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BOOT CAMP 064
OUTLOOK EXPRESS PART 2
Outlook Express contains a number of simple to use features
to help you to liven up your E-mails or give them a more professional
appearance. Not all of the tweaks we're about to look at will work with every E-mail
program, however most do and since Outlook Express has become so popular
there's a very good chance that your efforts will be seen and appreciated.
The easiest way to customise E-mail is to change the
typeface, size or even the background colour from the bland defaults. The font
selector dialogue box can be found on the Tools menu, it is listed under Stationery
(or under Format, when composing a message). Normally you can only alter the
appearance of outgoing E-mail when Outlook Express is in the Rich Text (HTML) mode,
this option can be found on the Format drop-down menu. Incidentally, if the
recipients E-mail program cannot read HTML formatting the message will appear
as plain text, without any embellishments, (all E-mail programs that support
MIME -- see Jargon Filter -- can read HTML)
If you're in a hurry try one of the ready-made templates
included with Outlook Express and accessible from the drop-down menu next to the
Compose Mail button. They include a variety of colourful patterns, snazzy graphics
and backgrounds, some with replaceable text for sending personalised greetings,
invitations or announcements. Normally only half a dozen or so are listed but
click on 'More Stationery' and you can select from all fourteen supplied designs.
Once you've chosen a template simply type in your message or
change any of the text blocks by clicking in a cursor. There are also plenty of
third-party E-mail stationery templates available via the Internet. Vari-Mail
(see contacts below) is a good example; this is a shareware program and it contains
around 135 themed designs. If you're feeling a bit more ambitious then you
should have a go at using a freeware program called Stationery Paper Maker. It
allows you to create your own E-mail stationery from scratch, using your own
images, photographs and graphics; it can even add sounds to your messages,
though make sure that whoever you're sending it to has audio facilities on
their PC.
As you know you can send picture and image files as
'attachments' or add-ons to E-mails but Outlook Express will also let you
insert photographs into the body of a message. Once again this can only be done
in Rich Text (HTML) mode. Begin by keying in the message (or pasting text from
your word processor) then click the cursor into the message window, where you
want the picture to be. Select Picture from the Insert menu and use the Browse
button to locate the image file on your PC. When the picture appears on the page
click the mouse pointer in the image to bring up the sizing boxes, so it can be
enlarged, reduced or moved around as required.
One point to bear in mind when sending elaborate E-mails
with pictures, graphics or sounds is that they create large files that take
much longer to send than plain text messages. More importantly, they can take
several minutes to download at the other end. If the recipient has an older modem,
noisy connection or limited patience a slow loading E-mail can become very irritating
and your correspondent may well decide it's simply not worth the time and effort
involved.
A much quicker way to personalise your E-mail is to add a
'signature'. A signature is a small block of text that Outlook Express will automatically
insert at the end of message. This can be something simple like your name, address,
phone number or job title or an example of your wit and wisdom to share with others.
If you can't think of anything clever to say then there are even programs like B-Original
and Sig-Changer (see contacts) that will drop in a programmed 'thought for the
day' for you. The Signature facility can be found on the Tools menu, under
Stationery; click the Signature button and key in your message in the text box
that appears, or use Browse to find a text file created on your word processor.
Don't forget to put a tick in the check box if you want the signature to appear
on all of your E-mails.
Electronic business cards or 'vCards' are another form of
E-mail attachment and they can be used to keep your Address Book up to date as
and when you receive them from others. The first step is to create your own card;
it will be based on information contained in your Address Book entry, so if you
haven't already entered your own details, do so now. Whilst the Address Book is
open click on Export on the File menu and select Business Card, this then asks
you to name and save your vCard file (with the extension *.vcf) in a safe place
on your hard disc. To attach your business card to outgoing E-mails return to
Outlook Express and go to the Tools menu, click on Stationery, then the
Signature button and use the dialogue box at the bottom to locate your card. The
procedure varies slightly on older versions of Outlook Express and Outlook and the
Business Card create and edit options can be found on the Tools menu under
Options, select the Mail Format tab and Signature Picker.
Judging by the amount of E-mail and letters we receive concerning
Outlook Express there are still plenty of questions that need answering so you
can be sure we will return to it in future Boot Camps.
Next week -- Spring cleaning your system
JARGON FILTER
HTML -- HyperText Mark-up Language, hidden or embedded codes,
commands and formatting instructions in a text document or Internet web page
that help a browser to move around inside the document, or direct it to other
web sites or addresses
MIME -- Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a widely used
system for converting non-text files and information -- images, HTML commands etc.
-- to and from plain text so it can be sent as E-mail
TEMPLATE -- A ready prepared document or layout that can be
easily modified or personalised by changing sample text and graphics
TOP TIP
When you delete mail messages in Outlook Express they are
sent to the program's own Recycle Bin, and there they will stay until you get around
to emptying it. In other words deleting a message doesn't free up any hard disc
space, nor does it prevent others from reading your discarded mail as messages can
be recovered at any time. If you are sure that you really want to get rid of
deleted messages once and for all then you should instruct Outlook Express to
automatically empty the bin every time you exit the program. Click on the Tools
menu, select Options and the General tab and put a tick in the checkbox next to:
'Empty messages from the deleted items folder on exit'.
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