John R. Yamamoto-Wilson wrote:
> Scott Reynolds wrote:
> 
>> One obvious solution would be to switch to Mozilla Thunderbird, but
>> I suppose you didn't want to hear that one. ;-)
> 
> Well, I haven't taken a vow. The only query I have is whether I'd be 
> able to transfer my existing e-mail messages to the new software.

Yes, that is supposed to be possible. There are functions for importing 
address books, email, and settings (I suppose that would be passwords 
and the like) from Outlook Express, Outlook, and some other programs. I 
can't vouch for them personally, however. You could always give it a try 
and see how it goes, I suppose.

The bigger issue, however, is more one of style or approach. Thunderbird 
is based on the mail/news component of Mozilla, which derives from the 
mail/news component of Netscape, which was inspired by Eudora, in large 
part. Outlook Express, OTOH, has its own approach. If you like the way 
Eudora works, you are likely to find Thunderbird relatively intuitive 
and easy to use. If you have never used anything but Outlook or Outlook 
Express, things will probably seem to be organized illogically at first.

The opposite is also true, I have tried setting up Outlook Express and 
Outlook, at different times, and always ended up giving up and going 
back to what I was using previously (Netscape way back when I decided to 
give Outlook Express a whirl and Thunderbird when I tried out Outlook). 
It's not that I couldn't figure out how they worked, though some 
functions did take a while. Rather, I found the general approach was not 
right for me. I was simply too used to the Netscape/Mozilla/Thunderbird 
way of doing things.

One specific difference between the programs is that you can take care 
of most functions, especially those involving navigating through 
messages, with single keystroke commands in Thunderbird, while 
Outlook/Outlook Express force you to use the mouse or an awkward (to my 
mind) keystroke combination. Others will say that the Outlook/Outlook 
Express is more natural. It's really a matter of what you're used to, I 
suppose.

By all means try out Thunderbird, though. I think you will probably find 
that it has a lot to recommend it once you take the time to figure it 
out. And if you are a decent typist, you will probably find its approach 
to navigating through messages using simple keystrokes quick and easy to 
use, again once you become accustomed to it.

If you have any specific questions about "how to do xxx in Thunderbird," 
just let me know.

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Scott Reynolds                              scottreyn@gmail.com