Yep - I probably DO have too many subfolders!

But there's really no good alternative, that I know of, considering
the volume of messages that I both receive and need to store for
reference.  And this is with messages older than one year already
archived.  Do you have any suggestions for working with so many
messages, as I must?

I looked into your suggestion regarding creating custom search folders
and placing them in the Favorites box - that worked very well.  I am
still working out the scheme to use that will serve me best there, but
that was a very helpful tip.  Thanks - much appreciated!

I don't understand, however, your suggestion to group by folders. When
I look at View>Arrange By, I do see a selection for 'Folders', but it
is greyed out on my menu.  I've been searching throughout the Office
website but I haven't yet found out why I cannot access that
selection.

Is there a specific method involving "...group by folder..." that you
had in mind when you posted that, Diane?  I really appreciate your
help here!

My current PST has upwards of 15,000 messages; it was more than 50,000
before I created the archive!

Pocomail, my previous email client, handles those numbers easily, from
both a storage and speed standpoint.  Filtering and scripting in
Pocomail allowed extremely organized storage and retrieval optons.

But then there are other features where Pocomail falls way short for
my needs.  It restricts HTML far too strictly for my needs - Eg, I
cannot forward HTML messages and retain any semblence of what the
original message looked like.  Like a "forced" security imposed on me.
Likewise, it does not support MAPI in any way, and I need to use MAPI
for some of the applications that my clients require.  So Pocomail,
while having served me well in the area of user interface, search
capabilities, speed, and organization, had to be shelved.

Although I have had Office 2003 for almost two years now, the last
time I used Outlook for email was with Office XP (2002), and a lot has
changed since that version!  And I don't see any one really good
resource for using Outlook for email.  The MS website has it spread
out in so many little bite-sized pieces, it is difficult to read as
you would a good old user guide.

Anyway, thanks again, Diane.  Maybe I'll find a great, authoritative
website for using Outlook email, similar to Chris De Herrara's
excellent Pocket PC site.  If you know of any, please let me know.

--
Jim McGowan