Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express - Frequently Asked Questions

 

Through many years and experience trying many email systems and software, Lyon Computer Solutions thoroughly recommend the use of the Eudora Email (we use it ourselves). Although Outlook and Outlook Express are free and widely used (as is Eudora), Outlook does not conform with long established Internet Standards for the sending and receiving of Internet emails. We can only assume this is an attempt my Microsoft to dominate the computer marketplace. For more information, please click here.

 

Lyon Computer Solutions will however do our best to help you with any problem you may have using your Outlook email software.

 

Please be aware that we are not recommending Eudora for financial or any other gain - there is nothing in this for us. We are recommending Eudora because it is one of the best email packages to have on your computer system and it conforms to all the standards.

 

If you want to try Eudora, click on the image to the right to download the software.

 

For those who wish to continue to use Outlook and Outlook Express, these are the questions we have been asked from our clients regarding problems and queries they have encountered:

 

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How do I get a return receipt for an email I have sent to ensure the receiver has got my email or has read it?

Click on "Create Mail". Complete the "To" email address, the actual message content etc, then before sending the email, go to the "Tools" menu for this particular email, and choose "Request read receipt" - see below. Then send the email.

 

A little word for Return Receipts. Not everyone will respect them. For instance with certain email software the recipient can choose never to respond to the Return Receipt, so you would never know if they had received or ever read your email.  Having said that it can be useful sometimes.

The people I send attachments to can't read them and I can't read their attachments. What is the problem?

It all depends on the attachment file type. If you receive an attachment which was created using a software program you do not have currently installed on your computer, then Windows (and therefore Outlook Express) will not be able to open the attachment. On the reverse side of the coin, if you receive an attachment and you can't open, then you may not have the software which created the attachment. To find-out which file types are created by which software program, try this site (if link available): http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/reference/fext/fextidx.htm

I replied to an e-mail and the reply went to a different e-mail address than the sender. Why?

The sender of the email may have the wrong settings in the "Reply-to" email address of their Outlook Express settings. When you reply to an email, it is this address to which your response will be sent (if it is set). If you know their correct email address, you can check the address entry by selecting it in the "From:" field using the right-hand mouse button and then selecting Properties.

Can't Open Attachments - "OE removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail"

If you receiving this error message when viewing an email in Outlook Express, here is how to fix it.

With the introduction of Outlook Express 6, Microsoft has added an additional feature to prevent customers from infecting their machines with viruses. Outlook Express uses the Internet Explorer unsafe file list and the Confirm open after download setting in Folder Options to determine if a file is safe. Any e-mail attachment with a file type that is reported as "unsafe" is not downloaded, and access to the attachment is removed.

However there are times, you may want to view an attachment that Outlook Express has deemed as unsafe. In these cases, follow these instructions to allow Outlook Express to show the attachment.

1. Start Outlook Express.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
C3. lick the Security tab, click to clear the Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus check box under Virus Protection, and then click OK.

To better protect yourself from viruses, its a good idea to leave this option checked unless you definitely want to open the attachment.

Another way to help protect yourself from email viruses infecting your computer if you use Outlook Express is to disable the Preview Pane. There are certain viruses that will infect a computer even if you just preview the message. To disable the preview pane:

1. Start Outlook Express
2. Click on View, Layout
3. Uncheck the Show Preview Pane, and then click OK.

Where does Outlook Express keep my messages and attachments?

Outlook Express stores each identity’s messages in a separate Store Folder. This folder is located on your hard disk drive and contains .dbx files of proprietary binary format. All mail and news messages are kept in these files with attachments stored in the bodies of corresponding messages.

Where does Outlook Express keep attachment files?

In message bodies. Messages are in .dbx files.
 

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