Outlook Express
Encyclopedia
Outlook Express is an email and news client
that is included with Internet Explorer
versions 4.0 through 6.0. As such, it is also bundled with several versions of Microsoft Windows
, from Windows 98
to Windows Server 2003
, and is available for Windows 3.x
, Windows NT 3.51
, Windows 95
and Mac OS 9
. In Windows Vista
, Outlook Express was superseded by Windows Mail
, then again by Windows Live Mail
as separate software in Windows 7. Microsoft Entourage
, sold as part of Microsoft Office
for Macintosh
, has replaced the Macintosh version.
Outlook Express is a different application from Microsoft Office Outlook. The two programs do not share a common codebase, but do share a common architectural philosophy. The similar names lead many people to incorrectly conclude that Outlook Express is a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office Outlook. Outlook Express uses the Windows Address Book
to store contact information and integrates tightly with it. On Windows XP, it also integrates with Windows Messenger
.
was a freeware
email and news client
and ancestor of Outlook Express. Version 1.0 was released in 1996 following the Internet Explorer 3
release. This add-on precedes the Internet Mail profile for Microsoft Exchange
4.0 bundled in Windows 95
. Version 2.0 was released at the end of 1996. In 1997 the program was changed and renamed as Outlook Express and bundled with Internet Explorer 4
. The executable file for Outlook Express, msimn.exe, is a holdover from the Internet Mail and News era. Internet Mail and News handled only plain text
and rich text (RTF
) email, lacking HTML email.
At one point, in a later beta version of Outlook Express 5, Outlook Express contained a sophisticated and adaptive spam filtering
system; however this feature was removed shortly before launch. It was speculated on various websites and newsgroups at that time, that the feature was not stable enough for the mass market. Nearly two years later, a similar system, using a similar method of adaptive filtering, appeared as a feature of Microsoft Office Outlook.
Internet Explorer 5
required Outlook Express 5 to save Web Archive files (see MHTML
).
Outlook Express 6 SP3 is the latest version which is part of Windows XP SP3. Extended support for Windows XP SP3, which covers security hotfixes, will end in 2014.
In October 2005, Microsoft announced that Windows Vista
would exclusively include a new application named Windows Mail
, based on large parts of Outlook Express source code. Microsoft was also concurrently developing Windows Live Mail Desktop (later renamed to Windows Live Mail
), a mail client for its Hotmail
service. Windows Live Mail was released in November 2007. In the future, support for Outlook Express and Windows Mail will be discontinued in favor of Windows Live Mail.
, e-mail traditionally used the inline or bottom posting styles
when replying to messages. Outlook Express, as well as Lotus Notes
and Microsoft Outlook, top-post (show replies newest to oldest) by default. The large installed base of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office has changed perceptions of posting style to the point where users have come to expect the top-posting style and are confused by inline or bottom posting.
Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft Exchange
use a proprietary
e-mail attachment format called Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format
(TNEF) to handle formatting and other features specific to Outlook such as meeting requests. Outlook Express and other e-mail clients are unable to read this format. This can be confusing to Outlook Express users (as well as those who use other e-mail clients) who receive attachments sent from Outlook.
However, with the latest updates applied, Outlook Express now makes backup copies of DBX files prior to compaction. They are stored in the Recycle Bin. If an error occurs during compaction and messages are lost, the DBX files can be copied from the recycle bin.
and scripts. As a result, emails were commonly infected with viruses
. Previously, another security flaw was that a script
could automatically be opened as an attachment
. Another bug was in Outlook Express's attachment handling that allowed an executable to appear to be a harmless attachment such as a graphics file. Opening or previewing the e-mail could cause code to run without the user's knowledge or consent. Outlook Express uses Internet Explorer to render HTML e-mail. Internet Explorer has been widely criticized for having numerous security flaws.
With Outlook Express SP2 (part of Windows XP SP2), Microsoft has tried to correct the security holes. Outlook Express now blocks images inside e-mails by default. It uses only the restricted security zone for HTML e-mail, which disables scripts and imposes restrictions on what web content can be rendered. It also warns when opening potentially malicious attachments.
