# [SOLVED] Outlook Express Messages Open Minimized



## joeburns (Sep 19, 2003)

I've been using Outlook Express 6.0 since it came out. Suddenly all my messages have started opening "minimized" on the taskbar. This includes new mail, old mail, deleted items - anything I try to open. Same thing happens when I "create mail". The message shows up minimized (on the taskbar) where I can then "maximize" it and write my letter.

Also the "restore" option doesn't work. 

Any ideas on how to get things back to normal would be appreciated. It's "workable" as is, but the extra step is frustrating.


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## AbvAvgUser (Oct 3, 2002)

Just a shot in the dark. Open a mail window, maximise it. Now keep Ctrl key pressed and click on Close. Open a new mail window and it should open maximised. This works in IE. Should also work in OE.


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## joeburns (Sep 19, 2003)

No luck that way. Didn't make any difference. 

Thanks anyway.

Joe


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## MT Redux (Sep 19, 2003)

Just doing a cursory look-through, I didn't see anything that quite fit your problem on the below site, but since I did find an answer to my weird displaced maximized window question there recently, maybe you might dig through it a little more extensively to see if you find anything helpful.

http://www.okinfoweb.com/moe/bugs/index.htm

Best of luck.


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## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

I think the trick on resizing the just opened window is you have to *drag it* to the size you want. Then hold the shift key as you click on the "X" to close it.


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## joeburns (Sep 19, 2003)

Hey this forum is great! Thanks for the replies. I've tried using the MS Forum and apparently nobody bothers reading or replying there.

MT,
I looked all thru OKINFOWEB. Great site with lots of good info. Unfortunately I couldn't find an answer to my problem.


Bassetman,
Maybe I haven't explained this well - or used the correct terminology. 

When I open a message it opens minimized. By that I mean it's shown as a "task" button on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. The message is not up where I can read it, or drag it to another size.

At this point I can right click, the "task" on the taskbar and select "maximize" to bring the message up. (the "restore" option is greyed out)

When the letter maximizes there is no way to resize it unless I could use the "restore" button at the top right of the message - which is also greyed out.

End result is I only have 2 choices - minimized or maximized. More important than that is getting the message to open up where I can read it (no matter the size) rather than minimized as a button on the taskbar.


Thanks once again for the help and ideas.

Joe


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## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

What Candy said! ^^^^^


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Lol, BM, I saw that both things I said, had been tried and didn't work, thus I removed my suggestion, sorry about that, wasn't fast enough I guess 

Since you say this just happened, I'm wondering about a scanreg /restore????? Anyone else have an idea about that?


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## joeburns (Sep 19, 2003)

OOPS - Gotta make a correcton here. Sorry about the confusion. This problem is actually on my uncle's machine and I had to call him to verify what I wrote last. Unfortunately I sent it first :down: 

The correction is - When the message is maximized, up where I can read it, the restore button is not greyed out. However if I do click on the restore button the message gets minimized back to the taskbar - rather than "restoring" to some intermediate size.

Of course this doesn't change my original problem at all.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Ok, I just tried this....I opened an email, and it was small, not completely minimized, but I expanded it, then X'd it while holding the shift key down. The next email was opened maximized. It is important he hold the shift key down while X'ing it closed.


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## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

I believe that "dragging" it to size is an important step too.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

No, I didn't drag at all, just maximized it, X'd it while holding the shift key.......and the very next email opened maximized, I minimized it, closed it while holding the shift key down, and next email opened smaller


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## joeburns (Sep 19, 2003)

OK, I got it. Thanks to you all. We were all in the ballpark but couldn't quite get it together. 

The problem was that a message had apparently been dragged down to about a one pixel size - then closed. Of course that means from then on messages were still one pixel in size when opened - unless I maximized them. They were there all along - I just couldn't see them.

Solution - 

1 - Open a message (on the taskbar)

2 - right click the task button, in the pop up menu click on "size."

3 - Use the keyboard arrows to make the message big enough to see. I also had to use "move" in the same way to get it back on my screen.

4 - From there I could drag the window out like normal, close it, and now messages open full size.

Thanks for the help. Should have been an easy fix. I won't forget it next time!


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Great! Thanks for letting us know.


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## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

Good job!


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## jpmcdonough (Apr 21, 2005)

joeburns said:


> OK, I got it. Thanks to you all. We were all in the ballpark but couldn't quite get it together.
> 
> The problem was that a message had apparently been dragged down to about a one pixel size - then closed. Of course that means from then on messages were still one pixel in size when opened - unless I maximized them. They were there all along - I just couldn't see them.
> 
> ...


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## bassetman (Jun 7, 2001)

Welcome to TSG! 
Are you trying to get help with a problem here?


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## jpmcdonough (Apr 21, 2005)

yes i tried the solution and it doesn't work on my computer. i am using Outlook 2000 for my email and it may be different. if i open the message twice it looks okay - this has been happening for about two weeks.

thanks


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Are you sure the first time, it's not just going down into the task bar? What version of Windows are you running?


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