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Solutions: How to open your .dbx e-mail backup files

By John Torro, Times Correspondent
In print: Saturday, November 15, 2008

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I backed up all my e-mail (.dbx) files to a disc, but when I click on them, it says there is no program to open them. What's the easiest way to open .dbx files from a CD? It seems as though Outlook Express won't do it. Can you import those files back into Outlook Express?

Within Outlook Express, create a new empty folder (i.e., Temp). Move an e-mail into that folder, and then move it back (if you wish to save that particular e-mail). Click Tools, Options, Maintenance and click Store Folder. Copy that location into your copy buffer (highlight it and press Ctrl-c). Exit Outlook Express. Now click Start, Run and paste (Ctrl-p) that folder location into the command line and click OK. You should see a .dbx file for each of your Outlook Express folders. Delete the Temp.dbx file you created earlier. Copy your saved .dbx file to that location and rename it Temp.dbx. (You may need to rename it if it conflicts with an existing .dbx file name.) When you restart Outlook Express, it should rebuild your folders index (the Folders .dbx file), and you should be able to access your saved e-mails in the Temp folder and move them by dragging and dropping them into the desired destination.

You had an article on how to put Favorites into alphabetical order, but I cannot find it. Can you help on this?

From within Internet Explorer, click Favorites. Navigate to the menu you want sorted and right-click. Select Sort by Name.

Send questions to personaltech@sptimes.com or Personal Tech, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Questions are answered only in this column.