Re: Escape from Netscape.

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Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 23:08:40 -0700

In article <9d23958e.0405230908.4d7d9af5@posting.google.com>,
mrretaylor@yahoo.com says...

> Regards to All,

> I am a long time user of Netscape and over the years accumulated a
> very large archive of email on numerous subjects. A lot is probably
> trash, but it was never a problem and easier to keep than purge.

> As you doubtless know, Netscape 4 is being driven from the web and the
> new versions of Netscape are no good, so I have looked for a new home.

First, Netscape 4 is not being "driven" from the web. It was long out of
support from Netscape/Mozilla, and the company which had been supporting it
is finally letting it die. It really is clunky, like trying to drive a Model
T Ford on a freeway!

Second, Netscape 7.1 is not all that bad; much better than Netscape 6.x
versions. But Netscape 7.1 will now stagnate, since AOL has dropped support.
Look at Mozilla, or it's mail only client, Firefox:

http://www.mozilla.org/

Just do not get anything which has "RC" in the version number. "RC" means
"Release Candidate", which is just a 'beta' on the edge of the final
version. Go for the highest version without the "RC"; that is stable.

> I experimented with several other e-mail programs, Eudora, Dawn,
> others I have forgot, but found them wanting.

There is no "perfect" MUA (email client). If you want the perfect MUA you
will have to write it yourself; otherwise, pick the one which suits your
needs best. There are many better than MS products; few which are worse.

> I tried Outlook 97 but
> could never get it to work. I tried Outlook express but found several
> problems I couldn't get around. I received a copy of Outlook 2002
> with my iPAQ (I love that thing!) and loaded it onto the laptop where
> my netscape e-mail archive resides. I decided to convert to Outlook.
> Bad move. After using it a while I have found more and more problems
> with it and it is very slow. My laptop developed problems and I am
> moving over to a desktop with XP including Outlook Express. I
> attempted to load Outlook 2002 but it will not allow it because I have
> already installed it on the laptop. Office Depot has copies of
> Outlook 2003 available for $108, which is ridiculous (more than XP!).
> So, there is where I am. I have decided I need to have another look
> at Outlook Express to resolve the questions I had and develop
> workarounds.

MSOE is somewhat flawed; precisely because MSFT threw it together in a hurry
to have a free package to compete with Netscape (back in the days of
Netscape 4, when MSFT first introduced their MSIE/MSOE browser/client to go
head to head with Netscape). If you want a better MSFT product, you have to
pay; just what MSFT planned. Or didn't you know why some wags abbreviate
Microsft as M$?

> 1. What is the best way to convert my archive from Outlook to OE? I
> tried Import, but it does not import the folders, just the mail. It
> looks like it is going to be an enormous job.

Never used Outlook, so I don't know.

> 2. How can I direct OE to store the e-mail on a different drive than
> the c drive? E-mail is volatile data and I like to keep data on a
> different drive that I can back up regularly.

Tools > Options > Maintenance, and look for the section about the message
store. Just be sure to create an empty folder where the files will go; I am
told that MSOE will lose the message store if you point to a non-existent
target folder.

> 3. How can I resend e-mail? This seems a simple thing to ask. Every
> e-mail handler I have worked with was able to do this, even Outlook.
> One can open and edit the sent mail (why?) but not resend it.

Stick with MSOL, or go back to one of the other clients. MSOE can't do it
natively, so you will be stuck with a multi-click work around.

> 4. How can I save more than one message as text. Sometimes I like to
> pull entire conversations out of e-mail so I can edit them. You can
> select a single message and save that as text, but this is not even
> necessary since it is just as easy to copy and paste a single message.
> But sometimes I have several dozen messages (or hundreds) on a
> subject and I would like to pull them all together.

I am not sure of a one step approach. I think I would highlight all the
messages I wanted to convert, then drag them to an empty folder. This
created a folder full of .eml files, which I then used an older Win3.x file
manager utility to do a mass rename from .eml to .txt.

I don't use MSOE much, any more, except for kinds of tests. Too much like
handling fireworks in a room full of static electricity.

-- 
Norman
~Win dain a lotica, En vai tu ri, Si lo ta
~Fin dein a loluca, En dragu a sei lain
~Vi fa-ru les shutai am, En riga-lint

• Previous message: N. Miller: "Re: Country address"
• In reply to: Pogo: "Escape from Netscape."
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