Optimize the Interface 

• Contacts. You'll probably want this checked. This will permit you to have a narrow column on the side listing your address book contacts, and to initiate an outgoing message to any of them by double-clicking the name.

• Folder Bar. This should be unchecked. A pure waste of space, it serves only to duplicate in larger type the current folder's title.

• Folder List. If you frequently add, rename, or remove folders, and you don't have your Contacts list displayed by default, you might want to check this option. Otherwise, leave it unchecked. (You can always toggle it on by clicking the folder icon.)
  
  Tip: If you do leave it unchecked, open it now (by clicking on the icon), and drag your Contacts down to the very bottom. (Then close the Folder List.) That way, when you have occasion to open your Folder List, your Contacts won't get in the way.

• Outlook Bar. This enables point-and-click navigation to the default folders. If you have the Folder List enabled, the Outlook Bar is superfluous. If you don't have the Folder List enabled, it's still superfluous, since you can more easily switch folders with Ctrl-Y. The fact that this option applies only to those few folders built in makes it especially useless. Leave it unchecked.

• Status Bar. Useful. Check it.

• Toolbar. Can be useful. Check it.

• Views Bar. Rarely useful. Leave it unchecked.

• Preview Pane. It's really important to leave this unchecked. Enabling the preview pane invites computer infections that may accompany HTML messages. Displaying a message "preview" has the same security implications as opening the message. (If you've configured OE to receive all messages unformatted, the preview pane may be enabled without a problem.)
  
  Tip: When you're uncertain about opening a message, you can read it safely via its source code, by pressing Alt-Enter while highlighting the message.

Organize Your Messages 

Perform Necessary Maintenance 

1. Clear Deleted Items [toolbar Edit menu].
2. Go offline [File menu].
3. Move to the OE mother folder ("Outlook Express") with Ctrl-Y.
4. Make sure your Folder List is not displayed.
5. Start compacting [File>Folder>Compact All Folders].
6. During the compaction, refrain from using your computer.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts 

• Use Ctrl-C to Copy selected text to the Windows clipboard.
• Use Ctrl-X to "cut" a selection to the Windows clipboard. (This is a combination of copy and delete.)
• Use Ctrl-V to paste a selection from the Windows clipboard. (Think of V as an insert carat.)
• Use Ctrl-Right or Ctrl-Left to move to the next or the last word.
• Hold down Shift to make your actions cumulative. Shift-Home and Shift-End will respectively highlight text to the start and to the end of the line of text.
• Use Ctrl-A to select All.
• Use Ctrl-Z to undo an edit.
• Use Ctrl-Y to reverse the undo.
• Use Ctrl-S to Save.
• To emphasize text in formatted messages, use Ctrl-B for Boldface and Ctrl-I for Italics.
• Use Alt-space followed by X to eXpand any window to full size. This can be particularly useful for email messages [see tip #3 in the numbered list below].

OE-specific Shortcuts 

• Use Ctrl-M to receive incoming Mail (and send any mail in the Outbox).
• Use Ctrl-N to compose a New message.
• Use Ctrl-I to return to the Inbox.
• Use the Delete key to delete a message.
• Use Ctrl-R to Reply to a message.
• Use Ctrl-F to Forward a message.
• Use Alt-S to Send a message.
• Use Enter to open a message, after moving to it with the up or down key.
• Use Esc to close a message.
• Use F3 to find a word or phrase within a message.
• Use Ctrl-Y to open another folder. (Think of Y as a tree with two branches as folders.)
• Use Shift-Ctrl-F to open the Advanced Find menu, with which you can locate any message with ease. (Then use Alt-B to Browse to the folder of your choice.)

Thirteen Useful Tips 

1. Use the OE Message Rules to filter spam. (You'll find these under Tools in the OE toolbar.) A good starter list of suggested trigger words is here. If some of your rules might conflict with each other, bear in mind these two points:
   
   (a) OE processes the rules according to the order in which they appear. The last rule triggered is the one OE uses.
   
   (b) Each rule will give you the option to stop processing further rules upon its execution.
   
   Don't bother with the Block Sender instruction, as it cannot be overridden by your whitelist, and these instructions are generally ineffective against spammers anyway
   
   Note that the Rules allow you not only to divert messages from the Inbox but alternatively (in questionable cases) to color-code them.
   
   Whitelist selected senders. It's a simple matter to override all other rules and route selected senders' messages to your Inbox. Create a rule specifying the senders, with the action, "Stop processing more rules." Then use the "Move Up" button (just above the Rule Description). Your whitelist rule should be ahead of all rules diverting messages, but behind any rules color-coding messages.

2. Take full advantage of the Signature option [Tools>Options>Signatures]. Along with your phone number and the URL of your website (if you have one), it's a good idea to include your email address, since it's not always appropriate for correspondents to use the Reply function.
   
   You can save emailing time by including in your Signature your salutation! Just start the closing 4 lines below the salutation, and for each message, fill in the message body (after skipping a line) in the blank space. For example, your salutation might be "Hello xxx," with the name of the recipient to be filled in later. The signature proper or closing (perhaps starting with "Best wishes," or whatever you choose) should start 4 lines down.
   
   Hint: OE makes it easy to alter your signature depending on the time of year. For example, you could change "Best wishes" to "Best holiday wishes" by copying and pasting your original signature as your "Signature #2," inserting the word, "holiday," and selecting the altered signature to be your new default (until the holiday season passes).

