This version contains lots of smaller improvements and bug fixes.

New features

• Message rules word lists are sorted alphabetically when added, automatically eliminate any duplicates and also allow multi-selection (for faster Remove)
• Editing of already inserted Message Rules Conditions
• Message rule Account condition uses default account as a starting selection
• Message source editor does word wrapping instead of using long lines
• Message rules windows can be resized
• Email validator level can be adjusted in the new Advanced options
• Folder delete is no longer permanent operation and can be reversed as deleted folder is only moved to Deleted Items folder
• Nested folders are also deleted after deleting top-level folder
• Empty Deleted Items option now also permanently removes all subfolders inside Deleted Items folder
• More icon improvements

Bug fixes

• Undo/Cut/Copy/Paste/Select All toolbar buttons and Edit menu items were greyed in message editor
• Removed byte order mark from some messages causing improper display
• Zero length words in message rules are no longer allowed
• Message rule list Move Up/Move Down buttons did not select the item which was moved
• Message rules were not checked for invalid/deleted folders - such rules now show meaningful error and they can be opened to change the folder to an existing one
• Emails with frame/iframe content opened a new browser window - it is now blocked
• Account ID was shown instead of the name in the message rules condition list
• Switching between Edit/Source/Preview tabs in message editor caused message to be shown or sent incorrectly under specific circumstances
• Multiple clicks on message compose Send button could generate 2 (or more) messages in Outbox
• Message sending/saving is no longer allowed while the user is still editing source (user must switch back to Edit tab)
• Visual HTML editing features were not disabled while source editing was active
• Copy/Select All were not working in Preview tab of message editor
• Message editor fonts are more consistent when replying to other messages (keeping selected font type/size)
• After copy-pasting plain text in message editor, line breaks were not preserved as in original text file
• Reply All no longer includes user's own emails as a recipient in To/Cc list
• Change of focus to folders in main window after opening message in a new window no longer happens

We have great news for you!

OE Classic 2.5 adds support for the Message Rules feature!

And not just that - if you have used Outlook Express message rules you will quickly notice that you can do so much more with OE Classic rules. Yet, a great deal of effort has been put into making the user interface as easy and as intuitive as it can be.

Here is just a quick glance what you can do with message rules:

• Compare items by using simple or complex rule expressions
• Simple rules like Contains and Does not contain are provided but they are also extended with a few more - Starts with, Does not start with, Ends with, Does not end with, Is, Is not, Is blank, Is not blank
• Practically any email field can be matched for a specific condition
• Contains and Does not contain conditions can be used in combination with wildcards - asterisk (*) for a range of characters and question mark (?) for a single character. If you ever used wildcards you will immediately know how to use them. For example, you can search items like "John*" to locate "John Smith" or "John A. Smith" but this is just a brief example - you can do a whole lot more!
• You can also combine it with case sensitivity so "John" will not locate "john" and similar
• Lots of fields for searching are provided - From, Reply-To, To, Cc, Bcc, From/Reply-To/To/Cc/Bcc item count (number of emails in the list), Subject, Priority, Date, Message size and Account
• When matching numeric item conditions such as Date or Priority you can use extensive set of comparisons - for example, you can compare if date is between certain range (both interval and two interval ranges are supported), if it is older, newer, and you can search for absolute (specific date) or relative (age) date ranges.

Here is how the message rules look like

If Outlook Express would have the same user interface this is how it would compare

Numeric items can be matched for a single value or 2 types of ranges (inner and outer range)

Dates can be matched as age in days or fixed date, again as single value or ranges

OE Classic message rules are unique feature and are unseen in any email program we have examined and we did not just look Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail. But compared to Outlook Express, OE Classic rules are light years ahead - OE Classic is the only software which now offers this level of versatility and flexibility!

Additionally, our work on this feature is not done yet - we are preparing a few more conditions and a few more actions to be added to the message rule system very soon!

Except message rules, we also have a few additional useful features so here is the full list of changes in this release.

New features

• Message Rules/Filters added with fast short-circuit evaluation
• Insert Text From File and Insert Attachment in message editor now remember last used folder
• Insert Text From File can also insert HTML files
• Reply, Reply All, Forward (main window) and Insert Text From File, Insert Signature (message editor) make web/email links clickable when quoting plain text email or when inserting plain text signature
• File progress bar and buffered copy in database upgrade, prevents program becoming unresponsive for large files

OK, we have the good news and the great news! Which one do you want first?

So the good news first.

OE Classic web site now uses TLS encryption and this means you can access the page using https:// protocol so - https://www.oeclassic.com/ works and displays a padlock icon in many web browsers, indicating secure connection. The encryption is not forced upon user because many pages are public such as news or download page and they don't really need the encryption. Also, some older web browsers don't work well with the encryption and we wanted to support those too.

