Has anyone used OE Classic?

Apparently it's designed to be a complete replacement for Outlook Express and works on all operation systems from XP up to and including Windows 10.

https://www.oeclassic.com/online-help-about-01

All help and info in links on left of page.

There is also a pro version showing comparison table

https://www.oeclassic.com/

- Cool !!!! Thumbs up for Hazelnut.

- Tried Windows Live 2012 (still had too many "rough edges") and Thunderbird (very good but lacked the "finishing touch" of some small things in OE).

- I DO hope that OE-Classic sticks to the KISS principle.

- First impression: It indeed seems that the good old Outlook Express is back. Although the GUI has changed somewhat. OE-classic seems to use the same/a similar email storage structure as Thunderbird. ("Sqlite" ???)

- The problem is that my email & internet "situation" is not quite straight forward.

- I think I even will buy the PRO version (at a later stage) for $ 25.

- Second impression. Yes, the good old Outlook Express is/seems to be back. Yes, the developers have done their best to re-create the way OE used to "look & feel (like)" and they did a surprising good job, IMO. Need to use & test it more though.

Keep us informed of your findings Willy2, I'm sure others might give it a go.

- Leo Nootenboom made a video on the topic "Microsoft & Mail". And he's "Spot on".

https://askleo.com/whats-microsoft-email/

- The program still seems to be lacking "IMAP" (??). The program works OK for me, even without IMAP.

http://whatismyipaddress.com/imap

- A next version of Outlook Express Classic will contain support for IMAP. The status of that is called "WIP" (Work in Progress).

- Version v2.6 has been released.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AluvxwylJSzyfcXkCy1jk3v8qOI

https://www.oeclassic.com/news

Whats wrong with just linking to the website Willy?

Version 2.6 seems to be the pro version.

https://www.oeclassic.com/readme

- Oooops. You're right.

- I already bought the PRO version and then one is allowed to access a few more webpages and one is able to download the latest (Beta ???) version.

- A next version of Outlook Express Classic will contain support for IMAP. The status of that is called "WIP" (Work in Progress).

IMAP is a pretty big deal if you sync your email among multiple devices. Pass for me for now, but I'll probably try it out once they implement IMAP.

- Adding support for IMAP is now "Top Priority" for the developers of OE Classic (OEC).

- The program still contains a number of small and (somewhat) larger bugs. E.g in the GUI. Post #8 in this thread gives a clue of what kind of bugs the developers have to deal with. Anyone who is interested in helping the developers to get rid of these bugs is very welcome to "join the gang".

- Like the old OE, OEC uses a number of thing from IE. So, IE is required to be present on one's system.

- Windows XP came with a number of programs I still use on my Win 7 system. E.g. MS Works 2003 and MS Photo Editor (found a stand alone version on the internet). And now OE has joined the gang of those old programs. And OEC is - for the time being - & in - at least - one regard better than Thunderbird.

Thanks for the news Hazelnut.

Willy2, I see where you can only add two email accounts to the free version, not a problem for me during testing. I wondering though how to get those two account folders displayed in the Folders pane on the left. Even though I have two Hotmail / Live mail accounts added, only one set of folders are shown. I haven't run across anything yet in the Help section. Does the "paid" version show all account folders?

Thanks !

- When you use 2 email adresses in one "Identity" then the emails will be collected in the same Inbox. The PRO version allows you to separate those email adresses, each in a separate "Identity".

http://www.oeclassic.com/online-help-identities

Willy2, Very helpful.

Thanks for responding!

- Version v2.6 has been released.

- OE Classic also has - like the good old OE - socalled "Rules". These "Rules" allow the user to automate the sorting of incoming emails.

- For those who want to follow the development of Outlook Classic:

https://www.oeclassic.com/news

- The weblog post of October 2016 mentions that the developers are already busy testing & tweaking OEC's support for IMAP.

- Have been "torturing" the program now for a while. And, of course, I already did find a bunch of things that can & will be improved in one of the next versions. But these bugs were predoninantly issues with how the GUI "behaves".

Several thoughts regarding OE Classic:

- Buyers of the PRO version are allowed to preview & test the new Beta versions.

- When the new Beta version is considered to be stable (enough) then a new free version will be released.

- OE Classic stores - like Thunderbird - the emails in a separate part of the "c:\users" folders, making it comparatively easy to back up the emails. (Zip them up & copy) In that regard Windows Live Email was a nightmare.

- I still like OEC's GUI better than Thunderbird's one.

- Although the program still has some small to minor GUI problems the program runs well and the GUI is good.

- For the time being I can live without IMAP support.

- Users can subscribe to the free OE Classic newsletter.

- OE Classic uses parts of Internet Explorer ( and Edge ??)

Conclusion: I am not going back to Thunderbird. I think OE Classic can become a serious competitor for Thunderbird.

- Made a screenshot of the main OE Classic GUI. It gives a clue of how the GUI looks like.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AluvxwylJSzygQvhJ2Z6ikh42tCP

(removed any personal data/info from the picture)

(I assume version v2.7 will be released soon)

http://oe-classic.findmysoft.com/

http://windowsreport.com/thunderbird-vs-oe-classic/