Windows Mail vs. Outlook Express

General

· They are very similar.

· Having used OE there should be no difficulty with learning Windows Mail.

· WM is more secure and easier to use.

· I will go over differences and include a few demonstrations.

· Windows Live Mail (http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview) is available to Windows XP users (contains much of Windows Mail's features, and integrates with Windows Live Hotmail)

· More detailed info at http://tinyurl.com/yffkuj re WM

· Remember the Help menu and F-1!

· If needed, enroll in one of the CC classes e.g. Bill Buppert

Accounts

· Switching or managing “Identities” is no longer available with WM.

· Simply add new accounts as needed.

· Each account is in a separate folder which makes managing multiple accounts easy.

· WM (client) needs basic info prior to downloading mail from your ISP as with OE.

· To open new account, click Tools menu then Add; use setup wizard (easiest way); enter your name in Display Name field etc. (check above URL)

· Usually same info as with OE; your ISP can be very helpful

Importing another email programs & messages

· Open WM and then click File, Import, and Mail Account Settings.

· The Import wizard will search your computer for other email applications e.g. Eudora and Outlook; walks you through the process of transferring account settings.

· To import email messages from other programs: click File, Import, and Messages and then follow the wizard’s steps.

Folders & Menus

· Folders exactly like OE (Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Drafts and Junk E-mail)

· Toolbar: Create Mail, Reply, Reply All, Forward and Send/Receive work just like OE

Outlook Express

Windows Mail

Hover mouse pointer over the buttons to determine what each represents.

Contacts

· New

· There is no Address Book per se

· Use Contacts instead to add people to your address book (File menu> New)

· You can access e-mail addresses and names desired with a simple click. 

Calendar

· New

· Can go from month to month

· Make notes of your appointments, etc

· It's very easy to use

· You can keep track of daily activities

Find button

· New

· The Find button allows you to search for specific messages, persons or specific text.

· This is a very valuable tool for finding lost email.

Delete and Print Buttons

· Print button is an actual icon

· Delete button is big and red

· Just click on either to initiate process

Search

· This is an outstanding improvement.

· It is available at top of the window.

· This feature searches for messages vs. searching for all files on your PC.

· To use: select the folder you want to search and then enter a keyword i.e. a word that appearing in the message you’re searching for, into the Instant Search bar then press ENTER.

· Instant Search will quickly pull up a list of emails that have that listed word.

· If still having trouble finding a message, click the Find icon at the top of Windows Mail to start an advanced search that lets allows you to be more specific e.g. message characteristics, including the date and subject line.

Phishing Filter

· This monitors your incoming mail to protect it from malicious activity.

· Tools>Junk E-Mail options> Phishing tab

Junk E-Mail

· This new filter has been added.

· This flags unwanted messages.

· Process: right click “junk” mail, click Junk E-mail then select Add Sender To Blocked Senders List; WM moves it to a Junk E-Mail folder and monitors incoming mail for any email from that sender; additional email from that sender is moved to the Junk E-Mail folder.

· To empty it, right click folder and select Empty Junk E-Mail Folder.

· Smart-Screen technology: monitors incoming email (even if not “marked”) then automatically moves suspected spam to the Junk E-Mail folder

· Options are available: click Tools; use Junk E-mail Options

Q:
You mentioned Vista Mail in one of your tips the other day, but you didn't go into too much detail about it. Is it different than XP's mail? If so, how? Please explain!

A:
It's a little funny that you ask this, because our other mentioning of Vista Mail was in reference to a security issue that may be on the rise with the new operating system's mail client. Well, I want to clear things up once and for all today, because Vista Mail really isn't all that bad. And if you're just new to Vista, you'll definitely want to check it out!

In the last few minutes, I have been racking my brain, trying to think of the best way to present this new e-mail program to you all. The most useful thing I came up with is to just show you how to set up your Vista Mail account to get it going so you can actually start to use it for all your e-mail needs. I have a feeling that some of you have probably been looking around on your new Vista computer for Outlook Express. Well, you're not going to find that, but do look for something called Windows Mail. That is what Vista calls its new e-mail program.

To get there, go to Start and click on Windows Mail. Now, if you have not set up your account yet, you will see a wizard pop up that will take you through all the steps. Here they are in a nutshell.

1.) Type in your name (or at least the name you want all of your receivers to see when you send them mail). Click Next when you've decided.

2.) Enter in your e-mail address. This can be the same one you've used for years or if you'd like to create a new one (in Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc.), you can do so. Click Next again when you're done.

3.) The next step asks you for your Incoming and Outgoing names. This is actually information that you will need to get from your ISP. If you used Outlook Express on your other computer, you can use the same information, but if you don't remember it, contact your ISP to get it. That's the only way you'll get past this part of the setup. Click Next when you're finished.

4.) Next, you'll need to choose a username and password for your e-mail account. At this stage, you can click the "Remember" checkbox, so you won't have to type it in each time you open your Windows Mail. Then click Next.

5.) If you're all set, you can click the Finish button and your account will automatically be set up.

