Outlook 2003 auto open

By default, emails automatically open in a "Preview Pane" just below your Inbox list whenever you click on an email. Due to viruses, worms and other undesirables, it may not be a good idea to let Outlook Express display these messages automatically.

Also, emails that contain images can be tagged by the author to report that this email was opened by the user giving them proof of a valid email address. This confirmation would result in you getting more SPAM in your inbox.

Outlook Express has provided a method of deleting a message without ever opening them rendering them harmless. As you know, most of the time you can tell what kind of message it is by the subject line, so there is no need to take a chance on opening it.

To setup OE to delete an email without opening it:

1. Open your Inbox and click View in the top menu bar
2. Select Layout and a Window Layout Properties box will open
3. Uncheck the box that says Show Preview Pane.
4. Click Apply and OK.

This will mean that only your Inbox list of messages will be displayed. To view a message, just double-click it, and it will open in a new window. To Delete a message, just click once on it to highlight it and then click the Delete button. It will now be sent to your Deleted Items Folder and can be restored from there if you make a mistake.

Toggle the Preview Pane

You can also setup Outlook Express to toggle the Preview Pane on and off. Here's how:

1. Open your Inbox and click View in the top menu bar
2. Select Layout...
3. Click the Customize Toolbar button
4. In the Customize Toolbar window and inside the menu titled "Available toolbar buttons", scroll the list and locate "Preview Pane".
5. Click once on Preview Pane and click the "ADD" button to the right. The Preview Pane entry will now reside in the "Current toolbar options" window.
6. Again, click on the Preview Pane entry to highlight it and select the "Move" button options to locate the Preview Pane button to a desired location on your toolbar.

Now that you have the Preview Pane button on your toolbar, you can click on your email message to highlight it and select the Preview Pane button in your toolbar to preview this message. Clicking the Preview Pane button again will return you to your previous setting.

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.
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