copying email addresses to a CD - is that possible??

Help - I want to copy my email address list onto a CD - so I will have it - if something happens to my computer
I have gone through the help section in Outlook Express & tried to do what is written - but the file is a WAB file - when opening it makes no sense.
Can someone help me sort out this problem - sorry for being so clueless to this one - but I've given up trying to find out what I can do.
Thanks in advance,
Lucy

 

It should not 'make sense' when you just try to open it.

But if disaster strikes and you set up a new operating system with new outlook express, it can use that file just fine. You'd basically just need to replace the blank WAB with your saved copy.

 

To Newt - forgive me - but I don't understand what you mean.
I am not setting up a new operating system - I just want to copy my current list of email addresses onto a CD - Is that so hard??
Thanks for the reply- much appreciated - but unfortunately - it did not solve my problem,
Lucy

 

What Newt is saying is that if something does happen to your computer, that wab file is what Outlook Express will need to import all your addresses back into its address book.

If what you want is a list of the addresses in text form so you can read them, in Outlook Express go to File then Export then "Comma separated values" as the type of file you want to end up with. Finish stepping through the wizard, naming the file whatever you want and choose which fields you want to have in the file you end up with. I only check "Name" and "email address" since that's the only information I keep in Outlook Express's address book.

When it's finished exporting, you can open the file you made in Notepad or Wordpad.

 

Thanks to all who answered my questions on copying email addresses.
After much frustration - I just copied & pasted the addresses in an email to myself & then saved it as a mail file. This way I can copy to a CD.

Thanks again,
Lucy

 

Lucy--The easiest way to copy OE files is to use OEBackup
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx
I can't remember if you can selectively backup only the Address Book, but don't you want to save your email messages, too?
The official MS way is
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/270/6/70.ASP

 

In the future, when you want to burn your WAB to cd, first, find it. It should be in Program Files/ Outlook Express by default. Burn it like you would any other file, or copy it to a folder you know you also want to burn ( maybe you want to archive your Favorites, too?)

When it comes time that you need it, open OE, click File, and follow the Import Addresses Wizard. Wherever I store the WAB, like Christer, I can double click on it, and it opens in the same ways. I date the WAB before I copy it to where I'm burning it, too.

Checklist for backups:
WAB
DBX files (your messages) OE>Tools>Options>Maint.> Store Folder
Favorites (bookmarks)
My Docs (will include my pics, my music etc by default)
Software Specific files (like Quicken)
IM History/Received and Shared folders
Cookies (if you care to)
Download Folder (software, drivers, stuff you don't have cds for and would have to search the net for again)
A Belarc to remind you how to put it all back together again

Johanna
sorry y'all...you know how I like lists

 

Address Book is a .wab file. It opens using wab.exe . If an Address Book ( .wab file) is not associated with wab.exe (to open and view it), then make the association in the Folder Options|File Types. The exact procedure varies with the version of Windows. If instructions are needed, please post back with info on Windows version.

 

I have WindowsXP home version. But - I am still confused as to what you all mean regarding the file types. Sorry - for being stupid about all of this -
Thanks for your help - to all - much appreciated.
Lucy

 

You're not being stupid, you just haven't learned it yet. We've all been there and most (probably all) of us are still learning it.

"File types" refers to the three letters after the dot on every file; also called the "file extensions." It is those three letters that tell Windows what program to use open that file.

If you don't see the dot and three letters on your files, open My Computer, click on Tools (at the top), click on Folder Options in the menu that opens. When the folder options window opens, click on the View tab at the top.

Scroll down to "Hide extensions for known file types," click on it to uncheck the box and click OK to apply the change and close that window.

It's a good idea to have that box unchecked so when you get an attachment with an email message and see the attachment has two file extensions...example: lookatthis.jpg.vbs....you'll know there's a 99.99% chance it's a virus. Normal files don't have two file extensions.

 

Lucy--File types refer to the kind of data stored in a file. Each file has a name, followed by an "extension" (a dot and then (usually) three letters). For example, some image files have the name picture.jpg. There are lots of image file types, .jpg, .gif, .bmp to name a few. And the Outlook Express Address Book has the file type extension .wab.
Now when you click on the icons for picture.jpg or addressbook.wab, they "open" and you can see the picture or the list of addresses. But picture.jpg did not do the opening; it just contained the data for the picture. You therefore also need an application that is capable of opening the .jpg files or .wab files. An application is a program that gives a computer instructions to accomplish a task, like opening the image file or an address book. (Each application also has a name, followed by (usually) three letters, which identifies its file type, but don't worry about that.)
The important thing is that a file type that contains data (like a .jpg image file) be "associated" with an application capable of opening it. The addressbook.wab file type needs to be associated with the file wab.exe.
Windows often makes many of these associations for you by default, so all you have to do is click on the file containing the data and it automatically is opened by the correct application.
When you click on Address Book within the OE program, it probably opens. But if you click on the addressbook.wab file it might not. So you have to make the association manually. The easiest way in WinXP is to right click on the addressbook.wab file, then "Open With... ". WinXP offers you a few choices, one of which is AddressBook. If you choose that and click the box at the bottom "Always use this program..." and then OK, you have just associated .wab files with wab.exe and .wab files should open so you can see the addresses. (Not the garbage you saw when you tried to open .wab with whatever application as described in your first post.)
There is also a more sophisticated method of associating file types with applications which involves clicking Tools on a Windows Explorer window, then Folder Options and going to the File Types tab. However, that is perhaps a story for another day. (In Windows Explorer you could click help and on the Index tab type in file types, click Display. You will find a lot of info there.)
Perhaps you knew all this already.

 

To Miz & Jim, & others who have answered me on this problem.
Thanks for the replies - I have now copied the advice into a word document, so I can go back & try all of these things you have instructed me to do.
Hope all of this works,
Thanks again,
Lucy