Yep, it's as easy as that! A little less confusing than setting up an Outlook Express account, but it still asks for all the important information needed. So, once you have your account all ready, you can start to look through it and figure out how to use it. But, don't worry too much, because it's very similar to OE, version 6. So, if you used that before, you should be just fine.

The first thing I noticed with Windows Mail was that the views were pretty much the same. There's the box on the top and the box on the bottom. The top shows your received e-mails in a list and the bottom shows the actual e-mail content. I also noticed that the folders on the left hand side were exactly the same, including Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Drafts and Junk E-mail. The menus along the top were fairly similar as well. I'm sure you'll see that they are no longer icon type buttons, but a bit of a smaller version. You'll see Create Mail, Reply, Reply All, Forward and Send/Receive. All of those work just like OE.

A couple things that were different are the Print and Delete buttons. In Windows Mail, the print button is an actual icon of a printer and the delete button is just a big red X. You just have to click on those to print or delete your e-mails. I guess they weren't good enough to get their own buttons this time around. : ) After those, there is a series of new icons. If you hover your mouse over them, you'll see that one is Contacts, the second is Windows Calendar and the third is Find.

With Contacts, you can click on that to add people to your address book. It's a very convenient way of accessing the e-mail addresses and names you need. Just a quick click and there they are. The Windows Calendar is another very cool feature. Click on that button and a calendar will pop up for you. You can go from month to month, making notes of your appointments, etc. It's very easy to use and great for keeping track of your daily activities. The Find button is where you can either search for a particular message, a certain person or for text in a certain message. That way, if you lose an e-mail, you can search by any of these items to retrieve it much faster.

There is also a Search box at the top of the window and you can use that to search for e-mail messages as well. Just type in a few keywords that you know were used in the e-mail you're looking for and it should come right up in the window for you. It's as easy as pie!

Everything else with Windows Mail is pretty much the same as what you're probably used to. The menus along the very top are the same, including File, Edit, View, etc. You can still access your preferences through the Tools, Options menu as well. All of those tabs are the same too, so you can set up your account just the way you want it. Windows Mail does have some new stationery options to choose from. You can get those by going under the Message menu. My favorite is the green bubbles choice. It gives the e-mails I send out some real jazz!

So, as you can see, everything is still pretty much the same as Outlook Express 6, but be sure to browse through Windows Mail and familiarize yourself with everything. I'm sure a lot of you will get the hang of things right away, but at least you now have a small guide to go by for now. And you know, there's always the Help menu if you need extra help. Now, go on and enjoy your new Vista e-mail program. Yes, yes, yes!

~ Erin

Q:
I just bought a new computer with Windows Vista on it and I was wondering if there was any way I can get my Outlook Express e-mails into the new Windows Mail? If there's a way, please tell me!

A:
I've had so many people ask me this in the last few weeks that I just couldn't pass it up any longer. Ever since I featured an article about Windows Mail in the newsletter, it seems like everyone and their brother has wondered about this very thing. (If you're not sure what Windows Mail is, it's the new e-mail program for the new operating system of Windows Vista. You can read here to learn all about it and if you have Vista yourself, you can set up your own account). Well, I have done some research and I have come up with some information I think all of you will be very pleased with. Here it is!

I'm just going to start by saying yes, there is a way to transfer all of your Outlook Express e-mails (and address book, etc.) to your new Windows Mail account. (I'll wait here while you do your little happy dance!) Now, I'm only going to go over the Outlook Express part today and then I'll finish up with the Windows Mail portion tomorrow. It's better that way, trust me. Okay, let's get started, shall we?!

Exporting Your OE Address Book

1.) We will start with your address book in Outlook Express and then move on from there. So, boot up your XP machine and open OE. From there, go to File, Export and click on the Address Book option.

2.) The Address Book Export Tool will then open. Click on the second choice of "Text File (Comma Separated Values)" and then click on the Export button.

3.) You will then have to choose a path for where you want your address book exported to. Click on the Browse button and find a place where you can save your address book. You can choose any folder (My Documents, for example) or even start a new one if you'd like. Just type in the name you want it saved under and then hit the Save button.

4.) Next, you'll see the CSV Export window. Here you'll need to choose which contact details you want to be exported over. You can either choose the ones you want or to be safe, you can just checkmark all of them. When you're done, click the Finish button. The address book will then be exported to the location you chose and will be ready for Windows Mail.

Exporting Your OE E-mail Accounts

1.) The next thing we need to export is your Outlook Express e-mail accounts. In Outlook Express, go to Tools, Accounts.

2.) A window with all your e-mail accounts will appear on your screen. Choose the Mail tab and just click on the first account you want to export over. When you've selected it, just click the Export button.

3.) You can then choose a folder where you want your settings exported to. You can pick the same one as your address book if you'd like. When you have the folder open and you've named a new file for your settings, click Save. You'll just then need to repeat these steps for all of the accounts you want to transfer over to Windows Mail.

Exporting Your OE E-mail Messages

1.) Finally, we must get all of your e-mail messages ready for your new Windows Mail account. So, in OE, go to Tools, Options and click on the Maintenance tab.

2.) Click on the Store Folder button.

3.) A new window will open and from there, you can see where your store folder location is for Outlook Express. This is where OE stores all of your e-mail messages. (For example, mine is under my K drive. Yours might be different though, so just check it out).

