Check your message rules for a possible explanation. If you move all
messages out of the Inbox to another folder, the color should return to
black if a rule is the cause.

Archiving messages it the Inbox is not recommended either.

Do not archive mail in default OE folders. They will eventually become
corrupted. Create your own user defined folders for storing mail and move
your mail to them. Empty Deleted Items folder regularly. Keep user created
folders under 100MB, and Default folders as empty as is feasible.

After you are done, follow up by compacting your folders manually while
working *offline* and do it often.

Click on Outlook Express at the top of the folder tree so no
folders are open. Then: FileWork Offline (or double click Working Online in
the Status Bar). FileFolderCompact all folders. Don't touch anything until
the compacting is completed.

In ToolsOptionsMaintenance: Uncheck Compact messages in background and
leave it unchecked. {N/A if running XP/SP2}.
--
Bruce Hagen
MS MVP - Outlook Express
~IB-CA~

"JE Timothy" wrote in message
...
Hi - For some reason which I cannot figure out, when I open OE to my
inbox, the folder name "Inbox" is now shown in RED in the 'folder list'
pane. All the other folders are listed in a black font; and the inbox used
to be. The red color of the font is the same as if one sets a certain
message to be 'watched' or if one sets the priority of an individual
message to be 'high'. I can only figure that I must have inadvertently
changed some setting but cannot figure out why this is occurring. I have
used OE for some years now and have never seen this happen before. I'm
using OE 6 and WIN XP Home Edition. Thanks in advance for any and all
help.