I needed to find a file in my Inbox this morning. When I popped open Outlook 2000's integrated search panel, I noticed that the font was now Times New Roman (not the usual Tahoma). Odd. I hadn't changed anything recently that would have impacted this area. At least, I never had before. Since I just got this build picture perfect for ghosting, I was a little upset. I did a little investigating and discovered that this area was now “hooked” into Internet Explorer's font preferences. I hate Times New Roman with a passion, so I searched for a way to undo the preference. I compared registries with my laptop; they were exactly the same, yet my desktop's Outlook panes were messed up. I wasted three or four hours on this problem; I oughta bill Microsoft for that time lost.

Whenever I get stuck in an Office application, the first place I turn is to Woody. A few minutes ago, I received a response: “Did you install the Internet Explorer patch that was released yesterday? There's a bug in it that affects the pane in Outlook 2002. I assume Outlook 2000 is similarly afflicted.” I checked my laptop, which was fine this morning (and to which I had applied the new patch during the day), and sure enough – the font “problem” was there. Argh! I'd like to believe that they'll issue an update quickly, but right now, I'm hoping that sharing this info will save some of you from ripping your hair out over the matter (like I came close to doing). I'm a tweaker; I accept strange consequences as a way of life. But if something breaks, I appreciate knowing that I did it.