American Health Enterprises

Q: Outlook Express sees an attachment where none exists.
A: This occurs if your message begins with the word "begin" followed by 2 blank spaces. That word is used to indicate the beginning of a real attachment, and OE mistakenly tries to create an attachment from the rest of your message. There is no known fix or workaround at this time, other than to avoid using the word "begin" with 2 spaces as the first word of your message. If you receive a message with such a bogus attachment, you can read the message by pressing Ctrl-F3 to view the source.

Q: How do I archive a folder.
A: This simple method works in all versions of Outlook Express. The archive consists of an OE message serving as an "envelope".

1. Create a New Mail Message. Enter the name you want for the archive in the Subject line.
2. Drag the messages you wish to archive from the OE message list and drop them into the New Mail Message. They will be added as attachments.
3. Click File | Save as... and save the message to any Windows folder as type *.eml, and close the New Mail Message window. (The resulting file can then be compressed in a zip file to greatly reduce its size.)
4. To restore the archived messages to an OE mail folder, double-click the saved *.eml file. Select all the attachments and drag them into an OE mail folder. You can also of course simply double-click on a single attachment to read it.

Q: Why can't I open attachments in Outlook?
A: Outlook has a new security feature under Tools | Options | Security labeled "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus. You can turn this off long enough to save an attachment, but it is recommend that you then turn it back on for normal use.

Q: Why can't I print messages correctly?
A: Outlook Express uses the Internet Explorer print engine, so you have to configure IE for printing before you print in OE. To do that, open Internet Explorer and click File | Page Setup.
The print font size is also affected by Internet Explorer. If the font is too large or too small, change the text size in Internet Explorer by clicking View | Text Size and then try printing again.

Q: What is a computer virus?
A: A computer virus contains a program file capable of replicating itself repeatedly and attaching itself to files or disks on your computer. This is often without user knowledge or permission.

Some viruses cause immediate damage while others sit dormant until a certain file is opened or a calendar date passes. Damage caused by these viruses can range from little or no affect on your system to complete system failure. Symptoms can sometimes be seen as a virus gradually infects a system.

Note: If you receive an attachment from a friend with a personal greeting, it's relatively safe to open it. If you get an email and attachment such as: "Bob -- I'm specifically sending this picture to you because I want you to check out Sharon... remember her from our fourth period algebra class way back when? I saw her at our 20th reunion and she's still a babe" -- then it's probably OK to open the attachment. But if the email just says something like, "I sent you this file to get your advice" -- don't open it. NEVER NEVER EVER open an attachment you did not expect to receive, chances are its a virus.

The latest round of virii attempt to get you to open the attachment by tricking you into believing it is YOUR email that is being returned to you and say someting like RETURNED MAIL from MAIL DELIVERY SUBSYSTEM or SYSTEM REPORT or DELIVERY STATUS NOTIFICATION (FAILURE). Each of these emails have an attachment which contains a virus.