Choosing an E-Mail Program

If your business depends on e-mail, you need an e-mail program that's easy to use, yet powerful enough to handle a high volume of messages. While some e-mail programs are free, more robust ones can cost up to $100.

Before you buy an e-mail program, decide which features you must have and which ones you can do without. Looking at some of the features found in Eudora Pro, Microsoft Outlook, and other popular programs will help you determine what you need in an e-mail client:

Autocompletion. Autocompletion is a real timesaver. If you've e-mailed someone before, autocompletion will fill in an e-mail address after you type the first few characters.

Spellchecker. All good e-mail programs will include a spellchecker that catches misspelled words and typos.

Filters. Whether you get 50 or 500 e-mail messages a day, you can bring order to your inbox by letting your e-mail program automatically sort your incoming mail for you. Filters scan the sender and subject line, and route messages to folders you specify.