Your personalized files stay on the machine they were created on, so you cannot move them easily from machine to machine. You can by making a PST file, but that works well only as a backup of your messages and contacts.

If you use Outlook with Exchange and not Outlook Express, it will work on different machines because Exchange is a web client. When you build your address book in a webmail client, you can access your email and your address book via the Web. Every email system I am aware of today allows this. It means your email is not downloaded to a machine. It is always available on the Internet.

I use Eudora sometimes at my apartment, but I usually use the webmail client there and always use it at machines away from home.

You can get to your email using webmail by going to the link provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or email provider, such as www.att.net or www.gmail.com. You can then enter addresses in the address book. They will always be there when you access your webmail from any computer on the Internet anywhere in the world. This works really well when you use a different machine than usual. You can also set your signature in it as well as other features. I use it on my laptops, in my work computer and on friends’ computers.

To keep Outlook Express from downloading go to Tools, Internet Accounts, click the Mail tab, click the Account Name and click Properties and the Advanced tab, check Leave a Copy of Messages on Server, which is in bottom of box. Then click OK several times back to your main view.

Thank you to Nick for the question.

Dwight Watt is a computer instructor at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. He also does computer work for businesses, individuals and organizations in the Swainsboro area. His webpage is www.dwightwatt.com. Send your computer questions to dwight@dwightwatt.com.