If you are an Outlook Express user you will eventually be using Windows Live Mail, since Microsoft has abandoned the former and includes the latter with all recent versions of Windows, along with making it available as a free download from www.microsoft.com.

For instance, if you have a Hotmail account, your messages can be accessed from within WLM. Also, Hotmail messages can be stored on your own hard drive, as well as on the Hotmail server.

If you install Windows Live Mail on a computer that has been using Outlook Express, you can copy your OE messages into WLM by launching WLM and clicking File>Import>Messages>from Microsoft Outlook Express 6.

To copy your OE Address Book into WLM, launch WLM and click on Tools>Contacts>File>Import>Address Book for Current Windows User.

If you have Outlook Express on an older computer and buy a new one with WLM, you will want to copy the OE "DBX" files onto the new computer to make them available for importing into WLM. If you are unfamiliar with DBX files, here's a brief overview:

Outlook Express messages saved on your hard drive are periodically compressed into files with an extension of .DBX. Thus, all messages in your Inbox are compressed into a single file named Inbox.dbx, while all sent items become Sent Items.dbx. These files are stored in a folder named Outlook Express, which can be found by clicking Tools>Options>Maintenance>Store Folder.

The default "Store Folder" is named "Outlook Express" and can be copied onto a CD or an external hard drive or a flash memory drive, from which it can be copied onto your new PC's hard drive. This will get all your old OE messages into WLM, but, unfortunately, not your OE Address Book.

In Outlook Express, click on Addresses>File>Export and follow the prompts, which give options for exporting different types of address books. If uncertain about which type to choose, try a CSV (comma separated values) file. This will create a plain text list with the various items such as Name and Email Address separated by commas. Give the file a name along with a .txt extension. This should make the data easily found and importable into Windows Live Mail Contacts.

Admittedly, neither Microsoft nor any other email provider makes it easy to copy Address Books from one email program into another. This is why I always keep my email addresses in a Word or Excel file, from which they can be easily copied and pasted into any email client's To:, CC: (carbon copy), or BCC: (blind carbon copy) fields. I only keep about half a dozen of my most-used addresses in any individual program's regular contact list.

Regarding "DBX" files, they have been abandoned in WLM. Instead, all messages are stored with the traditional email "EML" extension. Individual messages can be located by clicking Edit>Find>Message and typing in your search criteria.

© - Donald Ray Edrington - All Rights Reserved

---

Don's Tips on How To Avoid Receiving Spam

© — Donald Ray Edrington — All Rights Reserved

Top of Page

---

Downloadable Music — Mostly 20th Century Big Band Swing Songs Instrumentalists & Big Bands Floyd Cramer Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey Benny Goodman Harry James Wayne King Guy Lombardo Glenn Miller Artie Shaw Billy Vaughn Bob Wills Texas Playboys Groups Andrews Sisters Ames Brothers Brothers Four Four Aces Ink Spots Mills Brothers Singalong with Mitch Miller Platters Statler Brothers Gals Teresa Brewer Karen Carpenter Patsy Cline Skeeter Davis Deanna Durbin Rosemary Clooney Doris Day Ella Fitzgerald Helen Forrest Connie Francis Judy Garland Lena Horne Brenda Lee Peggy Lee Julie London Loretta Lynn Jo Stafford Vera Lynn Dinah Shore Patti Page Kate Smith Jo Stafford Kitty Wells Tammy Wynette DonEdrington@gmail.com Guys Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Jimmy Durante Eddy Arnold Tony Bennett Pat Boone, Sonny James Johnny Cash Ray Charles Buddy Clark Nat King Cole Jerry Colonna Perry Como Russ Columbo, Bing Crosby Vic Damone Billy Eckstine Eddie Fisher John Gary Engelbert Humperdinck Dick Haymes Frankie Laine Jerry Lee Lewis Dean Martin Johnny Mathis Elvis Presley Ray Price Jim Reeves Frank Sinatra Hank Snow, Hank Thompson Jerry Vale Slim Whitman Hank Williams Latin American CeliaCruz, Ernesto Lecuona, Bienvenido Granda Placido Domingo y Amigos Eydie Gorme, Trio Los Panchos Ana Gabriel, Rocío Dúrcal y Juan Gabriel Luís Miguel y Lucho Gatica Julio Iglesias Nana Mouskouri, Vikki Carr, Joan Baez Musical Comparisons Teach Me Tonight You Belong to My Heart You Are Always in My Heart Amapola, La Paloma Plus Many, Many, Many Others... Top of Page