Have you ever been looking for a specific e-mail message but had HUNDREDS of messages to sort through? It's enough to drive you crazy. Instead of hunting through each message one by one, you can do a search (assuming you're using Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, or some other program that lets you do searches).

The trick is to look for specific keywords. Let's say you were looking for a message regarding a specific computer tip. We'll say you're looking for something on processors. Here's how to find that message:

In Outlook Express:

1. Click the Edit Menu, Find, Message. (If you're already in the folder where you want to look, you can choose the Find Message In This Folder option.)

2. If you know which folder the message is in, click the Browse button and select that folder.

If you're not sure where the message is at, click the Browse button, but select "Local Folders" from the top of the list.

3. Since we're looking for "processors" we'll type that in the "Message" field. This will return any message that has that keyword in the body of it.

4. Click the "Find Now" button. Outlook Express will sift through your mail messages and try to locate anything that matches your search criteria. If it finds messages with your keyword, those will be displayed in the box below. Just double-click a message to open it up and read it.

Netscape 6:

1. Click the Search menu , Search Messages...

2. You'll be presented with a screen that lets you specify search criteria from drop down boxes. If you know which folder a message is in, select it from the "Search for items in" drop down box. If you're not sure which folder it's in, select "Local Folders" from that box.

3. Since we're searching for the keyword "processors" we'll select "body" from the first criteria drop down box. The next should be "Contains." Then type your keyword in the third box. Hit the "Search" button and you're off.

4. If Netscape finds any messages, they will be displayed for you. Just double-click the message you want to read.