Creating E-mail Accounts
If a previous version of Outlook is installed on your computer, the process of installing Outlook 2002 automatically creates e-mail accounts equivalent to those you previously had. Unless you need additional e-mail accounts, you won't have to go through the process of creating e-mail accounts for Outlook 2002.
This chapter assumes you've just installed Outlook 2002 on a computer that didn't have a previous version of Outlook installed. The first time you run Outlook, the E-mail Accounts Wizard leads you through the process of creating an e-mail account. You can subsequently select Tools, E-mail Accounts to create additional e-mail accounts. In either case, you see the window shown in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 Use this window to start creating a new e-mail account.
NOTE
The E-mail Accounts item is available in the Tools menu when you have most Information viewers displayed. The item isn't available when you have Outlook Today, Outlook Update, My Computer, My Documents, or Favorites displayed.
In the window shown in Figure 3.1, select Add a New E-mail Account and click Next to display the window shown in Figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2 This window lists the types of e-mail accounts you can create.
The next few sections separately describe the process of creating each type of e-mail account. You need to read only those sections that apply to the types of accounts you want to create.
Creating a Microsoft Exchange Server Account
Outlook can be used as a client for Exchange Server 5.5 or Exchange Server 2000. The process of creating an e-mail account in Outlook to access an Exchange Server account is the same for both versions of Exchange Server.
Before you can create an Exchange Server account in Outlook, you must already have an account on your Exchange server. The process of creating an account on the server is the responsibility of the Exchange administrator and is not covered in this book. For information about creating accounts on an Exchange server, consult a book such as Special Edition Using Microsoft Exchange 5.5 or Special Edition Using Microsoft Exchange 2000, both published by Que.
To create an account in Outlook to access a Microsoft Exchange Server account, in the window shown in Figure 3.2, select Microsoft Exchange Server and then click Next to display the window shown in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3 This dialog box is shown here after the server and user names have been entered.
NOTE
Outlook can support only one Exchange Server account at a time. If you already have an Exchange Server account set up, a message explains this fact.
The information you enter in the window shown in Figure 3.3 is supplied by your Exchange administrator. Enter the name of your Exchange server, and enter your username on the server.
After entering your username, click Check Name to verify that the name you entered is for a valid account on the server. When you do that, Outlook displays a message reminding you that the new account you're creating will not be available until you close and restart Outlook. Click OK to acknowledge that message. After a short delay, if you entered the correct server name and a valid username, Outlook underlines the username you entered to verify that the account exists on the server.
If the username you entered does not correspond to the name of an existing account on the server, Outlook displays a message stating The name could not be matched to a name in the address list. That can happen because you didn't correctly enter the username supplied by the administrator or, perhaps, because the administrator didn't tell you the correct name. Try reentering the username. If, after that, the problem still exists, contact the administrator for help in solving the problem.
Another possible problem is that you didn't enter the server name correctly, or the server is not accessible. If that happens, Outlook displays a message stating that Outlook could not log on. Check that you entered the server name correctly. If the problem still exists, contact your administrator for help.
At this stage, you can click More Settings to refine your Exchange Server account but you probably don't need to do so. Click Next to display the next window. In that window, click Finish to complete the process of setting up the account. Before you can use the account, select File, Exit to close Outlook. Then restart Outlook.
For information about refining an Exchange Server account, see "Refining an Exchange Server E-mail Account in Outlook," p. 429.
After restarting Outlook, you can select Tools, E-mail Accounts to display the window previously shown in Figure 3.1. In that window, select View or Change Existing E-mail Accounts and then click Next to display a window in which the Exchange account you just created is listed.
Creating a POP3 Account for Internet E-mail
Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is the protocol used by many Internet and intranet e-mail servers. You can create as many POP3 accounts in Outlook as you need. The accounts you create in Outlook access accounts that already exist on a POP3 server. Before setting up a POP3 account in Outlook, contact an ISP or other POP3 server administrator to have an account set up for you.
NOTE
Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a protocol used to receive e-mail from a server. Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) is a protocol used to send e-mail to a server.
Creating an Account with an Internet Service Provider
Establishing an account with an Internet service provider usually involves choosing an ISP and then making a phone call to that ISP, or using your Web browser to connect to that ISP's Web site. Either way, you must give the ISP your name, suggest a name for your account, provide a password, and agree to some way that the ISP will bill you (usually via a monthly charge to one of your credit cards). After you've done that, the ISP will provide whatever information is necessary for you to log on to your account.
Don't choose your ISP lightly. Although you can change your ISP at any time, when you change your ISP, your Internet e-mail address changes.
You can choose from many ISPs, many of whom offer different services. Consider the following:
Some ISPs have local access telephone numbers in many parts of the country, whereas others have local access numbers only for one city or region. If you're likely to want to connect to your ISP while traveling, choose an ISP that has local access numbers in the places you expect to visit.