, and will not display the body of signed messages inline. Users get a blank e-mail and two attachments (one of the message text and one of the signature) and therefore need to open an attachment to see the e-mail. If the email has been forwarded
several times, users need to open attached email messages one inside the other multiple times to reach the parent e-mail message. This bug has still not been rectified. The proper behavior is described in RFC1847.
When replying or forwarding a message to a user who has a digital signature, Outlook Express gives an error and does not allow the user to continue if there is no digital signature installed for the sender.
like Microsoft Office Outlook
. Programmatic access to, or control of Outlook Express for custom messaging applications or plugins is not officially documented and supported by Microsoft. IStoreNamespace and IStoreFolder interfaces were documented in 2003, but they are only related to the storage.
Some companies have managed to create their plugins hacking the interface using Windows hooks
. A significant one was the PGP
plugin because it was the only example of a working plugin whose source code
was available (licensed under GPL). By 2003, some companies provided commercial solutions to develop add-ins.
if Office is also installed. However, the Office 2007 spell checkers, except for the French spell checker, are incompatible with Outlook Express. Microsoft has acknowledged this problem, but does not provide any sort of remedy. A solution is to install any pre-Office 2007 proofing tools or use a third party spell checking program for Outlook Express. Windows Live Mail
, which is based on Outlook Express's source code, contains built-in spell checking support (now for US English and numerous other languages) and is freely downloadable for Windows XP
.
files, cancelling the import while it is in progress merely cancels the import of the current folder and the import resumes with the next folder.
News client
A newsreader is an application program that reads articles on Usenet . Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server, via the Network News Transfer Protocol , to download articles and post new articles...
that is included with Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
versions 4.0 through 6.0. As such, it is also bundled with several versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, from Windows 98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
to Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005...
, and is available for Windows 3.x
Windows 3.x
Windows 3.x can refer to either an individual or all of the following versions of Microsoft Windows:*Windows 3.0*Windows 3.1x*Windows 3.2...
, Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 3.51 is the third release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems. It was released on 30 May 1995, nine months after Windows NT 3.5. The release provided two notable feature improvements; firstly NT 3.51 was the first of a short-lived outing of Microsoft Windows on the...
, Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
and Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
. In Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Outlook Express was superseded by Windows Mail
Windows Mail
Windows Mail is an email and newsgroup client included in Windows Vista, that was superseded by Windows Live Mail. It is the successor to Outlook Express. Microsoft previewed Windows Mail on Channel 9 on October 10, 2005....
, then again by Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail is a free of charge email client from Microsoft's Windows Live set of products. It is intended to be a successor for Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista...
as separate software in Windows 7. Microsoft Entourage
Microsoft Entourage
Microsoft Entourage was an e-mail client and personal information manager developed by Microsoft for Mac OS 8.5 and higher. Microsoft first released Entourage in October 2000 as part of the Microsoft Office 2001 office suite; Office 98, the previous version of Microsoft Office for Mac OS included...
, sold as part of Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
for Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, has replaced the Macintosh version.
Outlook Express is a different application from Microsoft Office Outlook. The two programs do not share a common codebase, but do share a common architectural philosophy. The similar names lead many people to incorrectly conclude that Outlook Express is a stripped-down version of Microsoft Office Outlook. Outlook Express uses the Windows Address Book
Windows Address Book
Windows Address Book is a component of Microsoft Windows that lets users keep a single list of contacts that can be shared by multiple programs. It is most commonly used by Outlook Express. It was introduced with Internet Explorer 3 in 1996 and improved in subsequent versions. The Windows Address...
to store contact information and integrates tightly with it. On Windows XP, it also integrates with Windows Messenger
Windows Messenger
Windows Messenger is a client by Microsoft that is included in the Windows XP operating system. Designed for use by corporate users as well as home users, it was originally created as a streamlined and integrated version of MSN Messenger...
.
