OL97: How to Configure the Internet Mail Information Service (165228)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 97
This article was previously published under Q165228
NOTE: This article was written for the original version of the Outlook 97 Internet Mail Service. If you have Outlook 97, version 8.02 or greater, or you have intalled the Microsoft Internet E-mail Enhancement Patch (IMEP) for Outlook 97, do not use the procedures in this article. Instead, use the instructions for Outlook 98. For additional information about configuring Internet E-mail in Outlook 98, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

179751 OL98: (CW) Configuring the Internet Mail Information Service

To determine which version of Outlook you have running, on the Help menu, click About Microsoft Outlook, and look for the version number next to the product name.

SUMMARY

In Outlook 97, the Internet mail information service stores information that controls how you log on to your Internet mail server and how to initiate the log on process. Outlook provides this service when you set up either Office or Outlook, and click Typical for the type of Setup you want to run.

IMPORTANT: You must contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to obtain some of the configuration information that you need to set up Internet mail with Outlook 97. Specifically, your ISP needs to provide the following information:
  • Whether you may use Outlook 97 with their service--not all will allow you to do so. For example, you cannot use Outlook 97 with AOL.For additional information about using Outlook 97 with different mail systems, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    159706 OL97: Using Microsoft Outlook with Different Mail Systems

  • Your Internet mail server or Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) name.
  • Your outgoing mail server or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) name if your ISP uses a different server for outgoing mail.
  • Your Internet mail service account name (this may also be referred to as your mailbox name).
  • Your password for you Internet mail service account.
For additional information on these terms, please see the "More Information" section.

MORE INFORMATION

You must properly configure the Internet Mail information service to send and receive mail with Outlook. To configure this information service, follow these steps:
  1. Start Outlook, and on the Tools menu, click Services.

    NOTE: If Services is not located on the Tools menu, then you are not running Outlook 97.
  2. In the Services dialog box, click Internet Mail information service, and then click Properties. If Internet Mail is not listed, click Add, click Internet Mail, and then click OK.

    NOTE: If Internet Mail is not listed among the services to be added, then you are using a later version of Outlook than specified at the beginning of this article, and need to refer to the instructions in 179751, "OL98: (CW) Configuring the Internet Mail Information Service," for configuring Outlook 98.
  3. Type in the required properties, using the following guidelines.

General Tab

The General tab contains information needed to connect to your mail server. Your ISP will supply most of this information to you. Type the following information in the appropriate boxes:

Personal Information

Full Address - Your full name.

Email Address - The e-mail address that your ISP provides to you. 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 (@) symbol and periods. For example, if John Doe uses an ISP by the name of MYISPNET, the ISP may assign an e-mail address of JohnD@myispnet.net.

Mailbox Information

Your Internet Mail Server - The name of the POP3 server that holds your mail before you download it to your computer. This may be in the form of a name such as mail.myispnet.net or it could be in the form of an IP address such as 222.333.22.1.

Outgoing Mail Server - Some ISPs use two different mail servers, one for incoming mail (POP3) and another for outgoing mail (SMTP). If this is the case for your ISP, click the Advanced button, and type in the SMTP server name or IP address.

Account Name - Your Internet mail server account name. Your ISP may call this your mailbox name. It usually takes the form of everything to the left of the @ symbol of your e-mail address.

Password - Your key to your mail server. Generally, you define your own password. Your ISP may have assigned you an initial password; however, you should change it as soon as possible.

Connection Tab

The Connection tab contains information on how to connect to your mail server. There are two ways to connect to your ISP's mail server: through a dial-up networking connection (modem) or through the current network.

Connecting to Internet Mail

Choose the appropriate connection type listed in this section.

Connect using the network - This option allows you to log on to your mail server through your existing network connection. Your network configuration must support access to the Internet. Please see your network administrator for more details.

Connect using the modem - For a modem connection, the Internet Mail service looks for a dial-up networking connection to establish a logon with your ISP. After you are logged on to your ISP, it attempts to connect to your ISP's mail server.

If this option appears dimmed or is not available, it may indicate that the Microsoft Windows Dial-up Networking feature is not installed on your computer. Please refer to the "If Dial-up Networking Is Not Installed" section for additional information.

After you click Connect using the modem, you must define a dial-up networking connection to use. You can select an existing connection from the list, or you can click the Add New Entry button to create a new connection.

Add New Entry - Starts the Dial-up Networking Connection Wizard.

NOTE: If the Dial-up Networking Connection Wizard does not start, it may not be installed. For additional information about installing dial-up networking on a Microsoft Windows NT-based computer, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

171015 How to Install and Configure Windows NT 4.0 Dial-Up Networking

If you are running Microsoft Windows 95, please see the "If Dial-up Networking Is Not Installed" section for additional information.

Edit Entry - You can modify an existing connection by clicking Edit Entry; this takes you to the existing connection's Properties page.

Transferring Internet Mail

This section specifies how messages are to be transferred.

Work Offline and Use Remote Mail - This option permits Outlook to only download and display message headers when you log on to your mailbox. You can then use Remote Mail on the Tools menu to scan the headers and mark the messages you want to receive, copy, or delete. While you are 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.

If you clear this check box, Outlook downloads all messages from the mail server automatically. You can use the Schedule button to define how often Outlook checks for mail.

Schedule - Click Schedule to set the time interval for message delivery. This option applies to both modem and network connections.

Log File - Click Log File to create a file that records events during your mail sessions. A log file is useful for troubleshooting when you have problems with Internet mail.

For additional information on Internet Mail Connections and Transferoptions, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

162597 OL97: Internet Mail Connections and Transfer Options

If Dial-up Networking Is Not Installed

NOTE: This section applies to computers running Microsoft Windows 95.

To use a modem connection, you must install and configure dial-up networking, which is included with Windows 95. Your ISP will supply the following information to you:
  • User name
  • Password
  • Local access phone number
  • Your host and domain name
  • DNS server IP address
  • Authentication technique (whether or not a terminal window is used)
Your ISP may also supply 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 additional information on configuring dial-up networking in Windows95, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

138789 OL97: How to Connect to the Internet in Windows 95

REFERENCES

For additional information on general configuration troubleshooting, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

161973 OL97: Troubleshooting Outlook Configuration Problems


For additional information on controlling your dial-up connections, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

168782 OL97: How to Control Your Dial-Up Internet Connection With IMEP

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/27/2001
Keywords:kbConfig kbhowto kbsetup KB165228
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.