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You can tell a lot about someone by
looking at how they arrange things.
If items are neatly stacked on top
of each other, the person is
probably very careful. If things are
scattered about, the person is quite
carefree. You can customize the look
of Outlook Express to suit your
personality.
Hiding the toolbar
Outlook Express has provided a
toolbar that provides quick, easy
access to many mail functions.
However, if the toolbar isn't
exactly your cup of Martian Fire
tea, you can customize Outlook
Express to hide it.
To hide the toolbar:
1. Click the View
menu, then click Toolbar
to deselect it. The Toolbar will
disappear from the Outlook
Express window.
Moving the toolbar
The default location for the toolbar
is at the top of the active window.
If this isn't your favorite place
for a toolbar, you can move it to
the bottom, to the right side, or to
the left side of the Outlook Express
window.
To move the toolbar to the left
side of the Outlook Express window:
1. Click the View
menu, then click Layout.
The Window Layout Properties
dialog box will appear.
2. In the Toolbar title,
click the option button next to
Left. Click OK. The toolbar
will now appear on the left side
of the Outlook Express window.
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When you build a spaceship, it is
important to put the navigation
controls in easy to reach places.
The same goes for the buttons you
use in Outlook Express. You will
want to move buttons that you use
often to accessible places and
remove ones that you don't use at
all.
Adding toolbar buttons
Is checking your Outbox as important
as checking your Inbox? If so, you
might want to add the Go to
Outbox button to your toolbar.
Here's how:
3. In the Available buttons
list box, click Go to Outbox,
then click the Add button. The
Go to Outbox button will appear
in the Toolbar buttons list box.
4. Click Close to return to
the Window Layout Properties
dialog box, then click OK to
return to the Outlook Express
window. The Go to Outbox button
now appears on your toolbar.
Note: The Outlook Express
window toolbar and the Inbox window
toolbar are not the same. The
buttons for the bars must be
customized separately.
Removing toolbar buttons
Is your toolbar getting too
cluttered? Then consider cutting a
button or two off. Here's how to
remove the Go to Outbox button we
added previously:
1. Click the View
menu, then click Layout.
The Window Layout Properties
dialog box will appear.
2. Click the Customize
Toolbar button. The Customize
Toolbar dialog box will appear.
3. In the Toolbar
buttons list box, click the Go
to Outbox button, then click
Remove. The Go to Outbox button
now appears back in the
Available buttons list box on
the left.
4. Click Close to return to
the Window Layout Properties
dialog box, then click OK to
return to the Outlook Express
window. The Go to Outbox button
is no longer on the toolbar.
Changing the order of buttons
Is there a button you want in a
certain place on the toolbar?
Outlook Express lets you shift
buttons to more convenient
locations. Here, let me show you how
to change the position of the
Compose Message button.
1. In the Outlook
Express window, click the View
menu, then click Layout
to open the Window Layout
Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Customize
Toolbar button to open the
Customize Toolbar dialog box.
3. In the Toolbar
buttons list box, click Compose
Message to select it.
4. Click the Move Down
button, until the Compose
Message title is below the Send
and Receive title in the list
box.
5. Click Close to return
to the Window Layout Properties
dialog box, then click OK to
return to the Outlook Express
window.
The Compose Message button is now
positioned next to the Send and
Receive button on the toolbar.
Astromatix! Don't you love being in
control?
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During my stay on Earth, I've
learned that humanoids have varied
tastes. For instance, some people
like to live in the quiet
countryside, while others can't
imagine living anywhere else except
a bustling metropolis. No wonder
Outlook Express gives you so many
display options.
Setting up the preview pane
If waiting for things to happen
isn't your idea of fun, consider
using a preview pane to read your
e-mail messages. This feature lets
you read messages without opening
them, which sure comes in handy if
you receive lots of mail.
If the preview pane is not already
activated in your Outlook Express,
follow these steps to set it up:
1. In the Folder list,
click Inbox. The Inbox folder
will open.
Note: You can't configure the
preview pane from the Outlook
Express window. That's why you have
to go to the Inbox.
2. Click the View
menu, then click Layout.
The Window Layout Properties
dialog box will appear.
3. Under Preview Pane,
click the check-box next to "Use
preview pane", then click OK.
The Outlook Express window is
now split into two areas: the
message list, and beneath it,
the preview pane.
Automatically opening your Inbox
Some of you certainly do get excited
when you see new mail in your Inbox.
Outlook Express doesn't want to get
in the way of your celebration.
That's why it lets you automatically
open your Inbox when you fire the
program up.
1. Click the Tools
menu, then click Options.
The Options dialog box will
open.
2. On the General tab,
select the check-box next to
"When starting, go directly to
my 'Inbox' folder".
Now when you launch your Outlook
Express program, you'll go straight
to your Inbox. Nitrific!
Specifying a font for incoming
messages
If your taste leans towards the far
side of the galaxy, you probably
favor a wild and fanciful font. By
tweaking a few things in Outlook
Express, you can use your favorite
font to read incoming messages.
