Custom Folder Names Change When Outlook Express Is Uninstalled (182991)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Mail and News 1.0 for Windows 95
This article was previously published under Q182991

SYMPTOMS

If you create a custom folder in Microsoft Outlook Express and then uninstall Outlook Express, your custom folders may no longer exist in Internet Mail and News.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur because folders with customized names in Outlook Express lose their customized names when Outlook Express is uninstalled.

RESOLUTION

To avoid this behavior, rename the .mbx and .idx files for each custom folder before your uninstall Outlook Express. To do so, use the following steps:

  1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
  2. In the Named box, type "*.mbx" (without quotation marks), and then click Find Now.
  3. Double-click an .mbx file, note the contents of the file to determine the name you want to use for the file, close the file, and then rename the file appropriately. For information about how to rename a file, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type "renaming" (without quotation marks), and then double-click the "Renaming files" topic. Note that each .mbx file has a corresponding .idx file, and if both are not given the same custom folder name, the folder does not maintain the custom folder name. To avoid this behavior, record the name of each .mbx file before you rename it.

    For example, if you had created a custom folder in Outlook Express named Personal, in Internet Mail and News the folder is named Folder1. Folder1 has two files associated with it, Folder1.mbx, and Folder1.idx. When you double-click the Folder1.mbx file, you see the contents of the original Personal folder. If you rename Folder1.mbx to Personal.mbx, and then rename Folder1.idx to Personal.idx, the Personal folder can be viewed in Internet Mail and News.
  4. Repeat the instructions in step 3 for each .mbx file until you have renamed all of the .mbx files.
  5. In the Named box, type "*.idx" (without quotation marks), and then click Find Now.
  6. Rename an .idx file from its original name to the custom name you created in step 3, repeat this process until you have renamed all of the .idx files, and then close the Find tool.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/24/2004
Keywords:KB182991
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.