26th July 2001

Outlook Express is a clearing-house for e-mail, newsgroups, and contact information, but there's little in the way of protection. By moving the "Store" folder to an alternate location, you can provide some measure of safety in case of a hard disk failure -- or simply to have it in a more convenient location. Click Tools | Options, then flip to the Maintenance tab, followed by the "Store Folder..." button. Enter or browse to the path you'd like to use for the new location, and you're all set! Suggestions? Store the data on a network server that is backed up frequently. For mobile users: using the "Offline Files" functionality will ensure that you can still get to your e-mail folders when you're away from the office. Once you're reconnected, the synchronization process will bring the network copies up to date. Slick, huh? The last thing you want to do is lose that data. It's important to know that when you back up, be sure you're backing up the CORRECT folders. I had a Gnomie e-mail me the other day in a panic because he couldn't find his PST file (for Outlook). He thought that copying the "Microsoft Office" folder was all he needed to do. Oops. Keep tabs on where stuff is kept -- and if you don't already know, try to find out before the end of the day.