Some ISPs allow you to have more than one e-mail address for your account so that people who share the account can keep their e-mail separate. This is particularly useful for a family or small business. Not all ISPs offer this service.
Some ISPs accommodate various types of connections, including DSL, ISDN, and others. If you expect to become a frequent Internet user, choose an ISP that offers high-speed connections, even if you don't use those connections initially.
Some ISPs offer free or low-cost disk space you can use to create your own Web site; others don't. If you anticipate having your own Web site, investigate the cost of it being hosted by the ISP before you make your choice.
Most ISPs provide access to Internet newsgroups. If there are some newsgroups you need to use, make sure the ISP you choose provides access to them.
After you've evaluated ISPs based on these criteria, ask around to get the opinions of local people who use the services you're interested in. What you need is an ISP that provides the services you require and that gives you fast, reliable access. Only people's experience can give you the information you need to make your choice.
Creating an Internet Account in Outlook
To create an Outlook account to access a POP3 account on a server, select Tools, E-mail Accounts to display the window previously shown in Figure 3.1. Select Add New E-mail Account and click Next to display the window previously shown in Figure 3.2. Select POP3 and click Next to display the window shown in Figure 3.4.
Figure 3.4 This is where you set up a POP3 e-mail account. The window is shown here with information entered.
The administrator of the POP3 server provides the information you have to enter into the boxes in the window shown in Figure 3.4. The information you enter in these boxes must be correct; otherwise, you won't be able to connect to the server.
CAUTION
I strongly recommend you leave the Remember Password box unchecked. Check this box only if you are totally confident that you are the only person who has access to your computer. By leaving this box unchecked, you have the minor inconvenience of having to enter your e-mail password each time you log on to the server. On the other hand, if you check this box, anyone who has access to your computer can download e-mail addressed to you and, what might be of even more concern, send e-mail on your behalf.
After completing the six text boxes in this window, the Test Account Settings button becomes enabled. You have more work to do before you click that button. Click More Settings to display the dialog box shown in Figure 3.5.
TIP
It's particularly important to make the correct choices in the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box's Connection tab before you attempt to test your account settings.
Choosing General Settings
The Internet E-mail Settings dialog box is initially displayed with the General tab selected.
Figure 3.5 Enter some basic information about the account here.
By default, Outlook proposes to give the new account a name that corresponds to the name of your POP3 mail server. You can change the proposed name to anything you prefer. The name you choose is the name by which you'll subsequently select the account elsewhere in Outlook. If you have several accounts on the same server, you should give each of those accounts a different name so you can easily identify them.
You can, if you like, enter the name of your organization in the Organization box. Although you might expect that name to appear in messages you send, it doesn't. There appears to be no reason to enter a name in this box.
When people reply to messages you send, those messages are normally sent to the e-mail address from which you sent the original messages. If you want replies to be sent to a different e-mail address, enter that address in the Reply E-mail box.
Choosing Outgoing Server Settings
Select the Outgoing Server tab, shown in Figure 3.6, to refine the account.
Figure 3.6 Use this dialog box to refine the account.
In most cases, you can log on to an Internet mail server and receive and send messages without much ado. However, you might have to separately log on to the SMTP server to which you send messages. If that's the case, check the My Outgoing Server (SMTP) Requires Authentication box. When you do so, the initially dimmed parts of the tab become enabled.
Leave the default, Use Same Settings as My Incoming Mail Server selected if you have to separately log onto the SMTP server, but do so with the same username and password as for the POP3 server. If the SMTP server requires a different username and password, select Log on Using, and then enter the required username and password in the two boxes.
TIP
As mentioned previously, leaving the Remember Password box checked defeats the purpose of having a password. Uncheck that box to ensure your security.
Check the Log on Using Secure Password Authentication box only if instructed to do so by the e-mail administrator. This is required only if the server has a second level of security. In that case, when you log in, the server requires you to enter another password. Don't check this box unless the server requires you to do so.
By default, when you log on to an e-mail server, Outlook sends any messages currently in your Outbox folder to the server and then downloads messages from the server to your Inbox folder. If you prefer Outlook to download messages before it sends messages, check the Log on to Incoming Mail Server Before Sending Mail box.
Choosing Connection Settings
Select the Connection tab to display the dialog box shown in Figure 3.7.
Figure 3.7 Use this dialog box to specify how you want to connect to an e-mail server.
By default, Outlook proposes to connect to the mail server using your local area network (LAN), which is appropriate if you're using an intranet server. Most likely, you're setting up an account to access an Internet server that you access by way of a phone line. If you have a DSL connection, consult your DSL provider for information about setting up and using that connection.
