Microsoft Outlook

A program is trying to access my email addresses - why?
Microsoft Outlook will warn you when another program attempts to access its address book because many viruses do so in an attempt to spread. (Continue reading...)

Are attachments stored in my Outlook PST? How can I remove them, if they are?
The ability to send other files as attachments to email is very useful, but also results in bloated email folders and in Outlook's case, PST files. (Continue reading...)

Can I install Outlook twice with different accounts?
You cannot install Outlook more than once, but Outlook does have a feature that supports multiple account configurations. (Continue reading...)

Can I open more than one instance of Outlook at a time?
Outlook is designed to be a single-instance application. There's an unwieldy trick to get more than one that may, or may not, be useful. (Continue reading...)

How can I convert a .ost from Outlook 2003 to a .pst file?
You can convert an .ost from Outlook 2003 to a .pst by copying its contents into a new .pst file, but you must be able to open the .ost. (Continue reading...)

How can I get Outlook 2003 to default the reading pane off, and to stop grouping?
Changing Microsoft Outlook 2003's default viewing behaviour is difficult. There are a couple of possibilities, but so far nothing that really works. (Continue reading...)

How can I move my Outlook Master Category List to another machine?
The Outlook Master Category List is a way to tag messages, contacts, appointments and more. Copying it to another machine requires a little trickery. (Continue reading...)

How can I send someone an attachment, if it's blocked by their copy of Outlook?
Microsoft Outlook tries to protect users from malicious attachments by blocking them. What if you're sending something that's legitimate, but blocked? (Continue reading...)

How do I "shred" individual emails in Microsoft Outlook?
Securely deleting email messages can be important, but doing so in Microsoft Outlook is difficult, though not impossible. (Continue reading...)

How do I backup a large number of large PSTs?
Backing up a large number of machines over a network has a number of challenges. PST files are only one aspect of the issue. (Continue reading...)

How do I force Outlook to open "potentially unsafe attachments" that I know are ok?
Outlook tries to protect you from opening certain types of attachments, even if you know they're safe. A registry change puts you back in control. (Continue reading...)

How do I get the 'From:' button to show in Outlook 2003?
Getting the 'From:' button to show in Outlook 2003 fortunately is a easy thing to accomplish. (Continue reading...)

How do I move my Microsoft Outlook mail and address book from one computer to another?
Moving Microsoft Outlook mail from one machine to another involves copying a single file once the new copy of Outlook has been set up. (Continue reading...)

How do I open up more than one item at a time in Outlook?
Depending on if you're trying opening more than one email or more than one attachment, you may or may not be able to do it. (Continue reading...)

How do I receive email on different accounts into different folders in Outlook?
Outlook can be configured to access multiple email accounts, but by default throws all email into a single inbox. Outlook rules can help. (Continue reading...)

How do I stop *wanted* email from going to my Junk folder?
Stopping wanted emails from going to Outlook 2003's Junk folder requires a quick change to your "safe" list and visits to Office Update for updates. (Continue reading...)

How do I synchronize Outlook 2003 between a desktop PC and laptop?
Moving from machine to machine with Outlook as a mail client is conceptually easier than you might think, but there are pitfalls. (Continue reading...)

How should I setup Outlook?
In this fifth in a series of articles covering my new computer's setup, we continue by making adjustments to Microsoft Outlook. (Continue reading...)

My "Outlook Today" folder disappeared, how do I compress without it, and how do I restore it?
Outlook Today is the top level summary window that Outlook displays. There are several ways to restore it, and alternate ways to perform compaction. (Continue reading...)

My PST has grown over 2gig, and now I can't repair it. What do I do?
Outlook XP and earlier have a limit of 2gigabytes on the size of its PST file. However there's no warning, only problems, if you exceed that limit. (Continue reading...)

What can I do about Outlook's huge PST?
The PST or Personal STorage file for Microsoft Outlook can easily grow to an extreme size. There are some tips for managing its size. (Continue reading...)

What kind of Compression or Encryption do I want for Outlook's .PST files?
Microsoft Outlook allows you to compress and/or encrypt your PST file. We'll look at what the options are, and when you might choose them. (Continue reading...)

Where do Outlook's auto-complete suggestions come from?
Outlook tries to be helpful when you begin typing an email address by suggesting possibilities. But where those suggestions come from is not simple. (Continue reading...)

Where is my Outlook "PST" file located?
Outlook's PST or Personal STore is a single file that holds your email, contacts and more. You can use Outlook itself to find the location of the file. (Continue reading...)

Why does Outlook tell me it wasn't closed properly?
Outlook maintains a database of your email in a file called a PST. If that file has not been properly closed it'll be checked for errors on startup. (Continue reading...)

Why isn't my Outlook PST getting smaller after deleting emails?
Deleting items in an Outlook PST doesn't mean that space will be freed up right away. We'll look at two reasons, and two ways around it. (Continue reading...)

Will Outlook's reading pane tell senders I've seen their mail?
Under some circumstances, it might be possible for Outlook's reading pane to tell senders that you've seen their mail. (Continue reading...)