Possible to sort email by email account like WLM?

[GeV]

In Windows Live Mail I have my email accounts in a column on the left side and when I click on each account I see the Inbox of that
account to the right. The same in Thunderbird. In Outlook 2007 it looks like all the email pours into one Inbox. Of course I can
manually set up rules and folders for each email account. But I would have thought Outlook would have a way of replicating that
automatically. It seems to be the way of the future. It should give the option somewhere if you want all your email accounts'
Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash in all grouped together or not. Anybody who has several email accounts with different importance
priorities is not going to want everything together!

 

[VanguardLH]

In Windows Live Mail I have my email accounts in a column on the left
side and when I click on each account I see the Inbox of that account
to the right. The same in Thunderbird. In Outlook 2007 it looks
like all the email pours into one Inbox. Of course I can manually
set up rules and folders for each email account. But I would have
thought Outlook would have a way of replicating that automatically.
It seems to be the way of the future. It should give the option
somewhere if you want all your email accounts' Inbox, Sent, Drafts,
Trash in all grouped together or not. Anybody who has several email
accounts with different importance priorities is not going to want
everything together!

A little shorter on the line-wrap length, please. I reformatted the
above because 132 character line lengths are *way* too long. Reduce to
72 characters. In OE, Tools -> Options menu, Send tab, under News
Sending Format, select Plain Text. In the Plain Text Settings, select
MIME with None for encoding, and set line wrap at 72 characters.

In the header list pane (showing the list of e-mails), right-click on a
column header, pick Field Chooser, and add the E-mail Account field.
Drag it to whatever column position you want. Click on it to toggle
between ascending/descending account order.

If you want multiple criteria in the sort, right-click on the column
header and customize view to edit the sort criteria.

 

[GeV]

In Windows Live Mail I have my email accounts in a column on the left

In the header list pane (showing the list of e-mails), right-click on a
column header, pick Field Chooser, and add the E-mail Account field.
Drag it to whatever column position you want. Click on it to toggle
between ascending/descending account order.
If you want multiple criteria in the sort, right-click on the column
header and customize view to edit the sort criteria.

This would appear to control how all the email is sorted.
I want to see only email for my (e-mail address removed) account when I look at it's Inbox. That way
sorting and organizing and trimming is far easier. Is this possible in Outlook or is it like
Outlook Express where everything is first dumped into the Inbox, then you have options to sort from
there?

 

[GeV]

In Windows Live Mail I have my email accounts in a column on the left

This would appear to control how all the email is sorted.
I want to see only email for my (e-mail address removed) account when I look at it's Inbox. That way
sorting and organizing and trimming is far easier. Is this possible in Outlook or is it like
Outlook Express where everything is first dumped into the Inbox, then you have options to sort
from there?

So I tried the Field Chooser. The odd thing is that after I select a field there is no place to
click OK. I wonder if my enlarged fonts are causing the message box to display incorrectly? I can
"Remove This Column" but I cannot put a column back. Is this a glitch I wonder? I tried using the
Tab key but it doesn't look like its possible to choose. I also tried double (left mouse button)
clicking a field to no avail.

 

[GeV]

In Windows Live Mail I have my email accounts in a column on the left
You can also do this: View, Arrange by, Email Account. But it doesn't solve the first question of
seeing only 1 email account's messages at a time.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

So I tried the Field Chooser. The odd thing is that after I select a field
there is no place to click OK.

Click on and drag the field to the header line where you want it displayed.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

This would appear to control how all the email is sorted.
I want to see only email for my (e-mail address removed) account when I look at
it's Inbox. That way sorting and organizing and trimming is far easier. Is
this possible in Outlook or is it like Outlook Express where everything is
first dumped into the Inbox, then you have options to sort from there?

Outlook Express has "identities" that provide distinct folder sets for each
account. You can also have multiple accounts feeed a single set of folders.

Outlook doesn't have identities. If you need completely distinct folder sets
for each account you'll need to use a separate mail profile (Control
Panel>Mail>Show Profiles>Add) for each account and exit Outlook completely to
switch profiles. For multiple accounts in one profile, you can use rules to
sort incoming and outgoing mail into separate folders or, since you are using
Outlook 2007, use the built-in Inbox/Sent Items separation (Tools>Account
Settings>E-mail Accounts tab) that doesn't require rules. All other folders
(Contacts, Calendar, etc) will be shared.

 

[GeV]

This would appear to control how all the email is sorted.

Outlook Express has "identities" that provide distinct folder sets for each account. You can also
have multiple accounts feed a single set of folders. Outlook doesn't have identities. If you need
completely distinct folder sets for each account you'll need to use a separate mail profile
(Control Panel>Mail>Show Profiles>Add) for each account and exit Outlook completely to switch
profiles.

