Here's a list of the tips included below:

• Automatically starting Notes Minder when Windows launches;
• Organizing your Notes and Domino mail file folders in R5;
• Easily create To Do items and Calendar entries from mail messages in R5;
• Playing with NotesBuddy;
• Use Mood Stamps to help your messages stand out.

Without further ado, let's get into the tips!

Automatically starting Notes Minder when Windows launches
As you probably know, Notes Minder is a program that comes with Notes. It not only checks to see if you have new email messages (whether or not Notes is open), but also can give you a visual or audible notification and allow you to see a summary of the messages that you've received, all without having to open Notes. This comes in handy when you're working on a problem and only want to read your email when a truly important message has arrived.

I didn't really start seeing the benefit of using Notes Minder until I set it to automatically launch when I started Windows, since by default you have to manually start it when you want to use it. Now Notes Minder is checking my mailbox for new messages every five minutes, and I no longer worry about not reacting quickly to an important message when I'm lost in programming something cool.

Here is how to set Notes Minder to automatically start when you launch Windows (these instructions are based on Windows 98):

Select Start->Settings->Taskbar & Start Menu. Then select Start Menu Programs tab, the Add button, and then the Browse button.

Navigate to the file called "nminder.exe" in your main Lotus Notes program directory (i.e., c:\lotus\notes\nminder.exe) and select Open and then Next.

On the Select Program Folder dialog box, scroll down and select the folder called StartUp (not Start Menu) and select Next. Name the shortcut "Notes Minder" and select Finish.

Restart your computer, and Notes Minder will automatically start and prompt you for your Notes password. You can modify how often Notes Minder checks for messages and what types of alerts you receive by right-clicking on the icon in the system tray and choosing Properties.