Here's how to set Times New
Roman as the font for incoming
messages:
1. Click the Tools
menu, then click Options.
The Options dialog box will
open.
2. Click the Read tab.
Under the Font Settings section,
click the Fonts button.
The Fonts dialog box will open.
3. In the Proportional font
box, select Times New Roman.
4. Click OK to close the
Fonts dialog box, then click OK
to close the Options dialog box.
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Astromatix! Outlook Express has more
options than the latest ZiTy-3
rocketship. In addition to changing
fonts and viewing areas, you can
also personalize the columns in your
message lists.
Sorting Messages in a Column
Outlook Express lets you arrange
your message lists in any order you
prefer. You can sort messages
according to the date they were
received, the subject titles, or the
senders' names. Your lists can run
from top to bottom or vice-versa.
It's up to you.
The following steps will show you
how to sort messages by the date
received, in descending order.
1. In the Folder list,
select the Inbox folder.
2. Click the View
menu, then point to Sort By.
A sub-menu will appear.
3. If Received has a black
dot beside it, then it is
already selected. If it doesn't,
click it to select it. The
messages are now sorted
according to the date received.
In Outlook Express you can sort
messages in either ascending or
descending order. In ascending
order, messages received most
recently appear at the bottom of the
message list:
In descending order, they show up at
the top:
Most people like to sort their
messages in ascending order.
However, if being a part of the
minority is more your style, here's
how to sort messages in descending
order:
1. Click the View
menu, then point to Sort By.
2. In the submenu, click
Ascending to deselect it.
The check-mark beside Ascending
disappears, and your messages
are now listed in descending
order.
Adding and deleting columns
Outlook Express lets you add columns
to your message list. Let's say you
want information about the message
size (e.g. 2KB) to be displayed in
the message list. Here's what you
need to do:
1. Click View,
then click Columns. The
Columns dialog box will appear.
2. In the Available columns
list box, click Size, then click
the Add button.
Are you a strong believer that less
is more? If so, you'll probably want
to vaporize any unnecessary columns
from the message list. Try deleting
the size column you just added.
1. Click View,
then click Columns to
open the Columns dialog box.
2. In the Displayed
columns list box, click Size,
then click the Remove
button. The Size column is now
back in the Available columns
list box.
Changing the order of columns
Should the subject of a message
appear before the sender? If so, try
shifting a couple of columns around.
Follow these steps to change the
order of the From column and the
Subject column:
1. Click the View
menu, then click Columns.
The Columns dialog box will
open.
2. In the Displayed
columns list box, click From,
then click the Move Down
button once.
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Classroom Set-Ups
With so many options available for
customizing the Outlook Express
window, you might not know where to
start. That's why we've put together
this list of Outlook Express set-ups
that work well with kids. Choose
your favorite, or use them all--it's
up to you.
Use It or Lose It
With younger students, the fewer
buttons and items to click the
better. A simple way to do this is
by removing unnecessary buttons and
toolbars. For example, if you know
that your students won't be using
the Address Book, then remove the
Address Book button from the
toolbar.
A few of the toolbars have the
same function as other display
items. Take for instance the Outlook
Bar, the Folder List and the Folder
Bar. All three give you access to
folders, but each is presented in a
different way. Thus, having all
three items visible may be
redundant.
Which of the three display items
should you use to access folders?
That comes down to personal
preference. However, if your
students are only using Outlook
Express for basic sending, receiving
and reading of mail, we recommend
keeping the Folder Bar. This keeps
the items that your students can
click on to an absolute minimum.
Yet, allows easy access to folders
should you need them.
Ordered Buttons
You can also move the buttons on the
toolbar so they appear in the same
order that your students will use
them. For basic e-mail, consider the
following set-up for the toolbar:
Pretty Previews
Here's a "Cliff Claven" factoid.
Wide bodies of text are more
difficult to read than narrower
ones. You can see for yourself by
moving the Preview Pane in Outlook
Express to different locations. If
you position the Preview Pane below
the messages, you will have a wide
window with long lines of text
running from left to right. If you
position the Preview Pane beside the
messages, you will have a narrower
window with shorter lines of text
from left to right.
Font size also contributes to
legibility in the Preview Pane. The
larger the font, the wider you
should make the Preview Pane. You
can do this by simply clicking and
dragging the gray divider between
the message area and the Preview
Pane. See if you can adjust the
Preview Pane so that there are, on
average, 8 to 11 words on one line
of text. This length is considered
optimal for reading.
Clean Columns
More food for thought. The more
columns you have for your message
list, the more likely that you'll be
scrolling from left to right. This
doesn't sound like a big deal, but
remember--as your message list grows
you will also be scrolling from top
to bottom. A viewing area that moves
in four different directions is
always more confusing than an area
that only moves in two.
What's our point? Remove any
columns that you don't use. For most
classrooms, the From column,
Subject
column and Received column
provide enough information for basic
e-mail.
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