Here's an alternative method in which to address outgoing webtv email. This method is much faster than clicking the "TO:" icon to bring up the addybook pop-up panel.

When you enter an addy in the WebTV addy book, it gives you 2 lines to fill in. The top is for a name, and the 2nd is for the email addy.

Say for example, you have an entry like this:

Dad

MyFathersEmail@aol.com

When you go to write dear old Dad an email, all you have to do is remember what you have typed into your addy book in the NAME area for his entry.

In the "TO" line, just type~~~    dad
This works even if you have the empty addybook glitch, which sometimes occurs after you've made some modifications to your book or added / deleted some entries.

I have the first 6 entries in my personal webtv addybook with numbers in the name area, so that they are at the top of the list in the folowing order:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
When I write an email to one of the first 6 people in my book, I just type a 3 in the "TO:" line, for example.
This also works when you have a GROUP of people in the same entry.

For instance, all the WAG team members are in my same addy book entry, and the name I assigned to the entry could be "0" (zero).
When I want to forward something to the entire wag team, all I enter in the TO line is ~~~    0

Or, if I make the name for that paticular entry: WAG, then I could just type in the "TO:" line ~~~   wag.
You have to type out exactly what you have named the paticular entry, therefore if you use spaces or 2 names seperated with a space, you will need to type that all out exactly the way you entered it.
This is why short names should be used with no spaces, so that they are easy to remember.

Something else that I should mention is the fact that you don't need to worry about capitalization, when you use the "Name" in the "To:" line on an email, because either the name nor the addy is case-sensitive.

Our addy books will also NOT allow 2 different entries to have the same "name" on the top line, for more than 1 entry.
If you already have an entry with the name: Bill, you CANNOT make another entry with the same name.
However, you can alter the name slightly to make it unique, such as putting an extra space and/or number, etc, in front or behind it, such as 1Bill, 1 Bill, etc.
When you attemp to duplicate an already exsisting name entry, you will get a pop-up that says:
"You already have an entry with this name".
Then you are given the choice to to REPLACE the other one with the one you are now trying to make.

Here's another little known fact:
You know that to send email to ANOTHER person on webtv, all you have to type is their username.
For example to email me from your webtv, all you have to type is martok2112
You don't need the ending "at"webtv.net

Ok, I know thats OLD news, but here is the GOOD part:
Say for example, that you put one of my YAHOO addy's in your address book.
Example: Martok_Krenn"at"yahoo.ca
Ok for a NAME on this NON-webtv addy, say that you use martok2112
Now say that you want to send me some email to my YAHOO addy, and you type in the TO line:
martok2112
Where do you think that email is going to go?
Will it go to my Yahoo addy, or will it go to my WEBTV addy?

The NAME in your webtv addybook entry OVERRIDES any real webtv email address of the SAME NICK.
Cool, huh? try it for yourself and have fun.....
Just don't use me for your guinea-pig....LOL

Someone also has recently reminded me (free of charge, I might add - LOL), of the old "drop-menu" trick to more easily navigate the addy-book pop-up, when you actually click on the "TO:" icon.
In both the addy-book pop-up, and any drop-menus you encounter, simply hitting the first character of a known name inside them, will take you either directly to, or close to that entry.

Example: Say in your addy book, you have: Martok, Mildred, Mom.
Instead of scrolling down all the way to the "M's" in the addybook, just hit your "M" key and you will be taken to the very first "M" entry. Tapping the "M" again will go to the second "M" entry, etc.
This involves allot more steps than simply typing the name for any given addybook entry, but it is easier to navigate the pop-up if you prefer to click on the "TO:" icon.
Also, if you have the empty addybook glitch, that trick is useless because there are no "M's" appearing in an empty list.
The best bet is to use small, easy to remember name entries, and just type out the short name in the "TO:" line.

Since around the 2.7 update, we have had the "-empty-" glitch in our addybooks. When altering the addybook entries, some got the glitch and had to cure it by powering off and back on, or to simply switch users, or to go directly into the addybook itself to address email.

When the 2.9 update came out, this glitch happened more often, and sometimes without the provocation of altering any addybook entries.
Henceforth came the 2.9.1 patch. The patch, when it first came out, was the latest update, and was exactly the same as the 2.9, except that it is a "patch" for the "-empty-" glitch.
Normaly, an update is offered, (when available), as you first connect to the web, or when you switch users.
However, since the glitch didn't happen to everyone on webtv, the 2.9.1 patch was not offered as most updates are, but only by customer support, and later by word-of-mouth from other users who knew how to get it.

Fastforward to June 05. In addition to server side changes, Msntv has added more content, and many new features to the 2.9.1 patch, and has released it as an ongoing, full-blown client-side update. Instead of a patch, it's simply called the 2.9.1 update.
Watch the "Misc." menu on my HOME page for a new tute covering the latest additional features added to the 2.9.1.

There are multiple ways to get the 2.9.1 and here are some, but not all of them.

• By calling 1-800-GOWEBTV, and asking a C.S.R. to give it to you.



• Using the "Jenny" code. The Jenny code's name, derived from the popular song, emblazed "Jenny's" phone number into the memories of just about eveyone, even decades after the song disapeared from radio
  Turn off your box, hit the keyboard's "Option" button 3 times, and type in "Jenny's" phone number: 8675309
  You'll see the box's lights flash, and when you power back on, you'll get the latest update, no matter which version is the newest.



• Using one of the "GO TO" panel trick codes.
  While online, hit your "GO TO" button, and DELETE the http:// that's already there. Then type in one of the following codes: (Actually the following are clickable)
  
  wtv-tricks:get-2.9.1
  
  OR:
  
  wtv-tricks:/offer-beta-addressbook-upgrade

Don't be fooled by the last trick code. The one labled as beta is not some untested version. It is the same exact 2.9.1 as you get when using any other method of getting the update. The beta site is what the CSR's send you if you ask for 2.9.1 by email.
All methods above gets you the latest full-blown 2.9.1 update.

Our WebTV addybook can normaly only hold 150 enties, but there are 2 ways to beat the system. 1) You can add multiple addys seperated by a comma and a space into a single entry spot, provided that you generally email the same email to all those addy's. As I described above, I have the entire WAG team entered into 1 single entry.

Example:
WAG
addy1@webtv.net, addy2@webtv.net, addy3@webtv.net, addy4@webtv.net, addy5@webtv.net

Turn on your instant messenger, and add the desired addy as a "buddy", via the "Contact" icon on the I.M. panel, and checkmark the box that reads:
"Make this person a buddy".
Your new buddy will be forced into your addybook, even if you already have the max. of 150 entries. It works, try it....
This next part, I have NOT confirmed, but afterwards, it may be possible to go into the addybook, and edit the entry's settings and remove them from your I.M. buddy list, or go to the settings area of your instant messenger and block them, while retaining the over-all addybook entry, thus beating the 150 entry max..