How to configure Internet e-mail accounts in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003 (287532)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002

This article was previously published under Q287532

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Outlook, the Internet E-mail information service stores information that allows you to log on to your Internet e-mail server and that initiates that process. Outlook provides this service during a typical setup scenario. Your Internet service provider (ISP) provides most of the information that populates the configuration pages of the Internet E-mail information service. This article describes how to configure the Internet E-mail information service.

MORE INFORMATION

How to Configure the Internet E-mail Information Service

You must properly configure the Internet E-mail information service to send and receive messages with Microsoft Outlook. Use the following steps to configure the Internet E-mail information service:
  1. Start Outlook.
  2. On the Tools menu, click to select E-mail Accounts.
  3. In the E-mail Accounts dialog box, click to select the Add a new E-mail Account option, and then click Next.
  4. In the Server Type dialog box, click POP3, and then click Next
  5. In the E-mail Accounts dialog box, enter the required information by using the following guidelines:
    1. User Information
      • Your Name: This should be your full name.
      • E-mail Address: Your ISP provides this information. Your e-mail address usually takes the form of a combination of your first and last name and the name of your ISP, separated by the at sign (@) and periods. For example, John Doe uses an ISP by the name of MYISP.NET. The ISP may assign an e-mail address of JohnD@myispnet.net.

    2. Logon Information
      • User Name: This is usually the part of your e-mail address to the left of the at sign (@).
      • Password: Enter the password that your ISP provided.
      • You may check the box to have Outlook remember your e-mail account password.
    3. Server Information
      • Incoming Mail Server (POP3): This is the name of the POP3 server that holds your messages before you download it to your computer.
      • Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): This is the name of the Outgoing e-mail server. Enter the server names in lower case in both the Incoming e-mail server and the Outgoing e-mail server. The names may be in the form of mail.myisp.net, or they could be in the form of an IP address such as 168.192.10.1.

    4. Click Test Account Settings. This is a new capability in Outlook. This feature calls a dialog box that displays, in a step-by-step manner, each phase of testing the configuration that you have just input. The following occurs when you click Test Account Settings:
      • The connectivity of your system to the Internet is confirmed.
      • You are logged on to the SMTP server.
      • You are logged on to the POP3 server.
      • It is determined if the POP3 server needs to be logged on to first. If necessary, Outlook automatically sets Log on to incoming mail server before sending mail.
      • A test message is sent. This message explains any changes that Outlook made to your initial setup.
    5. Click More Settings. This takes you to the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box, where you may further modify your Internet e-mail account.

The Internet E-mail Settings Dialog Box

The information that you entered in the "How to Configure the Internet E-mail Information Service" section is added to various tabs in the Internet E-mail Settings dialog box. This is where you make modifications and changes to your Internet E-mail account.

General Tab

The General tab is the location that you use to rename your e-mail account.
  • Mail Account: Type a name for this account.
  • Organization: The name of your company; not a required entry.
  • Reply E-mail: This is optional and only used if you want replies to your messages sent to another e-mail address.

Outgoing Server Tab

The Outgoing Server tab is new for Outlook. The Test Account Settings button sets all required fields on this tab.
  • The My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication check box: Click to select this check box to turn this setting on, and to select the type of log on authentication your server requires.
  • The Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) check box. Click to select this check box only if your ISP instructs you to. Very few providers use this setting.
  • The Log on to incoming mail server before sending mail check box. Many ISPs require that you receive messages first. It implies that you are an authenticated user, and are not using the ISP to send unwanted commercial messages (SPAM) to unsuspecting recipients.

Connection Tab

  1. Connection Section The Connection tab contains information about how to connect to your e-mail server. There are three ways to connect to your ISP's e-mail server. Select one of the appropriate connection type listed in this section.

    1. Connect using my local area network (LAN): This connection allows you to log on to your e-mail server through your existing network connection. Your network configuration must support access to the Internet. Please see your network administrator for more details.
    2. Connect using my phone line: The Internet Mail Service looks for a Dialup Networking connection to establish a log on with your ISP. Once you are logged on to your ISP, it attempts to connect to your ISP's e-mail server. If this section is not available (grayed out), it may indicate that the Microsoft Windows Dialup Networking feature is not installed on your computer. Please refer to the "If Dialup Networking Is Not installed" section of this article for more information.
    3. Connect Using Internet Explorer's or a 3rd Party Dialer: If you click to select this option, Outlook uses a default connection method that has already been configured.
  2. Modem Section
    1. After you click Connect using my phone line, you must define a Dialup Networking connection to use. You can select an existing connection from the list, or you can click Add to create a new connection.
    2. To edit the properties of a connection, use the drop-down list box to select the desired connection, and then click Properties. This takes you to the existing connection's Properties page.

Advanced Tab

The Advanced tab allows you to set the POP3 and SMTP server ports, define whether the server requires secure connection, and define server timeout settings and delivery settings. The delivery settings allow you to read a message, but leave the message on the server for a specified time. This feature is especially helpful if you use the same e-mail account from more than one computer.

How to Transfer Internet E-mail

The following information is the four ways to send and receive Internet e-mail.
  1. Press F9 on the keyboard: If you press F9, your connection type is verified and then uploads the messages from your Outbox and downloads your messages from the server. If you are connected through a LAN connection, messages flow without any other dialog boxes. If you connect to your ISP with a modem, the Dial Up Networking connection starts and establishes the connection. Messages upload from your Outbox and download from the e-mail server.
  2. On the Tools menu, point to Send/Receive, and then click Send/Receive All or click the e-mail account name: You can select to send messages only. On the Tools menu, point to Send/Receive, and then click Send All. This option does not download any messages from the server. If you click Send/Receive on the Tools menu and you have multiple e-mail accounts, you have the option to select the e-mail account that you want to use.
  3. On the Standard toolbar click Send/Receive: If you click the Send/Receive button on the Standard toolbar, it is the same as when you press F9 on the keyboard.
  4. For Microsoft Outlook 2002, connect with the Work With Headers menu selection. To work with headers rather than full messages, use the commands listed under Work With Headers that is a submenu of Send/Receive on the Tools menu. For Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, connect with the head-related commands. To work with headers rather than full messages, use the head-related commands listed under Send/Receive on the Tools menu. With Remote Mail, you can scan the headers, and then mark the messages that you want to receive, copy, or delete. While using Remote Mail, you can compose messages and send them to your Outbox at any time, and send and receive messages when you connect to your mailbox. This feature allows you to keep your messages on the server.
For more information about remote mail and working with headers in Outlook 2002, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

296080 Description of the Remote Mail feature, the Offline Folders feature, and the Working Offline feature in Outlook 2002

If Dialup Networking Is Not Installed

To use a modem connection, you must install and configure the Dialup Networking feature that included with Microsoft Windows. Your ISP provides the following information:
  1. User name
  2. Password
  3. Local access phone number
  4. Your host and domain name
  5. DNS server IP address
  6. Authentication technique (whether or not a terminal window is used)
Your ISP may also provide you with an IP address and an IP subnet mask. You need these optional items only if your provider gives you a dedicated IP address to use every time you dial in.

For more detailed information about how to configure Dialup Networking in Microsoft Windows 9x, please refer to the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

138789 How to connect to the Internet in Windows 95 and Windows 98


Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/3/2006
Keywords:kbPubTypeKC kbConfig kbemail kbhowto KB287532