Outlook Express 5.0 – Review

Outlook Express 5.0
Company: Microsoft Corp.
Estimated Price: Free
http://www.microsoft.com

Two steps forward and a small step back make for a compelling upgrade

Using email programs has become a frustrating experience. There have been a large number of programs, some of which are no longer produced, available for the Mac in the years I’ve been using email, and I’ve tried a few programs on other platforms. Almost all of them had at least one compelling feature, a capability that I wish I could transfer to whatever program I was using at the time. Although I still haven’t been able to create Frankenstein-mail by combining parts of all the programs I’ve used, Outlook Express 5 (OE5) may have come closest to achieving that ideal. It’s unquestionably the best free email program available for the Mac today.

Installation and Setup:
When Microsoft introduced drag and drop installation and self-repair to its product line, I was skeptical of how well it would work in the long run. The installation of OE5 made some of the limitations of this clear. It includes several updates to the libraries it shares with Internet Explorer in its “self repair” folder; unfortunately, it doesn’t automate merging these with the previous self repair folder, leaving added clutter on the hard drive and lingering doubts as to whether I can safely throw the old one out. Among the shared libraries it replaces is the one that provides 128-bit encryption to IE, requiring a second download of a patch specific for the IE4.5/OE5 combination. Microsoft would do well to recognize these hassles and clean up the installation process a bit.

When first launched, OE5 offers to import mail and address book information from earlier versions or other programs. Although there have been reports of this not working properly, it went smoothly in my case. New users can be walked through setting up accounts, and details can be changed at any time.

Checking the stats:
The my mac mailbox is open, and I’ve chosen to display a message about recent web stats in its own window.

Interface and Performance:
Microsoft’s design approach seems to have been to provide several ways of doing nearly everything, so that anybody could find an approach that they were happy with. Although this may be confusing for beginners (who may wonder which option is the right way to get something done), it works quite well. The program defaults to a multi-paned main window–on the left are the mailboxes and address books, while the right is split between the contents of the selected mailbox and the text of the selected message. Each window comes with a large collection of buttons to perform common actions. Each of these panes in a window is resizeable, and a user can choose to have any combination of them in separate windows. In another example of the program’s flexibility, messages can be moved by either a regular menu command, a contextual menu command, by clicking a button on the message window, or by dragging and dropping them on the preferred mailbox. By providing such options, Microsoft ensures that not only can I work the way I’d like, but that others who prefer to work differently can find their own way of doing things.

One of OE5’s strengths is its ability to simultaneously work with multiple email accounts, including some web-based services. Mail from all accounts is initially brought to the In Box, but can be sorted by hand (email “actions”) into individual boxes. The progress of mail retrieval is not clearly displayed by default, but a separate progress window can be set to show this. One of OE4.5’s greatest weaknesses was its lack of a simple mechanism for managing the messages on the mail servers that received them. By default, it would leave all messages to accumulate on the server until its administrator got annoyed. OE5 takes a step to improve this by including an icon in mailboxes to indicate that a copy of the message is still on the server; clicking on this gives you the option to delete it from the server. Although this is better than nothing, OE5 still can’t automatically delete trashed messages from the server or to delete messages based on how long they’ve been on the server, two features that make Eudora the master of managing POP accounts. Most users of OE5 will still be forced to occasionally connect to the server manually to get rid of old messages.

OE4.5 made setting up filters for incoming mail a snap, and OE5 retains the ease of use and efficiency. Because all mail is kept in a single database file, filters are even speedier and less obtrusive. This also allows the “find” command to execute quickly. A new feature allows OE to automatically junk spam mail; a slider adjusts sensitivity. Like version 4.5, the latest OE integrates with other Microsoft applications, using the HTML rendering abilities of Internet Explorer to display and edit HTML messages, and using the spell checker of Office 98, if that’s available.

Microsoft has a tendency to make a program perform multiple functions, and OE5 is no exception. In addition to providing email address book functions, OE5 aims to provide all contact management functions. The address book contains fields for all major aspects of personal information, and adds the ability to synchronize with a Palm organizer. Without a Palm PDA, I wasn’t able to test this, but the Read Me indicated that its implementation is still incomplete, though improvements through an update are said to be likely. If you don’t intend to use OE5 as your contact manager, the addition of all the excess information makes simply adding a new email address more of a hassle than it needs to be. A “simple address book” option would have been welcome.

Use of Macintosh Technology:
Microsoft claims it now “gets” the Mac, and OE5 gives a great deal of support to that claim, as it seamlessly integrates several Mac technologies. Drag and drop is used extensively and intelligently. For example, when a message is dragged, the program extracts the information relevant to the window it’s dropped on. Similarly, a message is moved when it’s dropped on a different mailbox, while it’s address is brought up in a new contact window when dropped on the address book. There are some limitations, however, as some important settings dialogs are modal, preventing the interaction with other windows that allows drag and drop to work. Well-designed contextual menus are also included throughout. One odd lapse is that OE5 can initiate dial-in sessions when told to check mail, even if this option is prohibited in the Remote Access settings.

AppleScript is also extensively supported, with a wealth of scriptable functions. Scripts can be launched from a built-in “script” menu, or they can be triggered in response to specific actions (when mail is received from a specific sender, for example). Unfortunately, very little of the application allows the script editor to record its actions, meaning scripts will have to be generated by hand. Internet config is used to launch the user’s chosen application for URLs, even if it’s (gasp) Netscape Navigator.

In one case, OE5 goes too far in supporting Mac technology. In previous versions, it allowed multiple users to each have their own password protected accounts. This feature has been dropped in favor of OS 9’s multiple user capabilities. This is unfortunate, as not everyone will upgrade to OS 9, and not all those who do will use its multiple user features. Since I’ve yet to upgrade to OS 9, I haven’t been able to test OE5’s integration features, such as multiple users and file encryption, which may be essential if many users have access to your machine. But kudos to Microsoft for including detailed instructions on how to set up the application to work with multiple users, as many people will eventually want that flexibility. In security terms, it’s worthwhile noting that the previous version’s mailbox format allowed anyone with a text editor to easily open a mailbox file and view its contents. The use of a flat database to store mail now makes the contents of mailboxes much less accessible.

Summary:
My ideal email program has yet to be made, but OE5 comes a lot closer than most. By providing extensive customization and allowing users to choose from several methods of getting things done, OE5 nicely conforms to how I (or most others, I’d imagine) prefer to work. Its ability to handle multiple mail accounts, its improved performance, and its integration with Macintosh technologies also contribute to making it a good program and a desirable upgrade. There are, however, some lingering annoyances. Managing mail on servers has been improved, but still has a way to go. Drag and drop is well implemented, but isn’t accessible from all dialogs. Multiple accounts are readily supported, but the support for multiple users was downgraded. The address book tries too hard to also serve as a contact manager, which distracts from its primary purpose. Overall, however, these are annoyances and not major flaws, so I would readily recommend this program.

Pros: Seamlessly integrates multiple mail accounts, easy filtering, extensive customizability, and improved performance.
Cons: Limited management of mail still on servers, address book tries too hard, some minor annoyances.

MacMice Rating: 4