Setting up Email Service in Windows

Normally your Internet Service Provider (ISP) gives you instructions to setup their email service in Windows with either Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Office Outlook (XP/2002, 2003 or 2007) or Mozilla Thunderbird. Some dedicated email providers also can be setup to send and receive email through Outlook Express or Office Outlook. However, "Webmail" programs that are strictly Internet based (such as MSN Hotmail or the free version of Yahoo! Mail) use HTTP servers that do not share data objects (such as HTML links or file attachments) inside Windows, and therefore cannot be used to directly email MLS reports out of Windows. (See note under Yahoo! Mail Plus for a free proxy service that may be used to access a free Yahoo! Mail account in Windows.)  

Microsoft offers two options for free (advertisement supported) e-mail through their "Windows Live" suite of services. The options are for web-based "Windows Live Hotmail", or Windows based "Windows Live Mail". Microsoft also offers a paid "MSN Premium" account that allows you to send and receive email through Outlook Express or Office Outlook XP (2002) and later.

Yahoo.com offers a paid "Mail Plus" POP3 service that allows you to send and receive email directly through Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail (see "Yahoo! Mail Plus" in related articles below). Google's free Gmail (See "Gmail Help" in related articles) can be configured in Outlook Express, Office Outlook, or Thunderbird to send and receive Gmail email through Windows (see related article, "Gmail POP Troubleshooter").  AOL uses IMAP servers to interface with email in Windows.  

Before you start to setup email in Windows, you need to know (from your ISP or email provider):

In the list below, click on the email service that you are using to go directly to appropriate setup instructions (or contact your email provider):

Setup Outlook Express (or Windows Mail* in Windows Vista) to use your email service:

Unless some other email application (such Office Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, or WindowsLive Mail) is installed, Outlook Express is the default mail handler in Windows XP and earlier, and Windows Mail is the default mail handler in Windows Vista. To setup these parts of Windows to send and receive your email through the account you have with an email provider (such as Alltel, AOL, AT&T/BellSouth, Comcast, Embarq, RoadRunner, or Verizon):  

  1. Open Outlook Express (or Windows Mail in Windows Vista)
  2. If prompted to make Outlook Express (or Windows Mail) the default mail handler, select Yes. (You can set or confirm this later under Tools > Options > click the "Make Default" button beside "This application is the default mail handler.")
  3. At the top menu select Tools > Accounts
  4. Click Add button > select Mail. This starts the Internet Connection Wizard.
  5. On the "Your Name" screen, type your name as you want it to appear in your email > click Next
  6. On the "Internet Email Address" screen, type your email address > click Next
  7. On the "Email Server Names" screen, use the information specified by your email provider to:
  8. On the Internet Mail Logon screen:
  9. On the Internet Accounts screen, click the Mail tab > highlight your default account > click the Properties button
  10. Click the General tab. If you prefer (i.e., this is an option), you can:
  11. Click the Servers tab. Under Outgoing Mail Server:
  12. Click the Advanced tab if you want to specify how email is downloaded from your Internet mail server into Outlook Express. (The steps below are optional and are not typically set by most users.)
     

  13. Click Close on the Internet Accounts screen.

  14. Ensure that the security settings in Outlook Express allow sending MLS reports (see "Configure Security in Outlook Express" in the related articles below). 

For more information on using Windows Mail, see the related article, "Using Windows Vista." For Microsoft's Windows Vista instructions, see the related article below "Using Windows Mail in Vista". 

Note: Apparently due to User Account Control restrictions in Vista, Windows Mail must be closed before MLS reports can be transferred from CTI Navigator into Windows Mail. Otherwise, Vista treats the transfer as a separate login attempt and blocks it. To fix a "Login Failed...clsSendMail_Send" error message,  follow the instructions for Vista in the related article, "CLS Send or Mapi error in Email."

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Setup Email Service in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 (and earlier):