History
Microsoft Internet Mail and NewsMicrosoft Internet Mail and News
Microsoft Internet Mail and News is a freeware e-mail and news client and ancestor of Outlook Express. The version 1.0 was released in 1996 following the Internet Explorer 3.0 release....
was a freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
email and news client
News client
A newsreader is an application program that reads articles on Usenet . Newsreaders act as clients which connect to a news server, via the Network News Transfer Protocol , to download articles and post new articles...
and ancestor of Outlook Express. Version 1.0 was released in 1996 following the Internet Explorer 3
Internet Explorer 3
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 is a graphical web browser released on August 13, 1996 by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and on January 8, 1997 for Apple Mac OS . It began serious competition against Netscape Navigator in the first Browser war...
release. This add-on precedes the Internet Mail profile for Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
4.0 bundled in Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
. Version 2.0 was released at the end of 1996. In 1997 the program was changed and renamed as Outlook Express and bundled with Internet Explorer 4
Internet Explorer 4
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 is a graphical web browser released in September 1997 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but also with versions available for Apple Mac OS, Solaris, and HP-UX and marketed as "The Web the Way You Want It".It was one of the main participants of the first...
. The executable file for Outlook Express, msimn.exe, is a holdover from the Internet Mail and News era. Internet Mail and News handled only plain text
Plain text
In computing, plain text is the contents of an ordinary sequential file readable as textual material without much processing, usually opposed to formatted text....
and rich text (RTF
Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
) email, lacking HTML email.
At one point, in a later beta version of Outlook Express 5, Outlook Express contained a sophisticated and adaptive spam filtering
E-mail filtering
Email filtering is the processing of email to organize it according to specified criteria. Most often this refers to the automatic processing of incoming messages, but the term also applies to the intervention of human intelligence in addition to anti-spam techniques, and to outgoing emails as well...
system; however this feature was removed shortly before launch. It was speculated on various websites and newsgroups at that time, that the feature was not stable enough for the mass market. Nearly two years later, a similar system, using a similar method of adaptive filtering, appeared as a feature of Microsoft Office Outlook.
Internet Explorer 5
Internet Explorer 5
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 was a graphical web browser released in March 1999 by Microsoft, primarily for Microsoft Windows, but initially with versions available for Apple Macintosh, Sun Solaris, and HP-UX. It was one of the main participants of the first browser war...
required Outlook Express 5 to save Web Archive files (see MHTML
MHTML
MHTML, short for MIME HTML, is a web page archive format used to combine resources that are typically represented by external links together with HTML code into a single file. The content of an MHTML file is encoded as if it were an HTML e-mail message, using the MIME type multipart/related...
).
Outlook Express 6 SP3 is the latest version which is part of Windows XP SP3. Extended support for Windows XP SP3, which covers security hotfixes, will end in 2014.
In October 2005, Microsoft announced that Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
would exclusively include a new application named Windows Mail
Windows Mail
Windows Mail is an email and newsgroup client included in Windows Vista, that was superseded by Windows Live Mail. It is the successor to Outlook Express. Microsoft previewed Windows Mail on Channel 9 on October 10, 2005....
, based on large parts of Outlook Express source code. Microsoft was also concurrently developing Windows Live Mail Desktop (later renamed to Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail is a free of charge email client from Microsoft's Windows Live set of products. It is intended to be a successor for Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista...
), a mail client for its Hotmail
Hotmail
Windows Live Hotmail, formerly known as MSN Hotmail and commonly referred to simply as Hotmail, is a free web-based email service operated by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live group. It was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith and launched in July 1996 as "HoTMaiL". It was one of the first...
service. Windows Live Mail was released in November 2007. In the future, support for Outlook Express and Windows Mail will be discontinued in favor of Windows Live Mail.
Versions for Windows
- Outlook Express 4.0, which was included in Windows 98Windows 98Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
(June 1998), stored messages in *.mbx files (similar to the MboxMboxmbox is a generic term for a family of related file formats used for holding collections of electronic mail messages. All messages in an mbox mailbox are concatenated and stored as plain text in a single file...
format used in UnixUnixUnix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
based systems). - Outlook Express 5.0, which was included in Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) (June 1999), switched to *.dbx files, with a separate file for each mailbox folder.
- Outlook Express 5.0 was included in Windows 2000Windows 2000Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
(February 2000). - Outlook Express 5.5 was included in Windows MeWindows MeWindows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006....
(June 2000). - Outlook Express 6.0 was included in Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
(October 2001). - Outlook Express 6.0 SP2 was included in Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
Service Pack 2 (August 2004). - Outlook Express 6.0 SP3 was included in Windows XPWindows XPWindows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
Service Pack 3 (April 2008).
