Using OKmail with Outlook Express

What you need to know

In order to use Outlook Express with OKmail, you'll need to enter the following information:

• username - When you signed up for OKmail, you chose a username which is also your e-mail address. You must use the full username, including the name and the domain part, which is the part after the '@' symbol. For example, a user named John Doe might have chosen a username of "johndoe@okmail.net". Make sure that you specify your username in lowercase only.
• password - When you signed up for OKmail, you chose a password to go along with your username. You will need the password to access your account. The password also keeps others from being able to access your e-mail. Your password is case sensitive, so be sure that you type it in correctly. "PASS123" is different to  "pass123". Often, users forget about the CapsLock button and mistype their password.
• incoming mail server (IMAP or POP) - This is the server that you get your e-mail from. Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and Post Office Protocol (POP) are retrieval methods used to move e-mail messages from the server to your e-mail client so that you can read your messages. POP access is not available for all service levels, please check the pricing table for details. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is available for your protection as well. By enabling this option, you can keep people from reading your e-mail as it is transmitted between the e-mail server and your computer.
• outgoing mail server (SMTP) - This is the server that sends your e-mail. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the method that your client uses to move e-mail messages from your client to the server so that it can send your messages. The OKmail SMTP server is not available for all service levels, please check the pricing table for details. If your service level does not allow use of the OKmail SMTP server, you must use the SMTP server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
  
  The OKmail  SMTP server requires SMTP Authentication. This keeps people who are not users of the OKmail service from using the SMTP server to send spam messages on the Internet. SSL is also available for the OKmail SMTP server. If you don't use the OKmail SMTP server, you may have different options or requirements. You will need to get that information from your ISP.

Incoming/Outgoing Server Setup

1. Launch Outlook Express and select 'Accounts' from the 'Tools' menu

   

    

2. Select the 'Add' pop-up and add a 'Mail' service

   

    

3. You'll be presented with the 'Internet Connection Wizard'. Enter your full name and click 'Next'

   

    

4. Enter your OKmail username/email address as described at the top of this document in the yellow box area below. Click 'Next'

   

    

5. Enter 'mail.messagingengine.com' as the incoming mail server in the green box. Enter 'mail.messagingengine.com' as the outgoing main (SMTP) server in the red box. Change the server type to 'IMAP'. Click 'Next'.

   

   Important: Not all service levels provide access to the OKmail SMTP server. Check the pricing table to see if your service level provides access. If not, you should instead set the 'Outgoing mail (SMTP)' field to your ISP's SMTP server. You should be able to find this information in your ISP's documentation; we don't have the information, so please don't email us asking what it is. Also, depending on the strictness of your ISP, you may also need to set the 'E-mail Address' field in step 8 below to your ISP's email address. The only way to be sure of if this is required or not is to try and send an email, and if you get an error, try again after changing to your ISP's email address. Finally, you should make sure that the 'My server requires authentication' checkbox displayed in step 9 below is NOT checked.

6. Enter your OKmail username/email address as described at the top of this document in the yellow box area below. Enter your OKmail password as your account password. It's easiest to let Outlook Express remember your password so you don't have to enter it every time.

   

7. A screen will say your account setup is now complete, and you can click 'Finish'. You should then find the OKmail service has been added to your list of Mail services. Before you can use it, you must do a few more things. Select the item 'mail.messagingengine.com' and click 'Properties'

   

8. You may change the name that will be displayed in the main folder list. Something easy to identify like 'Your Name - OKmail' is a good choice. Then click on the 'Servers' tab.

   

9. Here, click on the 'My server requires authentication' check box, and make sure that it is checked to enable sending email via OKmail from Outlook Express. When done, select the 'IMAP' tab.

   

   If you are using your ISP's SMTP server should make sure that the 'My server requires authentication' checkbox displayed above is NOT checked.

10. Here you must enter 'inbox' as the root folder path item. When done, click 'OK'

    

11. Outlook Express will now ask if you would like to download a folder list. Click 'Yes'

    

12. You should have 4 folders by default, your Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts and Trash folders. Note that the Trash folder does not have a folder icon next to it. This means by default it is hidden. You can cause it to be displayed by clicking on it, and then clicking the 'Show' button. Click 'OK'

    

    Outlook Express will use Inbox, Sent Items and Drafts in the same way as OKmail. When you delete items however, they will not be moved to the Trash. Instead, they will be crossed out with a horizontal line until you purge the folder. You can purge a folder by going to the 'Edit' menu and selecting 'Purge deleted items'

     

13. Your IMAP setup is now complete. You should see a new server icon in the Folders list on the left hand side with the name you entered in step 8. Here you can see that you can now use Outlook Express to access all your emails in your OKmail account. Clicking on the Send/Recv button on the top toolbar will download all mails in your account to Outlook Express. Any mails ready to be sent will be sent, and the copy placed in the Sent Items folder.

    You can read messages, and save downloads. You can move or copy messages, either between OKmail folders, or between OKmail and local folders on your home/work machine.

    

Learning more about IMAP

IMAP is a powerful protocol that allows you keep to your email synchronised, whether you're at home, at work, at a friends place or an internet cafe. You don't have to worry about what computer the email is on, because all the email is kept on the server and each client sees the same 'view' of the email. See this FAQ page to learn more about IMAP

Troubleshooting Issues

1. When trying to send an email, you get an error of the form:

   The message could not be sent because one of the recipients was rejected by the server. The rejected e-mail address was 'joe@blogs.net'. Subject '', Account: 'Your Name', Server: 'mail.messagingengine.com', Protocol: SMTP, Server Response: '554 <joe@blogs.net>: Recipient address rejected: Relay access denied', Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 554, Error Number: 0x800CCC79

   The important phrase in the error message is "Recipient address rejected: Relay access denied". The problem is that our server requires authentication and it isn't enabled. If you are using the OKmail STMP server (not your ISP's), you can fix this by going to the 'Tools' menu and selecting 'Accounts'. Then select your OKmail account from the list and click 'Properties'. Move to the tab named 'Servers' and make sure the 'My server requires authentication' checkbox is checked. See 'Step 9' above what the window should look like.

2. When trying to send an email, you get an error of the form:

   The connection to the server has failed. Account: 'Your Name', Server: 'mail.messagingengine.com', Protocol: SMTP, Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Socket Error: 10060, Error Number: 0x800CCC0E

   The important phrase in the error message is "The connection to the server has failed" or "Socket Error". Your means that your ISP is probably blocking the SMTP port. We allow SMTP connections on two alternate ports to work around this problem. Go to the 'Tools' menu and select 'Accounts'. Then select your OKmail account from the list and click 'Properties'. Move to the tab named 'Advanced' and change your SMTP port from 25 to 26 or 21 to work around your ISP's block in this case.

3. You get 'certificate errors' when trying to connect to the server. This can occur if you're using an SSL connection. You should make sure the the IMAP and SMTP server names are 'mail.messagingengine.com'

Last modified on: Wed Sep 17 09:30:00 UTC 2003