That doesn't sound as advanced as Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird that allow
all email accounts to be viewed on the left with each housing its own Inbox, Sent,
Drafts, Trash and whatever Folders the user has created. With Outlook designed
for complex communication it seems odd they would have left this out. Who wants
to exit a Profile to see another email account? Seems rather time consuming. Or
is it not? If its instant, it wouldn't be so bad. I notice Windows Live Mail has some
lags that OE doesn't have. Outlook seems to be pretty much instant as well.

For multiple accounts in one profile, you can use rules to sort incoming and outgoing mail into
separate folders or, since you are using Outlook 2007, use the built-in Inbox/Sent Items
separation (Tools>Account Settings>E-mail Accounts tab) that doesn't require rules. All other
folders (Contacts, Calendar, etc) will be shared.

Sort of like OE. It seems really backward....very surprising. WLM seems to be more up to date.

 

[GeV]

This would appear to control how all the email is sorted.

Outlook Express has "identities" that provide distinct folder sets for each account. You can also
have multiple accounts feeed a single set of folders.

Outlook doesn't have identities. If you need completely distinct folder sets for each account
you'll need to use a separate mail profile (Control Panel>Mail>Show Profiles>Add) for each account
and exit Outlook completely to switch profiles. For multiple accounts in one profile, you can use
rules to sort incoming and outgoing mail into separate folders or, since you are using Outlook
2007, use the built-in Inbox/Sent Items separation (Tools>Account Settings>E-mail Accounts tab)
that doesn't require rules. All other folders (Contacts, Calendar, etc) will be shared.

Brian, you sure explain it well.
But I don't see Control Panel in Outlook. And I don't see Mail in XP's Settings, Control Panel.
I'm using XP Pro 32bit, SP3 with Outlook 2007.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

But I don't see Control Panel in Outlook.

Control Panel isn't in Outlook. It's in Windows.

And I don't see Mail in XP's Settings, Control Panel.
I'm using XP Pro 32bit, SP3 with Outlook 2007.

Classic or Category view? In the lattter, it wll be under the User Accounts
category. In the former, it will be one of the applets listed.

 

[Gordon]

Where is Classic or Category view?

When you start Control Panel, do you see a big heading on the R/H side that
says "Pick a Category"? If you do, that is in Category View.

I looked under User Accounts. Nothing regarding Mail there. Sorry for
seeming a little thick here.

Should be. You get two sections: "Pick a Task" or "Pick a Control panel
Icon". Mail is under the latter.

It sure would be nice if Microsoft had all the settings that controlled
layout and view in one place.

They do. In the L/H pane of the By-Category Control Panel. is a link that
says "Control Panel. Switch to Classic View"

 

[GeV]

Outlook doesn't have identities. If you need completely distinct folder sets
for each account you'll need to use a separate mail profile (Control
Panel>Mail>Show Profiles>Add) for each account and exit Outlook completely to
switch profiles. For multiple accounts in one profile, you can use rules to
sort incoming and outgoing mail into separate folders or, since you are using
Outlook 2007, use the built-in Inbox/Sent Items separation (Tools>Account
Settings>E-mail Accounts tab) that doesn't require rules. All other folders
(Contacts, Calendar, etc) will be shared.

Classic or Category view? In the lattter, it wll be under the User Accounts category. In the
former, it will be one of the applets listed.

Where is Classic or Category view?
I looked under User Accounts. Nothing regarding Mail there. Sorry for seeming a little thick here.
It sure would be nice if Microsoft had all the settings that controlled layout and view in one
place. Especially for size of the fonts. Anyway, that's another discussion.

 

[GeV]

Where is Classic or Category view?

When you start Control Panel, do you see a big heading on the R/H side that says "Pick a
Category"? If you do, that is in Category View.

Ah...right. I set that up so long ago I forgot about it. I'm in Classic view.

Should be. You get two sections: "Pick a Task" or "Pick a Control panel Icon". Mail is under the
latter.

Weird...I now see Mail at the bottom. It wasn't sorted alphabetically. It probably was added when
I installed Outlook? How dumb not to sort alphabetically. Many people won't see new ones as
Control Panel is alphabetical by default.

OK - I see this but this is just the same as Outlook's Account options. This seems to be the same
as OE. Dump all email into one big bin. This seems so antiquated with so many people using
multiple email accounts. The smart way is to have each account separated like in Windows Live Mail.
The problem is Outlook seems snappier than WLM and has much better setup options in other areas.