Versions for Mac
- Outlook Express 4Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh EditionMicrosoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition is a Mac OS version of Microsoft Office unveiled at Macworld Expo/San Francisco on January 6, 1998. It introduced the Internet Explorer 4.0 browser and Outlook Express, an Internet e-mail client and usenet newsgroup reader...
or 5 (Replaced by Microsoft EntourageMicrosoft EntourageMicrosoft Entourage was an e-mail client and personal information manager developed by Microsoft for Mac OS 8.5 and higher. Microsoft first released Entourage in October 2000 as part of the Microsoft Office 2001 office suite; Office 98, the previous version of Microsoft Office for Mac OS included...
).
Email standards
Beginning with the text-based Unix Mail commandMail (Unix)
mail is a command line email client for Unix and Unix-like operating systems.-Example usage:mail -s "You've got mail" -c cc.rider@example.org somebody@example.com anotherbody@example.net...
, e-mail traditionally used the inline or bottom posting styles
Posting styles
When a message is replied to in e-mail, Internet forums, or Usenet, the original can often be included, or "quoted", in a variety of different posting styles....
when replying to messages. Outlook Express, as well as Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes is the client of a collaborative platform originally created by Lotus Development Corp. in 1989. In 1995 Lotus was acquired by IBM and became known as the Lotus Development division of IBM and is now part of the IBM Software Group...
and Microsoft Outlook, top-post (show replies newest to oldest) by default. The large installed base of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office has changed perceptions of posting style to the point where users have come to expect the top-posting style and are confused by inline or bottom posting.
Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
use a proprietary
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
e-mail attachment format called Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format
Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format
Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format or TNEF is, despite the name, a proprietary E-mail attachment format used by Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Server...
(TNEF) to handle formatting and other features specific to Outlook such as meeting requests. Outlook Express and other e-mail clients are unable to read this format. This can be confusing to Outlook Express users (as well as those who use other e-mail clients) who receive attachments sent from Outlook.
Database corruption
Outlook Express has been prone to a number of problems which can corrupt its files database, especially when the database increases in size due to an increasing number of stored emails and during database compaction. This has led to a thriving market for programs that can back up, restore and recover corrupted files. Microsoft has released documentation which may be able to correct problems and restore access to e-mail messages, without resorting to third-party solutions.However, with the latest updates applied, Outlook Express now makes backup copies of DBX files prior to compaction. They are stored in the Recycle Bin. If an error occurs during compaction and messages are lost, the DBX files can be copied from the recycle bin.
Security issues
Outlook Express was one of the earlier e-mail clients to support HTML e-mailHTML e-mail
HTML email is the use of a subset of HTML to provide formatting and semantic markup capabilities in email that are not available with plain text.Most graphical email clients support HTML email, and many default to it...
and scripts. As a result, emails were commonly infected with viruses
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
. Previously, another security flaw was that a script
Scripting language
A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...
could automatically be opened as an attachment
E-mail attachment
An email attachment is a computer file sent along with an email message. One or more files can be attached to any email message, and be sent along with it to the recipient. This is typically used as a simple method to share documents and images...
. Another bug was in Outlook Express's attachment handling that allowed an executable to appear to be a harmless attachment such as a graphics file. Opening or previewing the e-mail could cause code to run without the user's knowledge or consent. Outlook Express uses Internet Explorer to render HTML e-mail. Internet Explorer has been widely criticized for having numerous security flaws.
With Outlook Express SP2 (part of Windows XP SP2), Microsoft has tried to correct the security holes. Outlook Express now blocks images inside e-mails by default. It uses only the restricted security zone for HTML e-mail, which disables scripts and imposes restrictions on what web content can be rendered. It also warns when opening potentially malicious attachments.
Handling of PGP/MIME signed messages
Outlook Express does not correctly handle MIMEMIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions is an Internet standard that extends the format of email to support:* Text in character sets other than ASCII* Non-text attachments* Message bodies with multiple parts...
, and will not display the body of signed messages inline. Users get a blank e-mail and two attachments (one of the message text and one of the signature) and therefore need to open an attachment to see the e-mail. If the email has been forwarded
Email forwarding
Email forwarding generically refers to the operation of re-sending an email message delivered to one email address on to a possibly different email address...
several times, users need to open attached email messages one inside the other multiple times to reach the parent e-mail message. This bug has still not been rectified. The proper behavior is described in RFC1847.
