By David Gewirtz
Update: We accidentally uploaded the pre-edited version of this article, with many, many typos. Hopefully, this one's a little more clear. Ironic, given the topic, eh?
Last week, we helped a reader deal with the problem of managing multiple email accounts from a single Outlook environment. This opened an interesting can of worms, because the question can be generalized: how can I make sure I don't screw up when I send stuff?
As it turns out, two of our favorite developers, Sanjay Singh of Standss and Mike Sperry of Sperry Software have developed a number of Outlook add-ins that are designed to help out. After all, mistakes made while emailing could go from bad...to really bad.
Feature comparison
Sanjay and Mike take slightly different approaches to their add-ins. Sanjay has one add-in, called SendGuard, that provides a bunch of features in one package. Mike has a whole bunch of add-ins that each solve a more pinpoint part of the problem. The table in Figure A shows the features of each.
FIGURE A
Each product does a lot for you. [1] and [2] indicate special features of a particular implementation. These features are described below. (click for larger image)
Let's go through each of the features in turn, and explore how they might help you out. You may find that one product meets your needs better than another, or that a combination of features fits your needs more appropriately.
Attachment warning
Have you ever sent an email message where you implied you were enclosing an attachment, but then never did? It might not be the end of the world, but if you're either in a hurry to make sure your recipient gets your message or don't want to look foolish, an attachment warning feature can be helpful.
The way both Standss' SendGuard and Sperry's Attachment Forget Me Not work is they scan the text of your message for words that indicate you've enclosed an attachment. When you hit send, if no attachment was actually attached, they warn you about your error.
This feature is embodied in a $19.95 standalone product by Sperry, but is included in the SendGuard program from Standss. For corporate and legal users, the Sperry implementation has the slight edge because it allows you to define some of your own terms. For example, attorneys might also want to scan for the word "docket", programmers might want to keep an eye out for the words "stub" or "code", and so forth.
Warn against blank subjects
Here again, both Standss' SendGuard and Sperry's Attachment Forget Me Not provide some air cover for a potential mistake. Empty subject lines are particularly problematic because many filters scan for empty subject lines and simply discard them before the message reaches the recipient.
