Setting Up Outlook Express for Windows (with a Netscape addena)

0) Introduction

This will walk you through setting up Outlook Express (OE) to securely connect to the Department's mail server, using IMAP over SSL. SSL is the same secure encryption browsers use. IMAP is similar to POP that we have been using with Eudora, with the advantage that it stores all your mail on the server, and can access your mail folder in your home directory, thus allowing you to switch back and forth between OE and pine, or OE at home and OSU. OE can also be use to read Usenet News, this is not covered here.

1) Downloading

You may have Outlook Express on your PC already, as it comes with windows. These directions were written for OE 5, so they may or may not work with another version.

The Outlook Express for Windows can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com.
Select Downloads, then choose Outlook Express and your operating system. Choose Internet Explorer 5.5 and Internet Tools. Or you can pick up the software CD from Computer Support. Outlook Express is part of Internet Explorer, so you are actually installing IE, though if you wish you can do a custom install and only install Outlook Express. The full version of Microsoft Outlook is part of the Buckeye Bundle, configuration is similar, but this document focuses on Outlook Express.

2) Installing

Double click on the installer, ie5setup.exe. On the License Manager screen, click Yes to accept. Choose Install Now, Typical set of components, and click Next. Keep accepting the defaults, until the installer wants you to restart your computer. Click Finish.

3) Configuration for First Time Users

OE will ask if you want to make it your default mail client. Choose Yes or No. Next it should ask about Setting Up Internet Mail. If you have Eudora on your system you can convert from that account. If you choose this it will display your Eudora settings. You will want to change the settings. Click Change settings, and then Next. It will now walk you through creating a new OE Identity. Goto step 5.

Later, you can go under File -> Import, to import your Eudora messages and aliases.

If you were not a previous Eudora user, it will go straight into the new identity wizard. Goto step 5.

4) Configuration for Existing Users

If you are using OE with POP, you will have to create a new profile, as OE does not allow switching the mail server type on the fly. Goto step 5. However, if you do not wish to have the benefits of IMAP, you can continue to connect via POP over SSL. Follow the directions in step 6 ignoring the folder setup, and replacing the word IMAP with POP.

If you are using OE with IMAP, skip to step 6 and just configure your mail server to do IMAP over SSL.

5) Creating a New Identity

Whether you got here by going under File -> New Identity, or by converting an existing Eudora profile, or by being a first time user, the screens should be the same.

First it will ask your Display Name. This is your real name, such as Brian Smith. Next, it will ask about your internet e-mail address. Click the radio button that you already have one, and then enter its address, such as brian@stat.osu.edu. On the next screen it will ask for information about the e-mail server. Tell it that your incoming mail server is an IMAP server. Both the incoming and outgoing mail servers should be mail.stat.ohio-state.edu. Note: If you are not within the building you will have to set the outgoing server to your ISP's SMTP server. You need to obtain that information from them, for example HomeNet's is smtp.service.ohio-state.edu, and Time Warner's Road Runner is smtp-server.columbus.rr.com. On the next screen it wants to know your account name, which is your unix username. It also wants to know your password. We recommend not saving your password on your computer, so click off the remember password box, though this is a personal choice. Make sure the Log on using Secure Password Authentication is not checked. The wizard should finish at this time.

Note: If you do not save your password, everytime you start OE, it will pop up an error window about 'Header download for the 'Inbox' folder did not complete.' and some other messages. This is normal, as it can't get that info until you enter your password. As soon as you do something that requires the password, such as Send/Receive, folders will be synced, so just close the window.

Now we need to configure some other options before use. (Note, there are many option here you can customize, these are just the common options for our setup.) Go to Tools -> Options. Under the Send tab, make sure the mail sending format is set to Plain Text. Click off of Automatically put people I reply to in my address book. Click OK to close the options window.

6) Configuring SSL and IMAP

Now we will configure SSL and IMAP. Go to Tools -> Accounts. In this window click on the Mail tab, then highlight Mail Account and click on Properties. (In some cases, Mail Account, from here on out, may actually say mail.stat.ohio-state.edu, typically if there are multiple personalities it will say this. Consider the two identical.) Under the Advanced tab, under the words Incoming mail (IMAP), click on the box: This server requires a secure connection (SSL). (Notice it changed the 143 to a 993.) DON'T click on the box for outgoing connections.

Now select the IMAP tab. The box Root folder path is empty, leave it empty. If you have been using pine, this is where, in your home directory, pine has been storing your saved messages. Now you will have access to your mail at OSU and home.

If you have not been using pine, and have mailboxes in other locations, please see the support staff for information on moving them to mail.

Click Apply to apply the changes, then click on OK to close the Properties box, and then Close to close the Internet Accounts box. It will ask you to refresh your folder list. Click OK. Which leads into the next section.

7) Using Outlook Express

It will prompt you for a password, enter it and click OK. OE will then look at all the folders in your mail directory. If it starts going through hundreds of folders, the Root folder is misconfigured and it is going through your entire home directory. Stop it, and double check the root folder location.

The left hand pane, titled Folders, will now have two trees, Local Folders, and Mail Account. The Mail Account is what is on the Department's unix machine. Using these two trees you can move or copy mail from the unix machine to the PC and vice versa, you can delete mail from the PC or the unix machine. We suggest that you keep most of your mail on the unix machine, and simply move it from the unix inbox to the different unix folders. This way you will be able to switch back and forth between OE and pine, or OE at home and OE at OSU.

There is one more thing to configure, which folders you see in the left pane. Click once on the Mail Account in the left pane. The main window should now have "Synchronization of Folders on Mail Account". Click on the IMAP Folders... button. A new window pops up with all the folders you have in your mail directory. If you highlight one, you can then choose to have it permanently appear in the Folders pane, by clicking on the Show button. Similarly, you can click on Hide not to show a particular folder.

8) Additional Information

There are many more options that can be set in OE, depending on the user's preference. This should be enough for typical use.

You can nest folders in the unix mail directory, and IMAP can see them.

You can have OE automatically synchronize certain folders. If you use procmail this is particularly useful.

Addena: Netscape

Later versions of Netscape also will do secure IMAP. Thus if you are already using Netscape Communicator, this will tell you how to configure it.

In Messenger, go to Edit -> Preferences. In the left pane, expand Mail & Newsgroups, then click on Mail Servers. Highlight mail.stat.ohio-state.edu, in the Incoming Mail Servers box, and click Edit. In the properties box, click the IMAP tab, and then click the Use secure connection (SSL) box.

You should now be set up to use secure IMAP.

Note, due to the way Netscape authenticates certificates, you will get a new site ertificate message when you connect to secure IMAP with messenger. Our certificate is good, just make sure it says: Certificate for: The Ohio State University, and Signed by: Equifax Secure Inc. You can accept this certificate.