Composing and Sending a New E-Mail Message

To compose a new E-mail message, click on the New Message icon from the main Outlook Express window.

If you have setup multiple e-mail accounts, the first thing to do in the New Message Window, is to select the e-mail account that you want to send the message FROM. (If you've not setup multiple accounts, skip to here).

Using the drop down arrow select the e-mail account this message will be sent from. In this example, you see "alohaj001" and "janealoha" as the two accounts. Highlight the appropriate account.

Enter the E-mail address of the person that you are sending this message to, or click on the address book icon to insert a name from your Address Book (see Address Book series). Type in a Subject, and type your note in the space provided.

When complete, click the Send Button . In most cases, this action will send out your message to your recipient. Please note: in some cases your message will move to your Outbox* when you click the Send Button, but does not actually send the mail yet.

If your Outlook Express is setup to send mail to the "Outbox" first, you will need to  click on the Send & Receive Button  in the main Outlook Express window before mail is actually sent to your recipient.

*With Outlook Express 5 (OE5), Microsoft has changed the way this can work. OE5 shares it's connection settings (Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Connections) with Internet Explorer 5.0, so depending on how your browser is setup, you may or may not have to click the additional Send & Receive Button before your mail gets sent. 

Why have any "Outbox" at all? The Outbox is really designed for people who use a dial-up modem. The idea is that you can write a bunch of e-mail messages, put them in your Outbox, then send them all at once. This way, you don't have to go "online" to send each individual message. Of course, with Road Runner, the Outbox is somewhat moot because you're always online.