Subscribe to a Mail Folder in Outlook Express

Why subscribe to a folder?

Your mail account has folders, like drawers in a cabinet. Some accounts keep their folders on the server. A server is a computer that stores your mail. Your program may not show every drawer. Subscribing tells the program to show one. This works for IMAP accounts. IMAP is a way to read mail that stays on the server.

Outlook Express is old and no longer supported. Newer programs such as Outlook and Thunderbird do the same job in a similar way.

Steps

1. Start Outlook Express.
2. Look at the folder list on the left side of the window.
3. Click the name of your mail account.
4. Click Tools in the menu, then choose IMAP Folders. You can also click the IMAP Folders button on the toolbar.
5. In the window, click the All tab. It lists every folder on the server. If it looks empty, press Reset List.
6. Click the folder that you want to see.
7. Click Subscribe.
8. Repeat for each folder you want.
9. Click OK to close the window.
10. The folder now shows in your left-hand list. Click it to see the mail.

Hide a folder again

1. Open Tools, then IMAP Folders.
2. Click the Subscribed tab.
3. Choose the folder and click Unsubscribe.
4. Click OK.

Not seeing the option?

The IMAP Folders option shows only for IMAP accounts. If your account uses POP, it will not appear. POP downloads mail to your computer and removes it from the server. Check your account type under Tools, then Accounts, then Properties.

Quick recap

• Subscribing shows a folder; unsubscribing hides it.
• It only works with IMAP accounts.
• Use Tools, then IMAP Folders.
• No mail is deleted.