If you're not connecting by way of your LAN, select Connect Using My Phone Line or Connect Using Internet Explorer's or a 3rd Party Dialer, whichever is appropriate. If you select Connect Using My Phone Line, the Modem section in the lower part of the dialog box becomes enabled. Use that section to select the dial-up connection you want to use and, optionally, to set the properties of that connection or to create a new connection.
Choosing Advanced Settings
Select the Advanced tab to display the dialog box shown in Figure 3.8.
Figure 3.8 These are the Internet e-mail advanced settings.
By default, Outlook proposes the Server Port Numbers that most servers use. Similarly, the two check boxes are unchecked. Change these settings only if you're instructed to do so by the server administrator.
By default, the Server Timeouts slider is set to 30 seconds. This is the time Outlook waits before telling you it hasn't been able to make a connection to the server. If you have a problem establishing a server connection, try increasing the time by dragging the slider to the right.
The Delivery section at the bottom of the dialog box is something you might find useful. By default, the Leave a Copy of Messages on the Server box is unchecked. This means that messages for you on the server are deleted as soon as you've downloaded them. When you're working from your office or home, that's a reasonable thing to do. There's no reason to clutter up your server's storage with messages you've already downloaded. However, if you're traveling and download messages to your laptop, you might want to leave messages on the server so that, when you return home, you can download those messages to your principal computer. Check the box to leave messages you've downloaded on the server.
NOTE
Your ISP or other mail server probably sets a limit to the space you can use to save messages and also might have a limit on the time for which you can save messages.
Testing Account Settings
After you've completed entering information into the four tabs described in the preceding four sections, click OK to return to the E-mail Accounts window shown previously in Figure 3.4. Then click Test Account Settings. Outlook displays the dialog box shown in Figure 3.9.
Figure 3.9 This dialog box lists the five steps used to test account settings.
Depending on your dial-up settings, Outlook either starts to attempt making a connection to your mail server or displays a dialog box in which you have to click Dial to start the attempt. If the account is correctly configured, check marks appear at the left of each step displayed in the dialog box shown in Figure 3.9 and the word Completed appears at the right of each step when that step is completed satisfactorily. When all five steps have been completed (a process that normally takes only a few seconds), a message at the top of the dialog box states Congratulations! All tests completed successfully. Click Close to continue.
If a step in the test process doesn't complete successfully, an error message appears describing the nature of the problem. You can use the information in this message to deduce which setting has caused the problem. Close the message box to return to the window previously shown in Figure 3.4 so you can correct the settings.
Finalizing the Account Setup
After successfully testing the account, click Next in the windows previously shown in Figure 3.4. Outlook displays a window that states you have successfully entered all the information required to set up your account. Click Finish to close that window.
The first time you download messages from the account, you'll see a message with the content This is an e-mail sent automatically by Microsoft Outlook's Account Manager while testing the settings for your POP3 account.
Creating an IMAP Account for Internet E-mail
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a protocol that offers more capabilities than POP3. At present, it's not generally available from ISPs; you're more likely to require an IMAP account to access e-mail on an intranet. Follow the procedure described in the section "Creating a POP3 Account for Internet E-mail," p. 49 for information about setting up an IMAP account.
No provision exists to automatically test an IMAP account.
Creating an HTTP Account for Hotmail
Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) is a protocol for sending hypertext documents by way of the Internet. It is the protocol used by Hotmail and some other e-mail systems.
NOTE
You must have a Hotmail account before you can create an account within Outlook to access a Hotmail account. One way to create a Hotmail account is to open Internet Explorer and select http://www.hotmail.com. With that page displayed, click Sign Up Now.
The procedure for setting up an account within Outlook for accessing a Hotmail account is quite similar to that described in the section "Creating a POP3 Account for Internet E-mail," p. 49. The principal differences are
Instead of specifying separate incoming and outgoing mail servers, you have to specify only a single mail service provider.
After clicking More Settings, instead of four tabs the dialog box has only two.
No provision exists to test an HTTP account.
When you create a Hotmail account, Outlook automatically creates a Personal Folders file for use by Hotmail messages.
Creating Accounts for Other Mail Servers
Open the window previously shown in Figure 3.2, select Additional Server Types and then click Next. Outlook displays a window that lists other server types for which a transport is installed on your computer.
Outlook is supplied with the capability to create accounts for accessing e-mail on an Exchange server, in POP3 and SMTP Internet and intranet servers, and in HTTP servers such as Hotmail. You can install so-called transports available from various companies that enable you to use Outlook as a client for other systems. For example, Lotus supplies a transport you can install in Outlook so you can access Lotus Notes. Such transports are not described in this chapter because they are not part of Outlook. You can obtain information about installing these transports from their suppliers.