OL97: Configuring IMEP to Automatically Dial Your ISP (170384)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 97
This article was previously published under Q170384

SUMMARY

The Microsoft Outlook 97 Internet Mail Enhancement Patch (IMEP), does not automatically call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) using dial-up networking to check for new mail. This article describes how to set up IMEP to connect automatically to your ISP at a regular interval to check for new mail. The Imepread.txt file that ships with IMEP also documents these steps; however, the steps in that text are written for IE4 users. The steps in this article describe the dialogs and settings for IE 3.02 users.

The IMEP can be downloaded from the Microsoft Web site at:

http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/

It is also available in Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 1 Patch (SR-1 Patch) and Microsoft Office 97 Service Release 1 Enterprise Update (SR-1 Ent Upd).

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: This issue should not arise when using Microsoft Windows NT. These steps do not work if you are using Outlook with the Windows NT operating system. The Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade described in this article is designed for Windows 95 and not Windows NT. These steps do not work if you are using Outlook with the Windows NT operating system, and may cause damage to your dial-up networking if you perform them in Windows NT. The steps described in this article will set up Outlook and IMEP to do the following:
  • When you start Outlook it immediately dials your ISP and checks mail.
  • After a three minute idle time your dial-up connection disconnects.
  • At an interval you set, Outlook automatically dials your ISP and checks mail.
  • If Outlook is not connected to your ISP and you send a mail message, Outlook immediately connects to your ISP and sends the message.
Setting up IMEP to connect automatically to your ISP at a regular interval is a five-part process.
  • Install the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade
  • Set your e-mail connection type to LAN
  • Configure your connection to disconnect if idle
  • Configure your Dial-Up connection
  • Set the Dial-Up interval

Install the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade

NOTE: You do not have to install the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade if you have Windows 95 OSR2 that is an OEM version of Windows and only available with a new personal computer. In addition, the Dial-up Networking version included with Windows 98 is 1.3, making this upgrade unnecessary.

To make Outlook automatically call your ISP you must install the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade.

For additional information about the MicrosoftDial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

191494 Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade Available

After you install the Microsoft Dial-Up Networking 1.3 Upgrade, follow these steps to setup Outlook to check your ISP e-mail account at regular intervals.

Set Your E-mail Connection Type to LAN

Set the connection type to LAN for all accounts that you want to have automatically check for new mail. To set the connection type in Outlook follow these steps:
  1. Start Outlook.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Services.
  3. Click to select your Internet E-mail service and then click Properties.
  4. Click the Connection tab and click to check "I use a LAN connection."
  5. Click OK to close the Internet Mail Properties dialog.
  6. Click OK to confirm the message that changes will take effect when you restart Outlook and then click OK to close the Services dialog box.
  7. Exit Outlook.
If you have configured multiple accounts, you need to repeat the above steps for each account that you want to have automatically check for new mail.

Set Your Connection to Disconnect If Idle

NOTE: The steps in this section apply to Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.02 and 4.0x. If you use a different Web browser, the steps may be different.

To set the disconnect timeout for Internet Explorer version 3.02, follow these steps:
  1. On the Windows Taskbar, click Start, point to Settings and click Control Panel.
  2. In the Control Panel double-click the Internet icon.
  3. Click the Connection tab.
  4. Click to select "Connect to the Internet as needed" and in the "Use the following Dial-Up Networking connection" box, click to select your ISP's Dial-Up Networking connection.
  5. Click to check "Disconnect if idle for" and set the timeout to three minutes. (Three minutes is the minimum allowable setting.)Click OK to close the dialog box.
To set the disconnect timeout for Internet Explorer version 4.0x, follow these steps:
  1. On the View menu click Internet Options. Click the Connection tab and then click "Connect to the Internet using a modem."
  2. Click Settings and then click to place a check mark at "Disconnect if idle for <x> minutes", where "x" is the number of minutes you wish the connection to remain active before it disconnects.
  3. Click OK, Apply and then OK again to save the settings.

Configure Your Dial-Up Connection

  1. On the Windows Desktop, double-click My Computer and then double-click Dial-Up Networking.
  2. Double-click the Dial-Up Networking connection you specified in Step 5 of the section, "Set Your Connection to Disconnect If Idle." Type your username and password and check the "Save Password" checkbox. Click Connect and wait for the connection. Once connected to your ISP, click Disconnect.
  3. On the Connection menu, click Settings and then click to un-check "Prompt for information before dialing." Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

Set the Dial-Up Interval

  1. Start Outlook.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  3. Click the Internet E-mail tab.
  4. Click to select "Check for new messages every X minutes," where X is the number of minutes for your connection interval. Make sure this number is greater than three (such as 15 or 20) or Outlook will stay connected constantly.
  5. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/9/2004
Keywords:kbdownload kbinfo KB170384
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