MailBounce File Formats

Macintosh: OE mail folders on the Mac are named, cleverly enough, "Mail", and are usually buried pretty deep. First, locate your topmost Outlook Express folder, which is typically called "Outlook Express 4.5". The next folder should be named "Outlook Express 4.5 Folder", and below that is "OE User(s)". Assuming that you are the "main" OE user on this machine, then the next folder is named "Main User"; if your OE setup has multiple users, then you will have to click on the folder that is named for that user. Below this folder, click on "Internet Mail". From here, open the folder in which you have stored your bounce messages. (For example, if they are in the IN box, then o0pen the folder named "Inbox"; if it is in a sub-folder, then you will have to continue navigating down to the correct sub-folder.) You will see a file called "Mail" and a file called "Index"; the data that MailBounce needs is in the file named "Mail".

Thus, a sample path to an OE mail folder called "Bounces" might look like this:

bounce file name = 'Macintosh HD:Applications:Outlook Express 4.5:Outlook Express 4.5 Folder:OE User(s):Main User:Internet Mail:Bounces:Mail'

(Note that while the "bounce file name" line is wrapped across multiple lines in your browser window, it must appear on a single line in your Preferences file.)

Windows: OE mail folders on Windows are typically a little easier to locate. However, it then becomes somewhat trickier to find the exact mail folder in which your bounces are stored.

To begin with, if you have a "typical" Outlook Express installation (that is, you haven't relocated any of the files, or renamed any of the folders), then all of your mail folders should be in the following folder:

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Mail

Once you're there, however, the tricky part begins. You will see files with extensions ".idx" and ".mbx"; the data that MailBounce needs is stored in the ".mbx" files. If your bounces are stored in the IN box, then the name of the file that you want is "Inbox.mbx", and your MailBounce Preferences file setting will look something like this:

bounce file name = 'C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Mail\Inbox.mbx'

However, if your bounces are stored in any other mailbox, then the name of the file is "FolderN.mbx", where "N" is some number. You will have to figure out which file has your bounces in it. One way to do this is to look at the sizes of the files; if you have a lot of bounces, then the file with the bounces in it should be similarly large. If that won't narrow it down, though, then you will have to open each file with a text editor (e.g., "WordPad"), and inspect its contents. Once you find the one with the bounces in it, you're all set; just append it to the path shown above. For example, if you find your bounces in the file named "Folder3.mbx", then your setting will look like this:

bounce file name = 'C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Mail\Folder3.mbx'

(Note that while the "bounce file name" line is wrapped across multiple lines in your browser window, it must appear on a single line in your Preferences file.)