Q: I’m still using Outlook Express for e-mail and everything seems to be working fine, but I have a concern. I’ve heard that when I delete emails from my Inbox, Sent Items and Deleted Items folders, Outlook Express continues to store the emails I’ve deleted?
Why is this and how can I completely get rid of all of my old emails?
A: Outlook Express (OE) is a very simple program. So, when you delete e-mails from your folders, including the “Deleted Items” folder, they are visibly removed, but not eliminated. OE would run painfully slow if it actually purged e-mails as opposed to relegating them to databases, which is what it does. OE does offer to “Compact Folders” approximately once every 100 uses.
This frees up disk space, but still does not eliminate “deleted” e-mails. Here’s how to completely purge your old emails: Close out of OE, then Click “Start” > “Search” > “All Files and Folders” then type *.dbx in the text box labeled “All or part of the file name”: and click “Search.”
The resulting list is the OE database files. Simply right-click on the file you wish to purge and select “Delete” from the dropdown menu. Lastly, empty your Recycle Bin. OE will automatically generate a new, empty database file to replace the one you’ve deleted.
Q: I have a logo I want to use on my letterhead, which I’ve created in Microsoft Word 2003. However, when I print the document, the space where the logo should be displayed has a black box instead. I’ve tried printing it from a different computer and it prints okay. Why doesn’t it print correctly from my computer?
A: The most common cause of the “Black Box” phenomenon when printing, is an improperly sized photo or graphical element.
In other words, the original dimensions and resolution of your logo should be sized to fit the designated space as precisely as possible in an image-editing program, as opposed to inserting the original image and using the “handles” in MS Word to scale the logo to fit.
Unfortunately, Word doesn’t handle images very efficiently, so setting your logo up properly before insertion will insure you get it sized right and ready for print.
Q: I have Windows Vista and leave my computer on 24-7 so I can leave projects open and accessible for myself and others. I get frustrated when the computer is automatically restarted after Microsoft Updates have been downloaded and installed. Can I choose to restart my computer when it works for me?
A: Absolutely! Click “Start” > “Control Panel” > double-click the “Windows Update” icon and select “Change Settings.” By default, Windows selects “Install updates automatically (recommended).’”
There are three other choices available. Choose the one that works best for you.
Wayne Nelson and Jeremy Self own and operate Wired Northwest, LLC in Redmond. Submit your questions to: techtalk@wired-nw.com. To contact Wired Northwest, LLC, e-mail www.wired-nw.com or call (206) 788-7975 or (206) 788-7898.