However, some web pages do benefit from encryption as they send/receive sensitive data (username and password, Pro version download) and these are - registered user page, IAF file decoder and so on. So for a few of these pages the encryption is mandatory and if you open them using non-secure URL (not starting with the https://) the page will automatically switch to secure version. If you prefer to load all pages using secure connection you can simply update your web browser bookmark to https://www.oeclassic.com/

We also plan more updates to the web site to better serve you so expect more news in a while. Keep in mind that we now also have a Facebook page so like us and follow us there as well - https://www.facebook.com/oeclassic

And the great news?

At last, OE Classic 2.5 adds the Message Rules feature. And it is already available for download for OE Classic Pro users on the registered user page!

Do you like to create stationery? With version 2.43 you will love it even more because it brings you message source editor with HTML syntax highlighting and Preview tab. And also some bug fixes and speed improvements.

On the bottom of message editor you will find 3 tabs for switching between visual editor, source editor and preview

Source editor shows HTML code and uses syntax highlighting

New features

• Added options for some of the earlier changes - Navigating to URL and From account selection
• Improved URL detection in text
• Message editor Source and Preview tabs (for editing HTML)

Bug fixes

• Typing a font name in Message Editor or Options allowed only a single letter to be typed and not a full name
• Some text messages have not been filtered for special HTML characters
• Fadeout of memo scroll bar showed some undesired artifacts
• Del key was not working for To/Cc/Bcc fields

Also, we started Facebook page for OE Classic. Therefore, you can also follow and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/oeclassic

If you are using Outlook.com as your email service you may have received a notification email with the title Action required for users of Windows Live Mail 2012 which, among other things, states that:

"Windows Live Mail 2012 does not support the synchronization technologies used by the new Outlook.com. When account upgrades begin at the end of June, you will no longer be able to receive email sent to your Outlook.com account in Windows Live Mail 2012. Please take action before June 30th, 2016, which is when we'll begin upgrading accounts that currently use Windows Live Mail 2012."

Behind the scenes (and not mentioned in the email itself), Windows Live Mail 2012 uses DeltaSync protocol, the proprietary Microsoft communications protocol to connect to Outlook.com and this means that some portion of WLM 2012 will stop working after the server upgrade.

However, this does not affect standard communications protocols such as POP3, IMAP and SMTP and therefore, this change does not affect OE Classic at all.

OE Classic will continue to work with Outlook.com because it uses standardized protocols which are not affected by this change to Outlook.com. So you don't have to worry about any of this, you will be able to continue receiving and sending emails in OE Classic just like you used to do so far. Also, this change does not affect any other email service such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, GMX or any other.

Of course in case of any change which will make it incompatible, we will modify OE Classic accordingly as we keep track of all such changes (including security protocols and vulnerabilities). But for the moment, the changes in OE Classic communication protocols are not needed and they will continue to work beyond the above mentioned date.

And just as a short update - the work on Message Rules is getting in the final stage and it will be one of the best and most flexible mail filtering systems available we have seen in any software so far (and light years ahead of the original Outlook Express extremely limited Message Rules system). Regardless of the power it will offer, it will have very easy to use user interface so it will be understandable to many users. More on all this very soon!

It is always a good thing when bugs are fixed but it is exceptionally good when obscure bugs are found. Version 2.42 fixes one such bug and also improves program speed, therefore, upgrade is highly recommended! Full list of changes follows:

New features

• Navigating to URL preview window is removed (URL is shown in status bar when mouse pointer is over the link)
• When replying or forwarding, From drop-down is now set to the same account which originally received the message
• Huge speed increase in URL detection in plain-text messages (over 10000% faster in some cases)
• Easier upgrade on a system where current user is not of administrator type
• Copy/Move window now remembers last used folder and window size
• Added popup menu for To/Cc/Bcc boxes in message editor
• Added Sort Ascending/Sort Descending to the message/contact list header popup menu
• Improved detection of external links (frames/iframes)
• Added sorting of Find/Search results
• Secondary sorting by Received column when sorted by any other column
• Program icon improved so it is no longer stretched for some icon sizes
• Added timestamp at the beginning of POP3 and SMTP connection log

Bug fixes

• Some test messages previously failed to open due to slow URL detection method
• After opening some messages, program could not be closed (and CPU was under full load)
• When re-opening a draft, From drop-down did not keep the account originally used and reverted back to default
• When shutting down the system with the program opened, the settings weren't saved
• Arrows up-down not working for scrolling message in Windows 10 is fixed with the latest Windows 10 updates (it was not an issue with OE Classic but with Internet Explorer)

This version utilizes fixes one smaller bug. If you haven't yet read release notes for the version 2.4 - please read them!