3. Use a good width for your messages. If you leave your messages at full screen or anything close to it, reading them will be difficult. On the other hand, many HTML messages will be partially hidden if your message window is too narrow. A good compromise is to use about 60% to 65% of your screen width, which you can implement by dragging the side borders. (Windows will adjust to your preference.) Expect to have to maximize the message screen on occasion; use Alt-Space + x for that purpose.

4. Use the Advanced Find dialog [Shift-Ctrl-F] to locate messages quickly, but don't be confused by OE's quirky terminology. Microsoft uses "before" to mean "on or before," and "after" to mean "on or after." Thus, a message received "before" 12/5 and also "after" 12/5 will have been received on...12/5.

5. Use the message subject line as it was intended. Few things are more annoying than a subject line that reads "From Joe," or is otherwise unhelpful.
   
   Liberally change the default subject line in your reply messages, when appropriate, to a completely new subject line. This will be useful to the perhaps clueless recipient, and especially to you, both in getting your message the proper attention and in enabling you to locate it easily in the future.
   
   Use pre-tags like REQ, FYI, or URGENT. Use a subject followed by [eom] as the entire message, to save the recipient from opening a message only to find just a few words from you in the body. (This technique is especially handy for thankyous.)
   
   If you reply twice to the same message, some email programs will proliferate the Re: (as Re: Re: xxx). If that's not the case, add (2) to the more recent subject line, so the recipient won't discard it as a duplicate.

6. You're no doubt familiar with the use of the Bcc: field to send mail to multiple recipients without revealing their identities to each other. But what do you enter in the To: field? Just add to your address book a suitably named new contact with your own email address. For example, if you want to send a message to certain members of the ABC club, the contact name (with your email address) could be "Certain ABC club members," and you'd fill the To: field accordingly. A side benefit is that you'd get an immediate confirmation that the message was properly sent.

7. Use OE as a simple reminder system. Create a message with the subject, "To Do" (or any other subject you choose), and type each entry on a separate line, with a blank line in between. Leave the "To" field empty. Then save the message, and move it from Drafts to your Inbox with right click + V.
   
   The list will then stay in your Inbox even after you've made and saved changes. It may move up or down depending on what other messages appear, but you can if you like use OE's flag function to set it apart. Or instead of flagging, you can apply a color for that purpose with OE's Message Rules (under Tools>Options), using "Apply Now." (Re-saving the message however will necessitate reapplying the flag or the color.)
   
   To be reminded later, use a free Web app like Time Cave, which will send you a message you compose on the date you specify.

8. With the current aggressiveness of spam filters, it's a good idea to send your messages in plain text in most cases. Spam filters will rarely if ever block plain-text (unformatted) mail. In OE, go to Tools>Options>Send>Mail Sending Format, and check "Plain Text." To format the text in a particular message, click "Format" or press alt-O, and choose Rich Text.

9. If by default you send formatted (HTML or "rich text") messages, you'll want to allow for those few recipients who cannot easily read formatted text. These may include users of very old AOL versions (before v. 6), and users of MSN TV or Web TV. In OE it's very easy to remove such recipients from the default, if your access to them is via the Windows Address Book. Just right-click the contact name to go to Properties, and then go to Edit. A check box on the Edit screen can force plain-text emails to that person.

10. Don't risk sending a message before you're ready. It might not be polished to your satisfaction, or you might not be sure you want to send it at all! It's all too easy to press alt-S (or click Send) too soon. To remove the risk, fill in the subject line last. OE will require confirmation before sending a message without a subject line.

11. Use OE drafts as templates (boilerplates), for messages you need to send repeatedly with only slight variation. Once they're saved, OE will store these in the Drafts folder, but you can move them to folders you create (right click + V), optionally as sub-folders of Drafts.
    
    Hint 1: Assign each boilerplate message two subjects. Type the normal subject--what the recipient will see--in the subject line as usual. The other subject will be what you'll use to distinguish one boilerplate from another, and you'd type that in the "To:" field (to be later replaced, of course, by the recipient's email address). If you need to associate notes with a particular template, post those notes in the Cc: or Bcc: field. (OE won't let you forget to erase them before sending.)
    
    Hint 2: In place of the recipient's name in a boilerplate, instead of a real word like NAME, use xxx. Then, before sending, your spellcheck program will remind you to substitute the name. (Be sure to use lower-case, in case your spellcheck program ignores upper-case. If you don't have a spellcheck program installed, here's a good free one.)

12. Don't open attachments, unless you're expecting the attachment and need to view it. Attachments from well-meaning friends and associates can carry computer infections. And attachments are by far the most common means of spreading those infections. You can't rely on your anti-virus program, which cannot catch newer viruses not yet analyzed. In most cases attachments are entirely unnecessary, as the information can be included in the body of the message.
    
    (If you feel you must open attachments even occasionally, I recommend you instead use a viewer program that will allow you to view attachments without opening them.)

13. Don't send attachments, unless you absolutely have to, for the reasons outlined above, and also because opening an attachment unnecessarily is simply annoying. In nearly all cases an attachment's contents can instead be included in, or appended to, the body of the email. If an attachment is truly necessary, it's a good practice to first get the recipient's okay.
    
    Violating this rule by sending your resume as an attachment (when not so requested) will almost guarantee that it won't be seen.

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