Transferring Address Books; Problems with Instant Messenger
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
Q: How do I transfer my e-mail address book to one computer from another?
A: It depends what e-mail program you're using. Let me give a brief answer for the two most popular ones, Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express. In Outlook, you need to move over your Contacts folder. There are several ways to do this, but one good method involves using the program's "Import and Export" feature, found on the File menu. Choose "Export to a file" and then select "Personal Folder File." Next, choose the Contacts folder. Select a name and location for the exported file and follow any remaining prompts in your version of Outlook. You can safely select the "No Encryption" option. Copy the resulting file to the hard disk of the receiving PC. Then launch Outlook on that PC, again go to the File menu and select "Import and Export." This time, choose "Import from another program or file." Select "Personal Folder File" and the "File to Import" box and browse to your exported file. Copy the imported data to the Contacts folder in your new copy of Outlook. In Outlook Express, it's similar. Open the address book in Outlook Express, go to the File menu, choose "Export," then choose "Address Book (WAB)." Pick a name and location for the exported file and remember it. Then, copy this file to the receiving PC, open the Outlook Express address book there, go to "Import" on the File menu and choose "Address Book (WAB)" again. Select the file you transferred, and the program will import the addresses it contains.
Q: How can I stop my instant-messenger program from launching whenever I start up Outlook Express?
A: A few years back, Microsoft changed Outlook Express so it launches instant messaging whenever it starts up, whether you want instant messaging or not. This tie-in was probably established to push Microsoft's then-nascent instant-messaging service, Windows Messenger. But it also will launch AOL Instant Messenger, if you have made that your default instant-messaging program in Windows. The worst part about it is that you often can't quit the instant-messenger program until you have shut down Outlook Express. To turn off this feature, go to the Tools menu in Outlook Express and choose "Options," at the bottom. In the General tab of the window that comes up, find the option that says "Automatically log on to Windows Messenger" or "Automatically log on to AOL Instant Messenger." Uncheck the box next to this option, hit OK and then exit out of Outlook Express. The next time you start up Outlook Express, your instant-messenger program should no longer automatically launch.
Q: Last week, in your review of Apple's new AirPort Express Wi-Fi product, you said you had to use a somewhat complex secondary program to get it to work with a non-Apple base station that had security turned on. What was it?
A: It's the AirPort Admin Utility, which is Apple's heavy-duty program for configuring and maintaining wireless Wi-Fi networks. It's available in versions for both the Macintosh and Windows. Most users won't ever have to use this utility, and can set up the AirPort Extreme with Apple's much simpler step-by-step "setup assistant." Both programs come with AirPort Express.
如何转移通讯录？
在我们大多数人所拥有的大型电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
这周我将要回答的问题包括：如何转移通讯录、如何在启动Outlook Express时阻止Messenger运行以及如何设定文件查看的默认方式？
问：我如何将电子邮件通讯录从一台电脑转移到另外一台电脑上。
答：这取决于你使用的电子邮件程序。让我就两个最常用的电子邮件程序－微软的Outlook和Outlook Express－简短作答。在Outlook当中，你需要移走你的“联系人”文件夹。有几个办法可以完成这一动作，但是一个好方法是使用该程序的“汇入和汇出”功能，你可以在“档案”菜单中找到这个选项，选择“汇出到一个文档“，然后选定“个人文件夹文件“。接下来，选择“联系人“文件夹。为汇出文件选择一个名称和地址，然后根据Outlook下面的提示操作就可以。你可以放心的选择“不加密”选项。将得到的文件复制到接收电脑的硬盘上。然后在这台电脑上运行Outlook，还是打开“档案”菜单，选择“汇入和汇出”。这次选择“从另外一个程序或文件汇入”。选定“个人文件夹文件”和“汇入文件”选项，寻找你刚刚汇出的文件。将汇入的数据复制到新Outlook的“联系人”文件夹。Outlook Express的操作方法与此类似。打开Outlook Express的通讯录，在“档案”菜单中选择“汇出”，然后选择“通讯录”。为汇出的文件选择一个名字和地址，并记住它。然后，将这个文件复制到接收电脑上面，打开Outlook Express“通讯录”，然后在“档案”菜单中选择“汇入”，并再次选择“通讯录”。选定你汇出的文件，程序将会汇入文件内的通讯录。
问：每次启动Outlook Express时，我如何才能阻止网络寻呼软件Windows Messenger的运行。
答：数年前，微软(Microsoft)改变了Outlook Express的设置，使Outlook Express每次启动都会运行Windows Messenger，而不管你是不是需要。这种设置可能是为了推广当时刚推出的网络寻呼服务－－Windows Messenger。不过如果你将AOL Instant Messenger设定为Windows默认程序的话，Outlook Express还会运行AOL Instant Messenger。但最糟糕的一点是，除非你关闭Outlook Express，否则你常常不能退出网络寻呼服务。为解决这一问题，你可以到Outlook Express的“工具”菜单中，选择底部的“选项”。在跳出窗口中的“一般”一栏，找到“自动登入Windows Messenger”或“自动登入AOL Instant Messenger”，点空上述选项旁边的方框，点击OK，然后退出Outlook Express。下次你开启Outlook Express时，你的网路寻呼程序应该不会自动运行了。
问：在Windows XP中，我喜欢通过“详细资料”选项浏览文件夹中的文件，但是XP始终显示图表。有什么办法可以将我的文件查看方式默认为“详细资料”吗？
答：有的，首先打开一个文件夹，从“查看”菜单中选择“详细资料”。然后，在你得到你想要的查看方式后，点击“工具”菜单”，选择“文件夹选项”。在打开的窗口中，找到“查看”一栏，点击“应用于所有文件夹”选项。这应该就可以解决问题了。
