need help/advice regarding outlook express migration

IlllI

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2002
4,927
11
81
i was not sure where to put this topic but it involves outlook express so i figured this might be the place.

here are the issues i am trying to figure out.

my father, who is near 70 has been using outlook express probably over a decade. i want to migrate him from outlook express to an online service. since he is older they do a lot more traveling so he still wants to access his email from time to time.


problem 1: he is very much set in his ways. so i need something that looks as close to outlook as possible. it cant be gmail or anything most people would normally suggest because that is too different from outlook express. hotmail will soon be transforming into the new ui of outlook.com which would not go over well with him.

so far in my extensive research the two closest i have found were zoho or smampi. i dont know too much about them or how reliable they are. is there anything else out there that i am not aware of? i've looked and looked but so far nothing else i have found really resembles outlook express compared to these two.


problem 2: how to migrate all his old emails and folders from outlook express to whatever new email service is chosen? is there any simple solution? he has many files and folders spanning years that he wants to keep.


problem 3: he has a small business site and his email is through networksolutions. looking at his settings in outlook express shows me the port being used is 2525. however, when i investigated zoho and smampi, they allow for port 587 or 465. is there a way to use one of these ports instead of 2525?
 

cl-scott

ASUS Support
Jul 5, 2012
457
0
0
I do not think that there is going to be a single option out there that will be everything you want. You can also probably forget about migrating email into a webmail system short of a mass forward.

And while I would say your intentions are very much in the right place, I long ago found it's just easier for everyone involved to simply say that if I am going to volunteer my time and expertise to do you a favor, then you do not get to second guess my decisions. No hard feelings if you'd rather take it to some place like Geek Squad where you can pay someone to put up with your insane and contradictory desires. It doesn't matter if they're 7 or 70, you do not give into a child throwing a tantrum, or they just figure they can get away with that behavior next time. So either they concede the point to you, or it becomes someone else's problem to deal with. And yes, I do tell this to my own parents, much to their chagrin since they are the ones who essentially taught it to me.

My advice would be to say that you're willing to set him up with say either Gmail or Hotmail, but he has to pick one or the other, or just figure something out on his own. Further, you might want to turn the inevitable complaints about how it's different and the other way was better, back on him. Plan ahead, and think up a few examples from your childhood where you didn't like something, and your father told you essentially to just grow up and deal with it. So when he starts in on the complaining, just say, "Hey dad, remember when I was 6, and I didn't want to go to camp, but you told me to be a big boy?"

I know it's easier said than done, but you know no matter what you choose is not going to be good enough, so you can either extricate yourself from the situation or resign yourself to several long conversations about how this new web email thing is some great blight on society, and the world would be nothing but sugar and rainbows if people just used Outlook Express for everything.
 

Matt1970

Lifer
Mar 19, 2007
12,320
3
0
Some of the older Outlook Express versions allowed you to drag&drop the folders. Export Messages has always worked for me. Also under account setting you should be able to export his account setting. From there you should be able to import from his new program.
 

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
27,370
240
106
Well, I can relate somewhat to your dad's feelings. I use OE6 for outbound mail on this system, and WinMail (same menus and structure) on my Win7 laptops and newer system. I receive my mailk in all systems with good old Eudora Pro - it has the best management and migration system around.

Now, I travel a lot, and I send and receive email every day - no exceptions. Get you dada a laptop and he can do that.

BTW - your dad's just a kid . . . I'm 81! <LOL>:
 

IlllI

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2002
4,927
11
81
oh believe me a laptop would be a great solution.

unfortunately he already shot me down years ago lol
i'm at a crossroads now b/c he wants me to update his computer to something newer. i figured now would be the best(only) chance to migrate him off outlook.

he sees computers and technology as a necessary annoyance and has little to no interest learning new stuff or how to operate things, and he told me laptop was out of the question b/c he would never use it etc..

i figured my best chance was to find him something that was nearly identical to outlook or the user interface is laid out similar to outlook.. maybe just maybe i could teach him how to use that instead
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
59,984
10,462
126
How about something like Thunderbird? I don't remember what OutlookExpress looks like, ut I imagine it can be made to look similar. For travel he could use a portable version on a USB drive. I believe Tbird will import OE mail and settings, but you'd have to check that yourself.

Edit:
With webmail you're always at the mercy of the webmail provider. If you find one today that's perfect, it could change tomorrow, and there would be little you could do about it. You might be able to code a new stylesheet, but that can be a lot of work, and not especially easy if you aren't familiar with web development.
 
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corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
27,370
240
106
T-Bird's layout and functions are not all that different from OE, WInMail or WinLiveMail. OK - no laptop, no tablet, no smart phone. For the occasional email check, just about all hotels have business centers with terminals, and there's always local public access. And, all cruise ships have email access. And, most USA motels have Internet access in the lobbies. So, a list of URL, passwords, etc. could suffice. I've used Mail2Web - it gets the job done.

http://mail2web.com/

No need to migrate anything. Just get registered and access your mail free.
 
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