Are you a Microsoft Outlook user? If you are, do you back up your mail folders regularly, so that if your hard drive failed or became corrupted you would still be able to recreate your e-mail environment without losing much?
For several years I did not even know how or where Outlook stored my mail files and address book, or contacts as Outlook likes to call them. Once I had figured all of this out, I got to thinking and realized tht even though I was backing up My Documents to an external hard drive, I had not taken any steps to ever back up my e-mail. I asked around, on online forums and such, and found out that the nearly hidden, very hard to find, location of my e-mail could be changed. Changed, in fact, to a location such as a folder of any name I chose within the My Documents folder if that is what I wanted. It turns out that this is exactly what I wanted to do. With all of my e-mail stored within My Documents in a separate e-mail folder (I call it My Outlook Mail Folders), it would then be backed up on a regular basis whenever I backed up My Documents and all of its contents. This is such an easy thing to do that I recommend it for all Outlook users.
You can read about it here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA011124801033.aspx
Tom, I use Outlook Express. It appears this works differently from Outlook. At some point in the past, I learned from you the steps to copy the Stored Message files and export the Mail Account info file to other folders under My Documents, so they can easily be backed up. I have been doing this for a long time now.
ReplyDeleteJoan
Yes Joan, Outlook Express is completely different. Outlook is a part of MS Office Professional, whereas OE is a standard feature of XP. It was on this blog, I think, that you will find the directions for backing up your OE data files. OE was not found in Vista, but was replaced with a lookalike called Windows Mail. Interestingly enough, Windows 7 does not include a mail client at all, but Windows mail can be downloaded from MS at no cost.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a large enough universe to observe, but I have noticed more and more people using web-based e-mail these days. Me, I stick with Outlook. I am in, I think, my 6th year and have saved all e-mail. I have become expert in Outlook, understanding how to modularize and save and backup all of my e-mail. Years before I used OE and then switched to Thunderbird for 3 years before going to Outlook.
Tom, How did you like Thunderbird? What would you recommend for a free e-mail program?
ReplyDeleteJoan
I always liked Outlook Express, but in my business I needed to be familiar with a wide variety of products, and so I switched to Mozilla's Thunderbird. I think I stayed with it for 3 years, and it was fine. I then moved up to what I viewed as the Cadillac of client e-mail software, Outlook. I like Outlook a lot and will stick with it. I like the idea of client software that keeps a copy of all e-mails on my system. I am a control freak!
ReplyDeleteOf the three programs, if Outlook is not available to you ($$), I recommend Outlook Express. If you migrate someday to Windows 7, you can download Windows Mail at no charge. You will find this to be very compatible with Outlook Express.