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** The instructions included here are for Microsoft Outlook Express 5,
which is a free e-mail program available to you when you download
Microsoft Internet Explorer. Microsoft Outlook (not Express) is part of
the Microsft Office package that you can purchase, and will have
slightly different instructions for performing the same functions. We
have included a note where the instructions may differ slightly.
If you are like most people, all of your e-mail simply arrives and
piles up in the order it came into your Inbox. If you have already read
the article on Creating Filters
you know that we talked about managing e-mail by creating a message
rule. Filters are very handy if every message has something in common
like the person it is coming from. There are times when filters won't
help you, but there is another solution. To better manage incoming
e-mail, you can set up additional folders in which to file and store
it. For example, you might want to create an Action folder into which you file all e-mail that requires prompt attention. This article will show you how you can do this. Setting up a New Folder
- Open Outlook Express. If your Inbox is not already open, click on the Inbox icon at the top of the panel on the left side of the screen.
- In the top menu bar click on File and select Folder>New as shown
below.
- The Create Folder dialogue box
will appear as below. Notice that the
Inbox is highlighted in gray. That tells
you which mailbox the new folder will
be created in. In other words, it will
be a subfolder of the Inbox. You can select
any of the mailboxes, or make a new folder
on the same top level as Inbox by
selecting Local Folders. In most
cases, though, it makes sense to make
your new folder a subfolder of the Inbox.
- In the Folder Name window, type in "Action"
or any other name you choose. Then click
on the OK button.
- Your new folder appear in the Folders
List within the Inbox folder (indented
just to the right of Inbox column). If
the Folders List is not open, go to View>Layout and check the box next to Folders List.
If your new folder still is not visible,
look in front of the Inbox in the Folders
List to see if there is a "plus" sign
and click on it once.
- Now you can begin moving important messages
requiring action to your new folder. You
can either select a message by clicking
on it once in the Inbox or double click
on it to open it in a new window. Then
select Edit>Move to Folder from
the pull down menu click on the folder
you want to move it to in the Move dialogue box. Then click on OK.
A more efficient method to move a message
is to simply click on it in the open Inbox
and then "drag and drop" the message into
your new folder in the Folders list.
Summary
Now you have created a
new folder and learned how to move items
into it. Keep in mind that when you finish
acting on the message, you should move it
out of the Action folder so e-mail doesn't
pile up. If you need to save it as a record
you can create another new folder to archive
messages that no longer need action or you
can simply delete it. |
