It should be noted that "Outlook" is NOT THE SAME THING as "Outlook Express."

Outlook includes so many bells and whistles it tends to collapse under its own weight, and opens far too many "push functions" for my taste.

Outlook Express (OE) is a bit clunky, but for the most part handles email and ONLY email. It offers, in simple form, a few convenient functions that are pretty complex in other email programs.

Unfortunately OE was designed for POP3 email protocol, and many email services do not support POP3. Even MSN has attempted to eliminate POP3, and to convert all users to http - sometimes without notice to the users. With an MSN or Hotmail account, unless you have a "charter account" (very old) and/or pay for one of Hotmail's "super accounts," you will have been switched to an http server that's not really compatible with Outlook Express.

The "registration" of email messages in OE is automatic and doesn't show in the Folder Options | File Types list in Windows. Each message is a record in a database folder, so the individual message doesn't really have a filetype (extension) that can be registered. If you can read some of the emails then OE probably is OK internally.

Some email services have attempted to accomodate the POP3 incompatiblity by sending email as individual files, each of which has a file extension and is (or can be) saved on your machine as an individual file. The specific filename extension used may vary depending on the service, but ".email" seems to be common. You may also occasionally receive "attached emails" that are separate files with "strange" filename extensions, and in this case it may depend on what browser or email program the sender used.

Outlook Express itself allows you to "extract" an individual message from the database and save it as an individual file simply by clicking "File | Save As | Mail (*.eml)." Saved in this way, all attachments are automatically included, and the individual file opens just like the original message, in OE.

If you can identify an individual message file sometimes the message can be opened by changing the filename extension to ".eml," which is the "native" filetype for "Internet email" files used by OE. OE may be able to open it when you double-click the new filename in Windows Explorer. I've had some success with this method for emails attached to emails.

The most likely cause for your problem is that your email service provider has "hijacked" your account, moving it from a server that supported the POP3 protocol to one that supports only http. If this is the case, you should be able to visit the server using your normal internet browser and use your browser to look at your email. You may have to contact your email service to get setup/URL info for this. If the service provider has a website that you know how to find, it may be as simple as clicking an "email" button there, and providing your password/account info.

Giok - I believe you can download a free "PowerPoint Reader" from Microsoft, if you really think the jokes are any good.

John