E-mail tips

Fast access to Outlook 2013's spell-checker and auto-correct options

When Microsoft released Office 2013 some Word and Outlook users were unpleasantly surprised to find the AutoCorrect options removed from the right-click (context) menu of Word 2013 and WordMail for Outlook 2013.

On its TechNet site, Microsoft explains that the change was made to streamline the right-click menus in those programs. (Scroll to the end of the long list of changes made to Office 2013 to find "Contents of spelling error context menu" in the Word section.)

In Outlook 2003/2007, you can access suggested spellings and AutoCorrect options for misspelled words by clicking the lightning-bolt icon that … Read more

Three ways to prevent inadvertent e-mail replies to all

The dreaded Reply All button rang up another victim last week when a Los Angeles Police Department commander asked his officers in an e-mail to arrest someone for the illegal sale of underage bunnies so the department wouldn't receive a "black eye" in the media.

As Ana Garcia reports for NBC Southern California, the commander didn't realize his reply to an LAPD officer was also sent to the TV news producer who requested information on the lack of animal-cruelty arrests months after the department claimed to be cracking down on the practice.

Unlike many Reply All … Read more

How to share contacts in Microsoft Outlook

Few resources on your computer are more valuable to your worklife than your list of contacts. Unfortunately, contacts are also among the most difficult assets to maintain.

Recently, a reader named Alan posed this question:

I and my two associates use Microsoft Outlook for our sales contacts. Right now we maintain three separate contact databases. We would like to merge our databases into one that all three of us can access, modify, and update as necessary. Is there a process/software you can recommend to accomplish this?

If you don't mind the manual approach, Outlook lets you export your … Read more

Move your mail to Outlook.com

Multiple e-mail inboxes are a fact of life for most of us. At last count I had six mail accounts I access regularly and another six addresses I use occasionally.

That didn't prevent me from signing up for a new Outlook.com address when Microsoft announced the service last week.

At first I was disappointed that I wasn't able to transfer my existing Hotmail account to Outlook.com. Instead, I was prompted to link the new Outlook.com account with the existing Hotmail account.

However, once I had imported my Gmail to Microsoft's new service I was … Read more

Save Gmail attachments to Google Drive with one click

Many of the files I receive attached to Gmail messages end up in my Google Drive account. Previously this required downloading or viewing the file, saving it to a drive of the PC I'm using, signing into and opening Google Drive (formerly Google Docs), and uploading the file.

That's a lot of mileage for a file to travel just to get from one Google service to another.

Last month, Jason Cipriani of CNET's Blog Network described a technique developed by Amit Agarwal that automatically adds Gmail attachments to Google Drive.

As Jason explains, the process entails copying … Read more

The semi-automatic way to manage multiple contact lists

Few business resources are as valuable as your list of contacts. It's no wonder companies such as Twitter and iPad app vendor Path are trying to get their hands on their customers' contacts--with or without their express permission.

Contacts are like rabbits: they tend to multiply whenever they get together.

In the past year my Gmail contact list has grown by 50 percent, not to mention the many updates and changes to existing entries. Contact-sync programs promise to keep the information in multiple address books up-to-date, but the programs I've tried create so many duplicate records they'… Read more

Safe, sane alternatives to e-mail

E-mail is the greatest office productivity booster since the invention of the telephone. E-mail is the biggest waste of work time since the invention of the coffee maker.

Lately, I've been leaning toward the latter proposition. I calculate that only one in five of the messages that make it through Gmail's spam filter into my inbox are worth the time it takes to open and read them.

This doesn't include the spam Gmail automatically identifies and blocks, which in recent years has dropped from more than 90 percent of all the messages sent to just over 70 … Read more

Zendio tracks when e-mails are opened, clicked on

Who uses those receipts for e-mails read? Most people either block sending receipts altogether or ask to be notified before sending a read receipt (a default setting in Microsoft Outlook and other mail clients). So read receipts either don't work at all, or they require acceptance by the recipient--no sure thing.

That doesn't mean that we aren't curious about when the messages we send are opened, and when the links they include are followed. For most organizations, this information can be a valuable asset. The Zendio add-on for Microsoft Outlook tracks the messages you select and records … Read more

Only you can prevent phishing attacks

As I sorted through several dozen newly arrived e-mails this morning I noticed one from "Provider Inc." with "Order Sales Order" in the subject line. "Damn phishers," I thought as I prepared to send the message to the digital Dumpster.

On second thought, I wondered what would make someone fall for a message that appeared to me like an obvious phishing attempt. Well, people respond to sales receipts even if they haven't bought anything online recently--nobody wants to be charged for something they didn't buy.

So "Sales Order" was the … Read more