PING: Brian Tillman (re: "Directory" answer)

[Michael Baglio]

Brian, greetings,

In a recent thread, you responded:

You can control where attachments get stored when you save them. Until you
open them, they're not stored in separate files on the client machine.

I'm currently a Eudora user, hoping to convert to Outlook to integrate
all my daily computing tasks. (Office 2002).

If I'm understanding what you said, can I _not_ somehow just have
Outlook automatically download all attachments I receive to my
"C:\Downloads-Email" directory?

Having to "do something" to store every attachment I get is going to
spoil this whole Outlook idea in a hurry. Say it ain't so!

Be a shame to give up on "Outlook", which I hoped would be great
program for integrating everything I need to do, but not if I can't
tell it what I want to do. KnowhudImean? ;>

Appreciate your time, thanks.
Michael

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Outlook doesn't work like Eudora - it keeps attachments with the message.
You can use addins or VBA to remove attachments as they arrive, if you
prefer Eudora's method... but once you get used to it, you'll discover a lot
of advantages to leaving attachments with the message.

Programs that can remove attachments from messages are listed here:
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/housekeeping.htm

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Michael Baglio]

Outlook doesn't work like Eudora - it keeps attachments with the message.
You can use addins or VBA to remove attachments as they arrive, if you
prefer Eudora's method... but once you get used to it, you'll discover a lot
of advantages to leaving attachments with the message.

Diane, first-- thanks for your response.

I want to keep an open mind here, but like most old farts I'm bucking
a lot of years of "doing it my way." ;>

I'm hoping you might give me an example or two of the advantages you
cite.

(It's all about fear, of course. My fear is that, if I ever lose, or
accidentally delete, an email, I'm going to go crazy either a.) trying
to find an attachment in some directory buried so deep in the bowels
of this box I'll need a flashlight and a compass, or b.) the one
"business" attachment I need will be in a directory with so many
thousand other (now un-categorized) attachments I'll need to start
mainlining ginko biloba to try to remember a filename.)

<sigh>... I really _want_ to like this thing. Any hope?

Thanks again,
Michael

 

[Brian Tillman]

In a recent thread, you responded: ....snip...
If I'm understanding what you said, can I _not_ somehow just have
Outlook automatically download all attachments I receive to my
"C:\Downloads-Email" directory?
Correct.

Having to "do something" to store every attachment I get is going to
spoil this whole Outlook idea in a hurry. Say it ain't so!

It is so. When a message arrived with an attachment, that attachment is
part of the message itself (ALL mail clients work this way, including
Eudora). When the message is stored in Outlook, the entire message is put
within the "Personal Folders" file's Inbox folder. Nothing is, at this
point, external to that file. Eudora, on the other hand, splits the message
in pieces, with the attachemnts being stored in a (Windows) folder you
specify when you configure Eudora.

 

[Brian Tillman]

(It's all about fear, of course. My fear is that, if I ever lose, or
accidentally delete, an email, I'm going to go crazy either a.) trying
to find an attachment in some directory buried so deep in the bowels
of this box I'll need a flashlight and a compass, or b.) the one
"business" attachment I need will be in a directory with so many
thousand other (now un-categorized) attachments I'll need to start
mainlining ginko biloba to try to remember a filename.)

I think it an excellent idea to consider and handle a particular mail
message as a single unit. All portions of the message are all in exactly
the same place. If you want to split it apart, then you have that option by
extracting the attachment to a Windows folder of your choice. That's the
way Outlook (and Outlook Express, by the way) treat messages. With Eudora's
approach, I think it would be easier to lose an attachment because the
message and its attachments are handled as distinct entities as thus the
connection between the parts more easily disrupted.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Honestly, it's much easier to lose attachments when they are removed from
the message - I get a lot of business documents sent to me monthly and I use
a program (mapilab's attachment remover addin) to save them to a directory
based on rules and add a link to the attachment, so I can still open it from
within the email. I need these documents archived, but not stored on my
email, so removing them makes sense (and it's easier to open them all at
once from the file system).

I made the mistake of using the addin to remove all attachments - including
one containing a code sample from someone. The code worked great but when I
reformatted, I forgot to back up the VBA files. I had a copy on a hard
drive... that went bad. I have the message in my inbox.... but because I
removed the attachment, I don't have a copy of the code. Had I left it on
the message, I would have the code. Now I have to wait for him to check his
email and hope he doesn't use strong spam filters.... or hope he does, so my
message isn't lost amongst spam.

Another example, more than once I've received a document and edited it -
either accidentally or purposely - and needed to recover the original.
Because it's in outlook and I'm working with a copy in the file system, I
can recover the original from the message. if you open an attachment from
Eudora's attachment directory you'd darn well better make a copy before you
edit it, or you will never recover the original.

--

 

[I live on Quicken and Outlook]

Honestly, it's much easier to lose attachments when they are removed from
the message - I get a lot of business documents sent to me monthly and I use
a program (mapilab's attachment remover addin) to save them to a directory
based on rules and add a link to the attachment, so I can still open it from
within the email. I need these documents archived, but not stored on my
email, so removing them makes sense (and it's easier to open them all at
once from the file system).

I made the mistake of using the addin to remove all attachments - including
one containing a code sample from someone. The code worked great but when I
reformatted, I forgot to back up the VBA files. I had a copy on a hard
drive... that went bad. I have the message in my inbox.... but because I
removed the attachment, I don't have a copy of the code. Had I left it on
the message, I would have the code. Now I have to wait for him to check his
email and hope he doesn't use strong spam filters.... or hope he does, so my
message isn't lost amongst spam.

Another example, more than once I've received a document and edited it -
either accidentally or purposely - and needed to recover the original.
Because it's in outlook and I'm working with a copy in the file system, I
can recover the original from the message. if you open an attachment from
Eudora's attachment directory you'd darn well better make a copy before you
edit it, or you will never recover the original.

Amen to everything Diane wrote. I used to use Eudora, until the
company I worked for used Groupwise. Wow, that was better. Outlook
is even better, 'cuz I don't need a server to run it.

I still have some old Eudora email files and attachments. But it's
hopeless. Someday I'll get a round "tuit" and I'll cull the old
stuff, but so far all my tuits are square.

 

[Michael Baglio]

Honestly, it's much easier to lose attachments when they are removed from
the message... snip...

Diane, Brian, just wanted to drop a note of thanks for your help and
encouragement. Appreciate it.

Best,
Michael