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The E-mail Express: Using Your Address Book        

So you've decided to abandon snail mail and hop on the e-mail express. In the previous article, you learned the basics - how e-mail works, how to address a letter, sending, receiving and forwarding. In this article, you'll go to the next level and learn to work with your Address Book to send mail to individuals and groups.

What's an Address Book?

Your Address Book is where you store the names, addresses and other personal details of people you commonly correspond with. When Outlook Express is open, you can see the names of people in your Address Book in the Contacts section at the bottom left corner of your screen.

How do I add contacts to my Address Book?

You can add people (or Contacts) to your Address Book in several ways:
1. DIRECTLY IN THE ADDRESS BOOK: You can open the Address Book and type in the appropriate information. Let's say you want to add my name and contact information to your Address Book. Here's how you do it:

a. On the Outlook Express toolbar, click Addresses. b. In the Address Book window, on the toolbar, click New and then New Contact. The Properties Window opens.

c. In the Properties Window which opens, the Name tab is already open., Type my name. and e-mail address: aviva@upstarts.net. d. Click Add. e. Add any other information you feel is necessary. f. Click OK when you are done. Aviva Rosensweig now appears in the Contact list.

2. AUTOMATICALLY WHEN YOU REPLY: When someone sends you an e-mail, and you reply, Outlook Express can add that person to your Address Book automatically. You can set up this feature in the program's options. Here's how you do it:

a. Open Outlook Express. b. In the menu bar across the top of the window, click Tools, and then Options.

c. In the Options window, click the Send tab. d. Click the box to the right of the 'Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book' option to select it. e. Click OK.

3. USING THE RIGHT-HAND MOUSE BUTTON: The final way to add a contact is by using the RIGHT BUTTON of your mouse. The left button is the one you usually use when you click your mouse. But the right button is very powerful-and its function changes depending on what program you are using. Here's how it can help you add a contact to your Address Book:

a. You have a letter in your Inbox, and you want to keep the sender's address. RIGHT-CLICK the name of the sender. b. A shortcut menu appears. In the menu, LEFT CLICK 'Add Sender to Address Book' c. Now look in your Contact List. The sender's name and e-mail address have been added to the list.

How can I use my Contacts to send e-mail to individuals and groups?

Click here to find out.