  1. Open Outlook > select Tools > E-mail Accounts
  2. In the E-mail Accounts screen select "Add a new E-mail Account" > click Next
  3. For Server Type, select POP3 (or as directed by your email provider) > click Next
  4. In the E-mail Accounts screen, enter the information specified by your email provider:
    1. User Information
      • Your Name: your full name
      • E-mail address: your full address (including @...)
    2. Login Information
      • User Name: your name in the form required by your email provider to log into your email account
      • Password: password required by your email provider
      • Remember password: check this box so Outlook can automatically access your email
    3. Server Information
      • Incoming mail server (POP3): enter the address of your E-mail provider's POP3 server (if you want to download messages into this computer. If you only want to send messages out of Outlook, leave this field empty or enter a bogus address.) 
      • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): enter the address of your E-mail provider's SMTP server
    4. Test Account Settings: if available, you can click this button to verify that Outlook can access your email account using the information you entered
    5. More Settings: click this button if your email provider requires outgoing mail authentication or special port settings
      • Select the "Outgoing Server" tab to set check or uncheck (as directed by your email provider )"My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication". If authentication is required, either:
        • select "Use same settings as my incoming mail server"; or
        • select "Log on using" > enter the User Name and Password specified by your email provider > check "Remember password".
        • Only check "Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)" if this is specified by your email provider. SPA is rarely used.
      • Select the "Advanced" tab to specify Server Ports (as instructed by your email provider) or to Leave a copy of messages on your email provider's server (so they can also be read on the Internet or on another computer) 
    6. Click OK then Finish.
  5. To set Outlook to send messages immediately click Tools > Options > Mail Setup tab > check "Send immediately when connected" under Send/Receive. (If send immediately is not checked, outgoing messages will go to the Outbox until they are manually selected and sent.) 
  6. Ensure that the Collaborative Data Objects feature has been installed as part of your Office Outlook. To install CDO's, see "Fix Office Outlook, Active X CDO or Unspecified Email Error" in the related articles below.
  7. Ensure that the security settings in Office Outlook allow sending MLS reports (see "Configure Office Outlook Security" in the related articles below). 

Note - Windows other than Vista: To change the default email handler in Windows (other than Vista) from Office Outlook or web-base email to Outlook Express, follow the instructions above to setup Outlook Express.  To determine which program is set as the default mail handler in Windows (other than Vista), open the Windows Control Panel > select Internet Options (under Network and Internet in the Category View) > Programs tab > Email box. You can click the down arrow beside the email box to change the default mail handler in pre-Vista Windows. 

Note - Windows Vista: For instructions on setting Vista's default email program, see the related article, "Using Windows Vista", 

Setup Email Service in Office Outlook 2007

To setup email in Office Outlook 2007: 

  1. Open Outlook > select Tools > Account Settings > New
  2. In the Add New E-mail Account screen, select POP3 (or as directed by your email provider) > click Next
  3. In the E-mail Accounts screen, enter the information specified by your email provider:
    1. User Information
      • Your Name: your full name
      • E-mail address: your full address (including @...)
      • Password: password required by your email provider
    2. Click on Manually configure server settings or additional server types > click Next.
    3. Click Internet E-mail > click Next
    4. Internet E-mail Settings:
      • Your Name: your full name
      • E-mail Address: your full address (including @...)
      • Account Type: type of e-mail account
      • Incoming mail server (POP3): enter the address of your E-mail provider's POP3 server (if you want to download messages into this computer. If you only want to send messages out of Outlook, leave this field empty or enter a bogus address.)
      • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): enter the address of your E-mail provider's SMTP server
      • HTTP Service Provider: if using an HTTP account, specify the service provider for this account 
      • User Name: your name in the form required by your email provider to log into your email account
      • Password: password required by your email provider
      • Remember password: check this box so Outlook can automatically access your email
      • Require login using Secure Password Authentication (SPA): check only if required by your ISP
    5. Click Test Account Settings to have Outlook verify that it can access your email account using the information you entered
    6. Click More Settings to open the Internet E-mail Settings screen where you may further modify your account information
    7. Click Next > then Finish.
  4. Download and install the Collaboration Data Objects for Office 2007 from Microsoft (see "Download Collaboration Data Objects for Office Outlook 2007" in the related articles below).
  5. Ensure that the security settings in Office Outlook allow sending MLS reports (see "Configure Office Outlook Security" in the related articles below). 

For Microsoft's detail instructions, see Configure E-mail Accounts in Office Outlook 2007, 2003 & 2002 in the related articles below. 

Note:  Some users report that, like Windows Mail, Office Outlook 2007 needs to be closed before MLS reports can be successfully transferred from CTI Navigator into Outlook. 

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Setup Windows Live Mail or Windows Live Hotmail  

Microsoft offers two options for free (ad supported) e-mail through their "Windows Live" suite of services. The options are for Windows based "Windows Live Mail" or web-based "Windows Live Hotmail".  

  1. Windows Live Mail: You can install the Windows Live Mail program in Windows Vista or Windows XP SP2 (or later) so you can access, compose and read e-mail messages even when your computer is not connected to the Internet. Windows Live Mail can be configured to work with Windows Live Hotmail, AOL mail, Google gmail and Yahoo! Premium email services. If Windows Live Mail is set as the default email program on a computer running Windows XP or Vista, it can process all formats of MLS reports from CTI Navigator.

    To setup Windows Live Mail: go to http://Get.Live.com/WLmail/Overview {there is a dot between Get and Live} > click the "Get It Free" button > Run (or Save then Run) the WLinstaller.exe file > follow Microsoft's installation prompts. 

