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How to Set Up Outlook Express
Published: August
26, 2003
This work is copyright © Microsoft Corporation.
Before you
can use Outlook Express to send and receive e-mail, you need to
set up an account. You can have more than one account—for business,
online shopping, and so on—and each person who uses your computer
may have their own, completely separate account. Outlook Express
gracefully handles it all.
On
This Page
Start
Outlook Express
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There are many ways to start
Outlook Express, but here's a sure-fire way to find and start it.
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1.
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Click the Start
button.
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2.
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Point to All Programs.
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3.
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Click Outlook Express.
These first three steps
are shown in the image below:
Opening
Outlook Express from the Start menu
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4.
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If asked whether you'd
like to open this particular account automatically every time
you start Outlook Express, click Yes (if you do) or No
(if you don't).
If you don't want to
be asked this question again, click to check the Always perform
this check... box.
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5.
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Check When Outlook
Express starts, go directly to my Inbox.
Outlook Express directs
all incoming mail to the Inbox, so it makes sense to bypass this
opening page.
If you don't see the
list of folders and contacts on the left, click Layout
on the View menu. Click Contacts and Folder List
to check them, and then click OK.
Outlook
Express list of folders
 Quick start. You'll notice that when you
use Outlook Express regularly, Windows XP will put the Outlook
Express icon on the Start menu (along with other programs you've
used recently). In that case, just click the Outlook Express
icon in the Start menu to open the program.
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Set
Up an Outlook Express E-Mail Account
The Internet Connection Wizard
makes short work of setting up your online mailbox
by walking you through each step for every e-mail account you set up.
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1.
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Before you get going,
make sure you know your email address along with the following
information. (You may need to contact your ISP, Internet Service
Provider, to get it.)
First, information
about the e-mail servers:
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The type of e-mail
server you use: POP3 (most e-mail accounts), HTTP (such
as Hotmail), or IMAP
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The name of the
incoming e-mail server
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For POP3 and
IMAP servers, the name of the outgoing e-mail server (generally
SMTP)
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Second, information
about your account:
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Your account
name and password
Hint: Create
strong passwords that include at least 1 number, upper and
lower case letters, and enough characters enhance your own
security
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Find out if your
ISP requires you to use Secure Password Authentication (SPA)
to access your e-mail account—yes or no is all that's required.
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2.
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Start Outlook Express,
and on the Tools menu, click Accounts.
If the Internet Connection
Wizard starts up automatically, skip ahead to step 4.
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3.
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Click Add, and
then click Mail to open the Internet Connection Wizard.
Mail
option from the Add button
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4.
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On the Your Name
page of the wizard, type your name as you want it to appear to
everyone who gets e-mail from you, and then click Next.
Most people use their
full name, but you can use any name—even a nickname—that people
will recognize.
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5.
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On the Internet
Explorer Address page, type your e-mail address, and then
click Next.
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6.
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On the E-mail Server
Names page, fill in the first block of information that you
gathered from your ISP in step 1, and then click Next.
Internet
Connection Wizard's E-mail Server Names
Note: If you
chose HTTP as your incoming e-mail server—as for a Hotmail or
MSN account—this wizard page changes slightly so you can identify
your HTTP mail service provider.
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7.
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On the Internet
Mail Logon page, type your account name and password.
Internet
Connection Wizard's Internet Mail Logon
Note: If you're
concerned about break-ins to your e-mail, click to clear the check
in the Remember Password box. You'll then be prompted for
the password each time you send or retrieve mail.
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8.
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Click Next,
and then click Finish.
You're ready to send
your first e-mail!
Unsure if your new e-mail account is working? Send
an e-mail message to a friend. If they get the message, your account
is ready to roll! But if you run into problems setting up your
account, Outlook Express offers help. Search for troubleshooting
topics from Contents and Index on the Help menu.
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Set Up a Web-based E-Mail
Account
The e-mail that you get in
a Hotmail account and other Web-based accounts is not stored on your
hard
disk, but is kept on the account-provider's computer. That's what makes
it possible to access your
account from any computer in the world over the Internet. Here's how
you set yourself up.
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1.
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Go to the Web site
and follow the setup instructions—for example, http://www.hotmail.com/
for Hotmail.
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2.
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Set up Outlook Express
to use the account, by following the instructions above in Set
up an Outlook Express e-mail account.
If you share your computer with someone else, take
advantage of Fast User Switching. A feature of Windows XP, it
lives up to its name by enabling you to switch among users on
a single computer without closing any programs you are running
or logging off.
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To turn Fast
User Switching on, open User Accounts in Control
Panel. Click Change the way users log on or off.
Make sure the Use Fast User Switching box is checked.
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Then, to switch
users, click Start, click Log off and then
click Switch User. On the Welcome screen, click the
user account you want to switch to. That's it!
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Close Outlook Express
In closing, Outlook Express
works just as all other Windows programs do.
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On the File
menu, click Exit.
Tip: For a fast way out, press ALT+F4.
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