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Customizing Outlook Express 5

There are several ways that you can customize Outlook Express 5 to make it work the best for you. On this page, we're concentrating on the following:

• Layout
• Security
• Mail Notification Sound

You'll find other options on our basic configuration page.

To modify your layout:

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook Express.
2. From the View menu, choose Layout.
   
3. Under Basic,check the components that you wish to see on your screen. Experiment with the different options until you have it set the way that works best for you. If you want to view your messages without actually opening them in a different window, you can also choose the Show preview pane option. Be aware that using this option can slightly increase the risk of getting a virus. If you follow the security instructions that we show below and are careful with attachments,the risk should be minimal.
   
4. Click the Customize Toolbar button to choose the buttons that you want to see on your toolbar. You can also control the placement of the buttons, the size of the icons and select your text options.
   
5. When you're finished choosing your layout, click the Apply button and then the OK button to save your changes and close the window.

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To modify your security settings:

We can't guarantee that you will never be infected by a virus, trojan or worm, but you'll be a bit safer if you make sure that your settings are set as follows:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options.
   
2. Select the Security tab, and select the Restricted sites zone if it isn't already selected.
   
3. Launch Internet Explorer and, on the menu, go to Tools and select Internet Options.
   
4. Select the Security tab, highlight the Restricted sites icon and then click the Custom Level button.
   
5. Select the options shown below:
   
6. Click OK to save the settings.
   

You'll still be able to read messages in HTML, but no one will be able to set cookies or run javascript from an e-mail message or newsgroup post. You can add an additional level of security by turning off the preview pane. We have instructions for that here.

For more information, see E-mail Security.

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To change the mail notification sound:

The default e-mail notification sound is a beep. If that isn't what you want, there are many sites on the Internet that have sounds that you can use to tell you that you have e-mail. We've included a couple of sites below, but you can use your favorite search engine to search for others.

• http://www.the-earchives.com/
  Search for mail
• http://www.soundamerica.com/

Once you've found the sound that you want to use, save it on your hard drive. Be sure to remember where you put it.

1. From the Start menu, select Settings, and then choose Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Sounds icon.
   
3. Scroll down until you see the New Mail Notification entry. If you see a speaker to the left of the New Mail Notification entry, a sound has already been associated with it. You can listen to this sound by clicking on the arrow to the right of the Preview box.
4. If you want to use your sound instead of this one, click the Browse button, locate the sound that you saved on your hard drive earlier. Click the OK button.
5. You can then preview the sound to make sure that you have the correct one. Click the OK button to close the window. You should hear this sound the next time you get e-mail. If you don't hear a sound when you receive e-mail, go to the Outlook Express Tools menu, select Internet Options and check the General tab to make sure that you have this option enabled. You'll see additional options on this page.

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