Outlook Express question

[jones172]

Under Outlook Express, I am having trouble moving e-mails from the Inbox to the Sent Items folder. Instead, the software wants to *permanently* delete them, which is not what I want.

There are forty-eleven ways to deal with an e-mail you don't want to read right now.

(1) A big red Delete button at the top of the Inbox.

(2) Hit the Delete key.

(3) Select a bunch of e-mails, then hit the Delete key.

Your advice?

Tom Jones

[Zep]

Change to full-blown Outlook...or Thunderbird, or Eudora, or browse your email on your ISP's server, or whatever. Just ditch Outlook Express FAST (it's known officially in my neck of the woods as a genuine computer virus, to be shot without asking questions).

[Soapy Sam]

Seconded. Sorry- I know it's not an answer to your problem in the short term, but for the long haul, dump OE and get something better.

[balrog666]

Why would you want them in the "Sent Items" folder?

Anyway, "Sent Items" is a special folder. I suggest you create a new folder (or six) and save your emails to it instead. Just go to File->New->Folder and type in a name.

[jones172]

Originally posted by jones172
Under Outlook Express, I am having trouble moving e-mails from the Inbox to the Sent Items folder.

Correction: The "Deleted Items" folder. I regret the error.

I prefer to use Outlook Express right now, although I am aware that there are other e-mail clients out there.

Tom (a veteran IT professional)

[SezMe]

OK, the "Deleted Items" folder. So what's wrong with the methods in the OP?

[jones172]

Originally posted by jones172
Under Outlook Express, I am having trouble moving e-mails from the Inbox to the Deleted Items folder. Instead, the software often deletes them *permanently,* which is not what I want.

[Chris Haynes]

Click on "Tools" on the menu list... then click on "Options". Under the Maintenance tab see if you need to DE-select any of the "Delete message" options.

I usually just put messages in the "Deleted Items" folder by deleting the messages. I clear it out every few weeks (dear spouse actually uses it to archive messages... a so, very strange thing to do. I have folders I'll put messages I want to keep, like from my family).

[Zep]

Originally posted by jones172
Correction: The "Deleted Items" folder. I regret the error.

I prefer to use Outlook Express right now, although I am aware that there are other e-mail clients out there.

Tom (a veteran IT professional) Seriously, I'm going to suggest that OE is broken in some way. That is not its "normal" behaviour, and I'm not sure you can actually set it to behave like that anyway. With perhaps this exception...

Have you checked for any Rules that would automatically perform deletion of messages placed in that folder?

[SezMe]

Yes, Zep, if I remember correctly there is a setting somewhere that allows one to automatically clear the Deleted Items folder when exiting the program. That, Tom, is what you need to uncheck.

[LibraryLady]

Because I listen to your advice, I'm trying to set Outlook as default instead of Outlook Express, but it doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions?

[SezMe]

Originally posted by LibraryLady
Because I listen to your advice, I'm trying to set Outlook as default instead of Outlook Express, but it doesn't seem to be working. Any suggestions?
Try Start->Settings->Control Panel. Double click on "Internet Options" Select Programs Tab. Make your selections.

This is for Win2K. I imagine XP is not totally different.

[Zep]

Originally posted by SezMe
Yes, Zep, if I remember correctly there is a setting somewhere that allows one to automatically clear the Deleted Items folder when exiting the program. That, Tom, is what you need to uncheck. Ah, I see - cross-purposes here. I was under the impression that Tom was doing the delete of a message and then it immediately got permanently erased without exiting OE. But if this erasure was only happening on app exit then I agree - that setting is almost certainly the cause.

[Chris Haynes]

Originally posted by Zep
... But if this erasure was only happening on app exit then I agree - that setting is almost certainly the cause.

Like what I said! (see, go to tools, check options, click Maintenance tab, check the boxes of the delete options).

Wanders off muttering under breath "Hummph... it is just like talking to my kids!"

[Zep]

Originally posted by Hydrogen Cyanide
Like what I said! (see, go to tools, check options, click Maintenance tab, check the boxes of the delete options).

Wanders off muttering under breath "Hummph... it is just like talking to my kids!" But DAAAAD! He didn't say that in his OP! See?! See?!



OK, then I agree with you too, HC! Happy? :D :D

[Chris Haynes]

Okay. I'm happy. :D

I took a guess that he may have a Maintenance option picked.

(by the way, I hate the full Outlook... Outlook Express is quite adequate. I'v used to it for too long so I'm used to it... the previous thing I used was Netscape. For scheduling I use Lotus Organizer since I can copy the file to several computers over the network and all family members can be kept up to date to where they are supposed to be.).

[Zep]

Originally posted by Hydrogen Cyanide
...by the way, I hate the full Outlook... Outlook Express is quite adequate. I'v used to it for too long so I'm used to it... the previous thing I used was Netscape. For scheduling I use Lotus Organizer since I can copy the file to several computers over the network and all family members can be kept up to date to where they are supposed to be. Outlook major is all right if you need all the cotton-pickin' features and options that hang off it, and it is reasonably solid and quite compatible and configurable. For corporate work, a useful flexible product, but for at-home (which is what I used it for), it's a MAJOR overkill. Put it this way: my mum was utterly baffled by it. :)

I used to use Outlook Express until it was demonstrated to me early on how super-vulnerable it is to virii and stuff. I also do not like that its data structures and files are incompatible with anything else, and have zero flexibility for managing them. A number of my clients have found that the thing had major operational issues - that means business lost in most cases. I've had them myself too - once it trashed all my emails at work without asking (I think it reset the email database somehow). I simply do not trust it.

Personally, I now use Thunderbird, the very basic free Mozilla email client, and I'm very happy with that. Some diehard colleagues still swear by Eudora and Netscape. I've seen customers running the Lotus suite and they seem quite pleased with that - I've not heard any really bad stories about it like I have about OE.

[Oleron]

Outlook's big selling point is its integration with Exchange server, which is great if you are using exchange server but pointless if you're not.

It can run as a normal POP client but there are better options out there - Thunderbird, for one.

Outlook express is bad but has a nifty feature for the home user - the 'Switch Identity' option. This allows several people to use the same desktop profile and keep their mail separate. It is quite handy for some who perhaps use several email addresses but want to keep separate inboxes for each account.
Not enough to justify its continued existence though!

Some of my friends use 'Incredimail' as a client. It has a great interface and endless stationery. It's a bit proprietary, however, and when a storage folder corrupts it can be tricky to recover.
You've also got to watch who you send mail to because of the fancy HTML effects. Your recipient might be using text-based email.

[Chris Haynes]

Originally posted by Zep
...
I used to use Outlook Express until it was demonstrated to me early on how super-vulnerable it is to virii and stuff. I also do not like that its data structures and files are incompatible with anything else, and have zero flexibility for managing them. ....

Ah! The latter part is a big annoyance! I understand that, especially for business. With full Outlook you can use the "archive" feature.

For the former... I just tell people to turn off the preview pane!

The preview pane is a stupid feature.

I also check the properties of an email with attachments. Plus I never open up an email with an attachement if I do not knew exactly what it is. So I have irritated my mother-in-law by refusing to open up the forwarded messages that may (or may not) have a cute attachment to them (or a virus for all I, or she, knows).

[gnome]

I have stuck with outlook for one function--the "Combine and decode" feature in the newsreader. If someone knows of a similar function in another free newsreader, I would happily change... in truth I haven't investigated much.