4.) Memorize that location and then open it in Windows Explorer (right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and choose Explore).

5.) Once you find it in Windows Explorer, go to Edit, Select All. Right click anywhere in the window and choose Copy.

6.) Find a new location (a new folder) and then paste (right click, Paste) all of the content to it. You can either find a new spot under Windows Explorer or you can just do it like you normally do. You can paste it all to wherever you saved your address book and account settings if you'd like as well or just choose a whole new location.

7.) Once you find a new home for your OE messages, go back to OE and go to Tools, Options and click on the Maintenance tab again. Click on the Store Folder button and then click the Change button. Browse to find the new location that you just chose in step 6 and then click OK. If you have a lot of messages to export over, it may take awhile, so just be patient!

And there you have the whole Outlook Express part of this process. Like I said earlier, we will go over the Windows Mail part of it tomorrow. The two parts together were just too long to put in one newsletter. This way, you can work on the Outlook Express portion of it today and then finish it up tomorrow. It works out perfectly. I'll see you all back here tomorrow!

~ Erin

Q:
Alright, you've told us how to do the Outlook Express part of transferring our e-mails to Windows Mail, but how do we do the Vista part of it? Please explain!

A:
You're absolutely right! At the end of yesterday's Q&A tip, I promised to give you the rest of the story (as Mr. Paul Harvey would say) in reference to the Outlook Express/Windows Mail migration. And if you've learned anything about me through the writing that I do, you know I keep my promises. So, here's the information you've been waiting for!

Now, before I continue on, I want to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you missed out on yesterday's Outlook Express tip, be sure to check out the Q&A section of yesterday's newsletter (the date on that is April 24, 2007). It can be found in our archives here. Once you read through that tip, you can most definitely move on with this one, but you must do the OE part of it first. Okay, here we go!

When you're all done exporting in Outlook Express, make sure you reboot your computer and then start up your new Windows Vista operating system. So, now that the exporting process is done, we need to start importing. Here are the steps you need to follow.

Importing the Address Book

1.) Open Windows Mail (you can get there by going to Start, Windows Mail or if you have a shortcut on your desktop, just double click that). Now, it's recommended that you run the import process under your administrator account. So, if you're signed in under a different account, you'll want to restart your computer and choose the administrator option. If you don't do this, the import process may fail.

2.) When you're ready, go to File, Import, Windows Contacts.

3.) The Import to Windows Contacts window will open. From there, choose the first option of "CSV (Comma Separated Values)" and then click the Import button.

4.) Next, hit the Browse button and navigate to wherever you exported your Outlook Express address book. Find the file and then click Open. When you're all set with that, click Next.

5.) The next window you'll see is the CSV Import box. From there, select all the fields you want to import over. If you're having a hard time deciding which ones to choose, you can just checkmark them all (that's the safest way to do it) and then click the Finish button. The address book will then be all imported over to Windows Mail. Yes!

Importing E-mail Account Settings

1.) For this one, go to Tools, Accounts and in the Internet Accounts window, click the Import button.

2.) Next, click the Browse button and find the file where you saved your account settings from Outlook Express. Select the right file and then click Open. You'll have to repeat this process for all the accounts you exported over. It doesn't matter how many you have, but if you want them to be present in Windows Mail, you must import them all.

3.) When you're finished with that, you'll be able to see all of your saved account settings in the Internet Accounts window. That's it for this one!

Importing E-mail Messages

1.) To begin, go to File, Import and then choose Messages.

2.) The Windows Mail Import window will open and you need to choose the third option of "Microsoft Outlook Express 6" and then click the Next button.

3.) Next, select the "Import mail from an OE6 store directory" option and then hit OK.

4.) Hit the Browse button and navigate to the spot where you exported your e-mail messages from Outlook Express. Select the file and then hit the Next button.

5.) Select all of the message folders you'd like to import into Windows Mail and then hit Next again. The import process may take a little while, so just be patient.

6.) When the import is done, you will see an "Import Complete" message, which is nice, because you don't have to just sit there and wonder if it's done yet or not. Press the Finish button to complete everything.

7.) Once you've made it to this point, you'll be happy to know that all of your e-mail messages from OE are now in your brand new Windows Mail e-mail program. By default, all of your imported messages will show up under the Imported Folder. You can, of course, move them to another location if you'd like though. Just use the drag and drop procedure.

Now, I want to make sure everyone's clear on one more thing. The instructions I gave you for both Outlook Express and Windows Mail are meant for only one computer that has both Windows XP and Windows Vista installed on it. You can either have a dual boot (both operating systems on one) or if you're getting ready to upgrade to Vista, make sure you do the Outlook Express part of this tip before you do so. If you have two computers (one with XP and one with Vista), you'll need to do a file transfer before you begin any of this, because all the e-mail files need to be on one computer. (You can read here or here for some help on that).

That's it! You're done! Aren't you just so excited?! It's sort of a lengthy process, but once you're done, you'll be able to enjoy all of your e-mails, settings and contacts in Vista's Windows Mail. Oh yeah!

~ Erin