Windows Mail in Vista.

[ExSp33db1rd]

My present laptop uses Vista, which also uses Windows Mail, a clone of Outlook Express, with which I am familiar and happy. ( not Outlook, which is a different animal )

'trouble is, even tho' I have ticked the option to automatically complete e-mail addresses when completing the address 'TO' line - it doesn't, and I always have to then go into my address book and select the recipient, not a major of course, but takes an extra milli-second - or two - which is irritating.

Occasionally it will oblige by showing the last address I used that starts with the same initial letter, but not always.

I might not even have known that this was possible, had I not had the pleasure of this assistance with Outlook Express on the old XP computer, and Gmail gives one the option of a few choices to select as you start to type.

Maybe it's the way I hold my mouth ? or perhaps it's called Progress ?

[le Pingouin]

Windows Mail apparently doesn't actually use your address book but keeps a separate list of the last 29 addresses used and that is where the auto-complete is drawn from: How do your setup/turn-on auto complete of email address in Windows Mail - Microsoft Answers (http://answers.microsoft.com/message/65f2005b-46d9-46d2-8372-4d68eb520158?threadId=210da44d-3677-42e2-ab96-faaa4fac0803)

Windows Live Mail replaced Windows Mail several years ago and does a better job of auto-completeing from what I've read (I don't use it).

[ExSp33db1rd]

Thank you, as I suspected, it's "progress". It wasn't broke, so why fix it ?

I blame Bill Gates - for a lot of my present woes, including my recently diagnosed malady of EGBF ( Electronic Gadget Brain Failure )

[Milo Minderbinder]

It DOES work

First thing to know is that Windows Mail (and Live Mail) no longer uses the Address Book - instead contacts are stored in the "Contacts" folder as individual 2contact" files. The point of this is to make it easier to access and import / export from other programs. "Contact" files are more universally accessible than the restricted format of the old address book
The contacts can be found from the main Windiows Mail screen by clicking tools > contacts

To make the program autocomplete addresses as you type, then click
tools>options>send>automatically complete e-mail addresses when composing

And I don't know who dreamt up the 27 address limit - thats totally wrong. You can have as many contact files in the "contacts" folder as you like.
The actual storage location is c: \users\user name\contact\*.contact

[ExSp33db1rd]

To make the program autocomplete addresses as you type, then click
tools>options>send>automatically complete e-mail addresses when composing


Sorry, no it doesn't, read my original post comment i.e. ........

..........trouble is, even tho' I have ticked the option to automatically complete e-mail addresses when completing..........

Which is why I asked how to achieve this, in the first place.

I've noticed that it does occasionally offer a few of the most recently used addresses, as mentioned, whether this is limited to just the last 29 or so, I have no idea.

[Milo Minderbinder]

try deleting the registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Recently Used Addresses

Also what version of MS Office do you have installed? It appears Outlook 2000 corruopts Contacts in Vista

[seacue]

Thunderbird

[ExSp33db1rd]

Also what version of MS Office do you have installed? It appears Outlook 2000 corruopts Contacts in Vista

Word 97.

The only one I could load for no charge at the time, and still don't like any of the so called 'improvements' , so I'm happy to stick with the devil I know.

Could be the problem, tho' but I think (?) when I first got this laptop about 5 years ago it all worked as previously, this quirk seems to be a recent one.

I'll try the registry thing,

Thanks.