When replying or forwarding a message to a user who has a digital signature, Outlook Express gives an error and does not allow the user to continue if there is no digital signature installed for the sender.
Extensibility
Outlook Express does not have a documented object modelObject model
In computing, object model has two related but distinct meanings:# The properties of objects in general in a specific computer programming language, technology, notation or methodology that uses them. For example, the Java objects model, the COM object model, or the object model of OMT...
like Microsoft Office Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
. Programmatic access to, or control of Outlook Express for custom messaging applications or plugins is not officially documented and supported by Microsoft. IStoreNamespace and IStoreFolder interfaces were documented in 2003, but they are only related to the storage.
Some companies have managed to create their plugins hacking the interface using Windows hooks
Hooking
In computer programming, the term hooking covers a range of techniques used to alter or augment the behavior of an operating system, of applications, or of other software components by intercepting function calls or messages or events passed between software components...
. A significant one was the PGP
Pretty Good Privacy
Pretty Good Privacy is a data encryption and decryption computer program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication for data communication. PGP is often used for signing, encrypting and decrypting texts, E-mails, files, directories and whole disk partitions to increase the security...
plugin because it was the only example of a working plugin whose source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
was available (licensed under GPL). By 2003, some companies provided commercial solutions to develop add-ins.
Office 2007 spell checker incompatibility
Outlook Express does not have a dedicated spell checker. It can use the spell checkers from Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
if Office is also installed. However, the Office 2007 spell checkers, except for the French spell checker, are incompatible with Outlook Express. Microsoft has acknowledged this problem, but does not provide any sort of remedy. A solution is to install any pre-Office 2007 proofing tools or use a third party spell checking program for Outlook Express. Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail is a free of charge email client from Microsoft's Windows Live set of products. It is intended to be a successor for Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista...
, which is based on Outlook Express's source code, contains built-in spell checking support (now for US English and numerous other languages) and is freely downloadable for Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
.
Glitches and other unusual aspects
Cancelling sending an email while it is being sent does not effectively prevent it from being sent. Also, when importing .PST.pst
In computing, a Personal Storage Table is an open proprietary file format used to store copies of messages, calendar events, and other items within Microsoft software such as Microsoft Exchange Client, Windows Messaging, and Microsoft Outlook...
files, cancelling the import while it is in progress merely cancels the import of the current folder and the import resumes with the next folder.
See also
- List of news clients
- Comparison of Usenet newsreadersComparison of Usenet newsreadersThis is a Comparison of Usenet Newsreaders.-External links:*...
- Microsoft Internet Mail and NewsMicrosoft Internet Mail and NewsMicrosoft Internet Mail and News is a freeware e-mail and news client and ancestor of Outlook Express. The version 1.0 was released in 1996 following the Internet Explorer 3.0 release....
- Windows Address BookWindows Address BookWindows Address Book is a component of Microsoft Windows that lets users keep a single list of contacts that can be shared by multiple programs. It is most commonly used by Outlook Express. It was introduced with Internet Explorer 3 in 1996 and improved in subsequent versions. The Windows Address...
- Windows Live MailWindows Live MailWindows Live Mail is a free of charge email client from Microsoft's Windows Live set of products. It is intended to be a successor for Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista...
- Windows MailWindows MailWindows Mail is an email and newsgroup client included in Windows Vista, that was superseded by Windows Live Mail. It is the successor to Outlook Express. Microsoft previewed Windows Mail on Channel 9 on October 10, 2005....
Microsoft
- Differences between Outlook and Outlook Express, from the Microsoft knowledge base
Other sites
- Outlook Express Help - Tips and Tricks How to use Outlook Express, setup and configure new email accounts including Gmail, backup emails, message rules, email signatures etc.
- Secunia commercial security firm compares the latest unpatched known flaws of Outlook Express with those of other e-mail clients
- Outlook Express API article article giving an introduction about how to use some of the Outlook Express API.
- Outlook Express dbx file format by Arne Schloh - a partial documentation of the DBX file format with sample code
- Outlook Express 5.0 file format - another reverse-engineered .dbx document with sample code
- Outlook Express Video Setup - Kurulum - Outlook Express Video Setup - Kurulum
- Outlook 2003 Setup - Kurulum - Outlook 2003 Video Setup