    To install more than just the mail component of the Windows Live services (such as Messenger, Photo Gallery, Blog Writer, or Toolbar): go to http://Get.Live.com {there is a dot between Get and Live} > click the "Get Windows Live" button > un-check services you do not want to install > click the Install button > Run (or Save then Run) the WLinstaller.exe file > follow Microsoft's installation prompts.
  2. Windows Live Hotmail (web-based): You can setup a new Windows Live ID, or use an existing Hotmail or MSN Mail account, to open a free online e-mail service called Windows Live Hotmail. Messages in Windows Live Hotmail accounts are not stored on your computer and can be accessed only through an Internet connection. This web-based e-mail service can process Text Link formatted email reports from CTI Navigator, but will not accept any other standard email report format. (Note that Outlook Express in Windows XP and Windows Mail in Windows Vista do not support the HTTP servers used by free web-based email services such as Windows Live Hotmail or free Yahoo! mail.)  

    To setup Windows Live Hotmail: go to http://GetLive.com {there is no dot between Get and Live} > click "Get It Now" button beside Windows Live Hotmail > click "Get It Free" button > setup or sign in using your Windows Live ID.

Note: You can use the free Microsoft Office Outlook Connector add-in (see related articles below) to access and manage your Windows Live Hotmail or Microsoft Office Live Mail accounts in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. 

Warning: It has been reported that the spam filter in Windows Live may block some legitimate emails so that they never appear in the recipient's inbox or junk mail folder, yet notify the sender that the email was successfully delivered (see "Hotmail in Wikipedia" in the related articles and Internet links below). 

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Setup Mozilla Thunderbird

Thunderbird by the Mozilla organization is an Open Source (freeware), cross platform (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux) email application alternative to Microsoft's Outlook Express and Windows Mail. It can be downloaded and installed in Windows to handle your email.

To setup Thunderbird for email in Windows, see " Thunderbird Help and Tutorials" in the related articles section, or follow the summarized steps below:

  1. Install and then open Thunderbird (see "Download Thunderbird" in the related articles section).
  2. On the Local Folders screen, click "Create a new account"; or in the top menu select Tools > Account Settings > Add Account button).
       
    This starts an Account Wizard series of screens on which you select or enter the required information, and then click the Next button at the bottom.
  3. On the New Account Setup screen, select Email account and click Next
  4. On the Identity screen enter your name and email address, and click Next
  5. On the Server Information screen,
    • select the server type (usually POP)
    • enter the name (address) of your Incoming Server
    • if prompted, enter the name (address) of your Outgoing (SMTP) Server
    •  leave "Use Global Inbox..." checked unless you are entering multiple email accounts/identities 
  6. On the User Names screen,
    • enter the user name given to you by your email provider
    • if prompted, enter an outgoing user name given to you by your email provider
  7. On the Account Name screen, enter the name you would like to use to refer to this account
  8. On the Congratulations screen, verify the account information and either click the Back button to change information, or click Finish to save the setup.
  9. On the main screen, select Inbox under your name and click "Get Mail" at the top. (Either use this to test that the account is setup correctly, or Write a message and try to Send it as a test.)
  10. On the Mail Server Password Required screen, enter the password to your email account and click OK. After you have ensured that your password is correct, on future use your can check "Use Password Manager to remember this password."

    Warning: Do NOT save the password unless you are certain that it works in Thunderbird and is typed correctly. It is difficult to change a password once it has been saved.

Note: To complete setup for gmail, see 

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Email using AOL account

AOL allows Windows to connect to AOL's e-mail servers through Outlook Express, Office Outlook, Windows Mail or Eudora using IMAP technology (instead of POP3). Instructions for creating and configuring AOL email in Windows email programs should be available at one of AOL's on-line support sites (see "AOL Help"  in related Internet Links below).

The key system entries for setting up to use an AOL account in Windows email programs are:

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Email using Yahoo! Mail Plus account

According to Yahoo (at http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/original/mailplus/pop/pop-35.html), "The ability to access Yahoo! Mail via a POP3 email client (such as Outlook or Outlook Express) is only available to customers of our premium Yahoo! Mail Plus service." (See note below for a converter to access free Yahoo! Mail in Windows.)

The key system entries for setting up to use a Yahoo! Mail Plus account in Windows email programs are:

For details, see "Yahoo! Mail Plus" in the related articles and Internet Links below.

Note: Access to a free Yahoo! Mail account may be available through the free open source YPOPs application gateway (see the appropriate YPOPs link in the related articles and Internet Links below). The YPOPs service works as a proxy server to convert messages into the POP3 format used by Windows mail clients such as Outlook Express, Office Outlook, and Mozilla Thunderbird. It can be set to send and to receive messages from Windows through your Yahoo! Mail. 

