confusion starts because unlike in there real world where mail through the letterbox vs going to a PO Box to ask for mail are two obviously different tasks it's not that obvious how your getting your email because both ways require you to do the same thing; you sit down at a PC and 'check your mail'. The most obvious clue as to how you are 'getting your mail' (via a postman or by going to a PO Box yourself) is in the application you use to 'get your mail'.

If you click on an icon for a stand alone application like Outlook Express then it's a postman that's delivering mail to your PC but if you first start a web browser (Internet Explorer/Firefox/Chrome) in order to 'check your mail' then you are going to a PO Box and asking for your mail. Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook.com all work like this. Note! It could be that you are not aware that you are first starting a web browser and then checking your mail because the icon on the PC desktop might be a shortcut that does those two steps in one go but a careful look at the window that appears when you do check your mail should enable you to work out if you are viewing your mail via a web browser.

Are you still with me? Good. Now consider the consequences of getting your mail in these two ways. If you use the 'delivered to your door by a postman' option then you can store as much old mail as you like, subject to space in your house but if you were away from your house you couldn't read any of your mail. On the other hand, if you used the 'go to a PO Box and ask for your mail' method then the amount of mail you could keep in your PO Box might be limited but you can get at this mail when you are out of your house.

Likewise, if you use a stand alone mail application like Outlook Express your email is delivered to your PC and you can store as much as your PC has room for but if you are away from that PC then you can't read any of it. However, if you use the 'go to a PO Box' method then as long as you can sit down at a PC, any PC, you can check your gamil/hotmail.outlook.com and get at your mail.

Ken

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Dave Davison
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by Dave Davison »

Sincere thanks for the time you gents take to explain the many ramifications of this hi-tech stuff. I will mention the AdBlocker to my daughter and she can decide for herself if she wants to explore that route. On the subject of emails clients, at a recent conference an acquaintance suggested I might like to try gmx.com which I have done and find it very easy to use. Anyone else heard of this option? Cheers Dave.
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Leif
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by Leif »

I've never heard of it, and whether or not it is free of advertising I couldn't say. However, it is always worth bearing in mind that old maxim - "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch". Someone, somewhere, has to pay for this service...
Leif

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stuck
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Re: Outlook Express messed up....

Post by stuck »

A Google search tells me it's owned by 1&1 and if you believe their TV advertising, 1&1 are the answer to all your website needs.

Ken