They do. In the L/H pane of the By-Category Control Panel. is a link that says "Control Panel.
Switch to Classic View"

I'm in Classic View. In just setting general font size I've found 3 areas that control this. One
wonders why on earth they decide to do this. It just makes it hopelessly confusing. They need to
think "minimum font size". This would solve so many problems.

 

[Gordon]

OK - I see this but this is just the same as Outlook's Account options.
This seems to be the same as OE. Dump all email into one big bin. This
seems so antiquated with so many people using multiple email accounts.
The smart way is to have each account separated like in Windows Live Mail.
The problem is Outlook seems snappier than WLM and has much better setup
options in other areas.

Outlook has always been like this until Outlook 2007. The assumption being,
that as the vast majority of Outlook installations were (and still are
AFAIK) in corporate settings, that users only have ONE email account.
Outlook 2007 changes this, in that when you set up a new account in 2007,
you can specify a folder for the delivery location other than the default
Inbox.

 

[Gordon]

Thank you - I just missed that when I set it up. Its working fine now.
Outlook seems to work so much better than WLM. Perhaps because its
designed for real work.

Glad it's sorted!

 

[GeV]

OK - I see this but this is just the same as Outlook's Account options. This seems to be the same

Outlook has always been like this until Outlook 2007. The assumption being, that as the vast
majority of Outlook installations were (and still are AFAIK) in corporate settings, that users
only have ONE email account.
Outlook 2007 changes this, in that when you set up a new account in 2007, you can specify a folder
for the delivery location other than the default Inbox.

Thank you - I just missed that when I set it up. Its working fine now. Outlook seems to work so
much better than WLM. Perhaps because its designed for real work.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Where is Classic or Category view?

When you open Control Panel (Start>Control Panel) you should see a link at the
top of the left-hand activity pane to switch form one view to the other.

I looked under User Accounts. Nothing regarding Mail there. Sorry for
seeming a little thick here. It sure would be nice if Microsoft had all the
settings that controlled layout and view in one place. Especially for size
of the fonts. Anyway, that's another discussion.

Something's wrong, then, but click Start>Run and enter

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\mlcfg32.cpl"

Click OK. Make sure you include the quotes and spaces.

 

[VanguardLH]

GeV wrote:

This would appear to control how all the email is sorted. I want to
see only email for my (e-mail address removed) account when I look at it's
Inbox. That way sorting and organizing and trimming is far easier.
Is this possible in Outlook or is it like Outlook Express where
everything is first dumped into the Inbox, then you have options to
sort from there?

Create a separate folder for each e-mail account. For example:

Inbox
|___ Inbox - Work
|___ Inbox - Family
|___ Inbox - Job Search
|___ Inbox - Coupon alerts
|___ Inbox - School

You can name them anything you want. I use a name that lets me
recognize the folder when defining a rule so I can tell by the name
where is the folder. Then use a rule for each inbox-type folder.

- if e-mail through account "work", move to "Inbox - Work".
- if e-mail through account "school", move to "Inbox - School".
- and so on.

The only e-mails that would remain in your top-level Inbox folder would
be those for which you don't define a rule to move them elsewhere.

 

[GeV]

Where is Classic or Category view?

When you open Control Panel (Start>Control Panel) you should see a link at the top of the
left-hand activity pane to switch form one view to the other.

Not if its already in Classic view. I found it by accident today on a friend's computer which I was
helping them with. Imagine me helping someone...lol. Anyway, Right click Taskbar, Properties,
Start Menu, Classic Start Menu, Customize, then select
Expand Control Panel
Display Run
and don't select Personlized Menus
That should make it far easier for most people.
Its a shame Microsoft doesn't encourage people to setup their own program groups in the Start Menu.
As soon as you download a program it's shortcut should be placed in your own category folder in
Start Menu, Programs. It makes things so much more organized. You can have a colossal number of
programs all sorted by category. It gets people away from "tossing things on the desktop" which
becomes hopelessly cluttered after a while. No wonder nuubies can often never find anything on their
system. Plus they never use Windows Explorer so they don't have a clue how things are mapped out.
Google has numerous free video tutorials for their programs. Its sad that Microsoft has not done
the same. It would aid productivity so much more and reduce support calls so much.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Not if its already in Classic view.

It does on my PCs.

Its a shame Microsoft doesn't encourage people to setup their own program
groups in the Start Menu. As soon as you download a program it's shortcut
should be placed in your own category folder in Start Menu, Programs.

Most of the programs I've installed have allowed me to specify the group name
appearing on the Programs menu. However, now we're wandering away form
Outlook into Windows issues, so it has ceased to be relevant to this
newsgroup.