What's The Difference?

Sometimes I hear from readers and clients that they're having trouble with email. When I ask them what program they are using, they often confuse Outlook Express and Outlook. This week we'll sort out the difference between the two, and have some tips for users of both.

Not the same thing
Outlook Express and Outlook are not the same thing. Yes, they are confusingly named for programs that are not the same thing, but trust me, they're not the same thing.

Outlook Express is a free program for email and newsgroups that shipped with Internet Explorer. It's been around since Windows 95. It's being replaced in Vista ("Windows Mail"), but it's still widely used. It is the de facto standard for email programs. Outlook is a contact management program that also handles email. It is not free. You can use it as a stand-alone program, but it's meant to integrate into Microsoft Office.

If you are confused about what email program you are using, just open the program and look at the top of the program's window. If you are using Outlook Express, that's what will be displayed there. If you're using Outlook, that's what you'll see.

Outlook Attachments Won't Open
If you are using Outlook, sometimes you'll get a notification that says, "Outlook blocked access to the following potentially unsafe attachments: [...]." According to the Microsoft Knowledge Base article (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829982), that's a "feature" of Outlook! Isn't that great!

You can follow the steps in that article to work around that feature, or you can check out a free (donation requested but not required) program called Attachment Options (http://slovaktech.com/attachmentoptions.htm) that will make the whole process far less painful. The program will work with Outlook 2000 SP3 or higher, Outlook 2002, Outlook 2003, and even Outlook 2007. I do not use Outlook, so I have not tried this program myself. However, it was recommended by a colleague I respect and trust, and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Attaching a file in Outlook or Outlook Express
You've composed your email message, and you want to include a photo you have on your hard drive. There are two really easy ways to do that, and the procedures are just about the same in Outlook or Outlook Express.

With your email message window open, click on the paperclip icon
Navigate to the file you want to attach
Click on "Insert"

Here's even an easier way:

With the email message window open, find the file you want to send.
Click on the file
Hold down the left mouse button and drag the file into the open email message window
Release the left mouse button

More about email and email programs
If you are having trouble sending attachments because they are too large, or if you are a victim of the "winmail.dat" problem, check out a previous column, here: http://rlis.com/columns/column14.htm, for help.

A final word of warning about email attachments. Whether you are sending or receiving them, be aware that attachments are used to transmit viruses, spyware, and malware. Do not open attachments from people you don't know. Period. Just don't. And think very carefully about opening attachments you are not expecting even from people you DO know. It's possible their computers have become infected without their knowledge and the attachment you receive can pass that along to your computer. Always run a virus check on any attachment before you open it.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention Thunderbird, a free email program from Mozilla (the people who brought us the Firefox browser). I have been using Thunderbird for almost two years now, and I would never go back to Outlook Express except that so many of my clients use it. It includes Junk Mail filters, and is easy to customize. Get it here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/. You can always try it out and go back to your old email program if you don't like it.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.