Bug fixes

• Fixed rare upgrade issues caused by created but unused identities

This version utilizes new file format which is different from version 2.32 and earlier - the new format makes room for new features (e.g. better sorting and searching, and soon, message rules and a few other unimplemented features). We try to keep the file format updates as rare as possible. The automatic upgrade program has been tested a lot and should be working well. Therefore, the users of version 2.32 should be able to easily upgrade to this version.

As for the users which are using version older than 2.32 - the program no longer supports upgrade from older versions. This has been done to make the update code simpler. However, you can still upgrade from version 2.31 and earlier using the OE Classic 2.32 database upgrade program.

After you upgrade from earlier version into the 2.32 format, you can then install and upgrade to the latest version. Future versions will only support one or two versions back and for those who don't upgrade for too long - they will have to upgrade using these intermediate upgrade programs which will be published occasionally - so it is much easier if you upgrade right away when an update is available. Note that users will have more than enough time to upgrade - version 2.32 has been available for almost a whole year.

Store folder backups made for older versions will be incompatible with this version so please make a new backup as soon as you upgrade the program to the current version.

New features

• Added export of address book into CSV format, also supports exporting each address book folder as a separate CSV file
• Added default email selection in address book - determines which email is used (personal, work or other)
• Compact All is much faster as it evaluates if folder needs compacting or if it can be skipped
• Signature support for multi-format emails (plain text and HTML), signatures from file and separators
• Updated application manifest for improved Windows 10 compatibility
• Reply and Forward message templates, fully user-customizable, with a few predefined templates to choose from
• Icon set has been improved (especially the small icons which are now much sharper)
• Clicking To/Cc/Bcc buttons in the message editor also sets the appropriate To/Cc/Bcc recipient box as default in the contact selection window (for example for double-clicking contacts)
• Trimming spaces from address book email fields to make error reports less frequent
• Rename Folder added to right click menu in the address book
• Signature editor has been redesigned and includes new Move Up/Down and Sort buttons (sorting takes separators into account)
• Accounts and signatures are now saved in SQLite database to make saving more secure and less frequent
• New fields added to folder index database which will be utilized in future updates (search by email, message threading, better sorting)
• When Subject is sorting column, message sorting and search by typing strips "Re:" prefixes to sort appropriately or to jump to appropriate message
• Search now also searches for email addresses and domains (From and To search fields)
• Generating of Message-Id, In-Reply-To and References headers has been improved for replies and drafts

Bug fixes

• Message decoder tweaks to improve filename handling
• Windows 10 was detected as Windows 8.1
• Delete confirmation dialog for deleting from 'Deleted Items' deleted messages if user clicked "X" (to close the window)
• Next opened message was not marked as read when currently opened message was deleted in viewer window
• Multipart/mixed messages have not been correctly decoded
• TLS version for newsgroup accounts was not saved
• Signatures, folders and accounts now use unique ID which will avoid reusing of the same ID and associated issues
• Signature with a single hyphen as name was interpreted as separator
• Cc and Attachments panels in the message viewer could change order when using Previous/Next buttons
• Decoding of Japanese (ISO-2022-JP) headers such as Subject/From is fixed
• To/Cc/Bcc field editor had issue with left key handling in a list with one item
• Better compatibility of visual controls with high DPI settings in Windows
• When selecting shortcuts (.LNK files) a file being pointed to is used instead - many servers reject .LNK files as a security risk
• Updated SSL/TLS libraries with the latest bug/security fixes (v1.0.2g)
• Updated built-in SQLite with the latest bug fixes (v3.11.1.0)

OE Classic has been tested on Windows 10 final version (build 10240, RTM) which will be released on July 29th, 2015.

Everything works as expected (including spell checker) and no issues have been found so far.

Of course, the program will be adjusted accordingly if there is a need to do so in the upcoming versions but the good news is that you can use it on Windows 10 - right now!

New features

• Additional editor message validation against missing file attachments, file attachments of zero size and too large attachments
• Error report when sending a message if the message size is larger than the maximum size allowed by the server
• Message decoder has been optimized to use fewer temporary disk files and more processing in memory, resulting in faster display of a message or message source
• Stationery and program data have been moved to a single folder for easier maintenance

Bug fixes

• Caret was invisible when renaming folders
• "Control has no parent window" error when clicking on To/Cc/Bcc buttons in the message editor
• External exception EEFFACE when importing some DBX files using Outlook Express 6 importer
• Message decoder tweaks to improve compatibility with other email programs
• Filenames which used Unicode characters have not been shown properly on the bottom of the message
• Computer name was not filtered for diacritical marks causing certain issues when connecting to outgoing server or generating message