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Email using Gmail account 

To enable POP downloads into Windows email programs for your Gmail account :

  1. Sign into your Gmail account
  2. Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page
  3. Click Forwarding and POP/IMAP


  4. Select Enable POP for all mail or Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on
  5. Choose the action you'd like your Gmail messages to take after they are accessed with POP
  6. Configure your POP client (as described through this link or summarized below) and click Save Changes.

After enabling POP download in your Gmail account (as described above), use the following to setup your Gmail account in your Windows email program (Outlook Express, Window Mail, or Office Outlook):

For details, see "Gmail Help" in the related articles and Internet Links below.

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Summary of Email Provider Server Setup

Email

Provider

SERVERS

Connection

 or SPA = Secure Password Auth

Advanced Port#

Type

INcoming

OUTgoing

Auth

Logon

OUT

IN

Alltel.net

Pop3

Mail.Alltel.net

Mail.Alltel.net

 

 

Dialup > Always use Alltel

AOL.com

IMAP

Imap.AOL.com

Smtp.AOL.com

þ

same

 

587

143

AT&T/BellSouth.net

Pop3

Mail.BellSouth.net

Mail.BellSouth.net

þ

same

 

25

110

Comcast.net

Pop3

Mail.Comcast.net

Smtp.Comcast.net

þ

same

 

587

110

Dnet.net

Pop3

Email.dnet.net

Smtp.dnet.net

 

 

Always connect using Dnet

Earthlink.net

Pop3

Pop.Earthlink.net

SMTPauth.Earthlink.net

þ

Email address

 

587

110

Embarq.com

Pop3

Pop.EmbarqMail.com

Smtp.embarqmail.com

þ

Email address

Replaced Sprint Earthlink 2007

 

 

Google Gmail.com **

Pop3

Pop.gmail.com

Smtp.gmail.com

þ

same

Out & In þ Require SSL

465

995

Hotmail.com(obsolete)

HTTP

http://services.msn.com/svcs/hotmail/httpmail.asp (only grandfathered accounts work in OE)

MSN.com (obsolete)

Pop3

Pop3.email.MSN.com

Smtp.email.MSN.com

þ

same

þ SPA

 

 

Netscape.net

Pop3

Pop3.isp.Netscape.net

Smtp.isp.Netscape.net

þ

same

 

587

110

Netzero.net*

Pop3

Pop.netzero.com

AuthSmtp.netzero.com

þ

Email address

 

Not ü leave copy on server

RoadRunner(cfl)

Pop3

Pop-server.cfl.rr.com

Smtp-server.cfl.rr.com

 

 

 

 

 

Verizon.net

Pop3

Incoming.Verizon.net

Outgoing.Verizon.net

þ

same

 

25

110

WindowsLive Hotmail

Browser based – no offline access – Text Links only - download WL Mail for use in Windows

WindowsLive Mail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windstream.net

Pop3

Pop.windstream.net

Smtp. windstream.net

þ

same

 

 

 

Yahoo! Mail Plus*

Pop3

Pop.mail.Yahoo.com

Smtp.mail.Yahoo.com

þ

same

Require SSL

465

995

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Must be paid, not free, account to interface thru Outlook Express. Free Yahoo!Mail cannot process email links w/o YPOPS.  
** Gmail has POP Troubleshooter for Outlook Express, Office Outlook, or Mozilla Thunderbird.
Web-based free WL Hotmail and paid Yahoo!Mail Plus on Internet can process Text links only – no HTML.

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Emailing MLS Reports

How to email MLS reports is described in CTI Navigator Help by selecting Navigator Help > Using Cti Navigator > Communications > E-mail (see the related article, "Using Help in CTI Navigator").  

Note that email reports normally should be sent from a Search Results table (not from the Report Preview screen) in CTI Navigator. Emailing from a table of results provides more options, is much more efficient, and does not require Adobe Reader. To preview reports before emailing, your can use the Report Display icon (Image of Hand holding a report) on the table. This Report Display is dynamic and will change to show the selected report for each listing when you click on it in the table.

Emailing from a Report Preview screen creates a PDF file. This pdf file can be attached to any e-mail message, including web-based e-mail. To be read, a pdf file must be opened by a PDF Reader on the recipient's computer. (Adobe's free PDF reader can be downloaded by selecting "Adobe free PDF Reader" in the related articles  below.) Beware that the pdf file can become  quite large and extremely slow to transmit when more than one or two listings are included in the same file.

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Related articles and Internet links: 

To return to CTI's menu of Help & Tutorials, click here or use the back arrow at the top of your Internet browser.

 

 

 

rev.08.19.08a