Express Assist 9 - Detailed Update Notes
Express Assist 9 includes a number of new functions and features. This page is intended to acquaint prior Express Assist users with the new features. The most important updates include:
- Works with Windows Vista - Windows Vista™ is supplied with a new mail program named "Windows Mail [WM]". Windows Mail will replace Outlook Express. Outlook Express will not be available on Vista. Windows Mail looks similar to Outlook Express but is completely different "under the hood". In addition, on Vista the old Windows Address Book (WAB) has been replaced with "Windows Contacts". While older versions of Express Assist will "run" on Vista - the older programs do not work with the new Windows Mail or Windows Contacts.
- Support for Windows Mail - EA9 will provide a full backup of Windows Mail [WM] including:
- Backup of all or selected mail folders.
- Restore of all mail folders - either directly or for import.
- Restore of selected mail messages.
- Retrieve selected mail messages as eml or txt files.
- Works with Windows Live Mail - Windows Live Mail [WLM] is a new mail program available for Windows XP™ and Windows Vista™ users. WLM is intended as a replacement for Outlook Express and for Windows Mail. Express Assist 9 works with all three mail programs [OE], [WM], and [WLM] and will assist with the transfer of data between these programs on different machines.
- Support for Windows Live Mail - EA9 will provide a full backup of Windows Live Mail [WLM] including:
- Backup of all or selected mail folders.
- Restore of all mail folders - either directly or for import.
- Restore of selected mail messages.
- Retrieve selected mail messages as eml or txt files.
- Support for Windows Contacts - EA9 will provide a full backup of Windows Contacts including:
- Backup of all or Windows Contacts.
- Restore of all or selected Windows Contacts.
- View contacts in the backup.
- Support for Outlook Express - EA9 will continue to provide a full backup of Outlook Express mail including:
- Backup of all or selected mail folders.
- Restore of all mail folders.
- Restore of selected mail folders.
- Restore of mail folders for import (new in EA9.)
- Restore of selected mail messages.
- Retrieve selected mail messages as eml or txt files.
- Cross Platform Restore - EA9 provides facilities to transfer data (stored within Express Assist backup files) to and from Vista, including:
- Restore Outlook Express messages folders for import into Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail.
- Restore Windows Mail messages for import into Windows Live Mail.
- Restore Selected Messages between Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail (any combination).
- Restore the Windows Address Book (WAB) to Vista for import into Windows Contacts.
Express Assist 8 - Detailed Update Notes
- Additional Backup Groups - The EA9 backup has been expanded to include:
- Backup and Restore of "My Documents" and "My Desktop".
- Backup and Restore of the Mozilla FireFox Browser [including FireFox 3.0] data.
- Ability to add definitions to Backup and Restore any "Personal" folders or files.
- Jobs - EA8 allows the creation of Backup "Jobs". You may, for example, wish to backup email daily followed by a backup of the documents weekly. Thus you could define a "daily" and a "weekly" Job.
- Backup Now! - The new "Backup Now!" function replaces the "Quick Backup" found in prior versions of Express Assist. Backup Now! allows you to select a prior defined "Job" and then run Express Assist "normally" (i.e. by going through the "wizard" steps) or run it similar to a scheduled backup using the "Backup Now" button (which bypasses the "wizard" steps).
- New Scheduler - The Express Assist Scheduler has been completely re-written. You may now exercise much greater control over the scheduled job, including:
- Wake the computer to do the backup.
- Run a job multiple times the same week.
- Run a job on multiple days of the month.
- Issue a warning before the backup begins.
- OE Password Backup - Windows stores the Outlook Express email passwords in a protected and encrypted area. Express Assist will save and restore the mail account passwords (along with the mail account settings).
- Encryption - In prior versions of Express Assist, a backup could be password protected. EA8 expands this facility to allow a backup to be encrypted using AES Encryption. AES has been adopted by the US Government.
- Additional Options:
- Backup Folder - you may set a default backup folder as well as a backup folder for each Job.
- No Compress Items - many files should not be compressed during a backup (e.g. JPG files), as further compression does not provide any benefit.
- Job Settings - most system options may be set separately for each Job.
- Backup Copy - EA8 will (optionally) make a copy of the backup file to a second location for additional security.
- Text/Log Viewer - The built-in text file viewer is now separate from the main program. Hence, you may view multiple files at a time (i.e. you do not need to close the first view to launch another).
- Speed Improvement - When saving a large number of files, the steps required to load and display the list of files is many times faster than in prior versions of Express Assist.
- Live Update - The Live Update process is now separate from the main program. Hence, you only need to grant access to the Internet (through any firewall) once.
