Configure Outlook 2003
This handout is designed to assist you with the setup of Outlook 2003 using the IMAP mail protocol. For detailed information on IMAP, please see our handout at www.bu.edu/pcsc/email/help/whatisimap.html.
Please also note that this handout focuses on Outlook for use with e-mail accounts on ACS. It does not provide information on use with Exchange Server.
All other important information on the use of e-mail at BU is available at www.bu.edu/pcsc/email.
Use the Start button or double-click on the Outlook icon and wait for it to open.
- The first time you launch Outlook 2003 on a computer with which you have used prior versions of Outlook, it will automatically import existing accounts and settings. If one of those is your BU account then you may be all set with configuration and could be ready to move on to other topics. If you do still need to set up your ACS account, please read on...
- If this is the first time you have configured Outlook at all, it will launch a Wizard to walk you through the process. If you want to, you can follow the Wizard through, but our instructions will assume that you click on Cancel, allowing us to help you configure the mail program using the menus.
- Once Outlook is open and the Wizard is closed, choose Tools->E-mail Accounts from the menu.
- In the E-mail
Accounts dialog box, click to Add a new e-mail account
and choose Next.
- Indicate that you are setting up an IMAP account and click Next.
- Enter your settings (as shown below using Jo Schmoe).
- Once you have finished the settings, DO NOT CLICK NEXT YET instead click on the More Settings button.
- On the General
tab, you may want to add Boston University
as your location.
- Also, as shown below, on the Advanced tab, indicate that you want to use SSL (port 993) with IMAP by checking off "This server requires an encrypted connection."
- Below it , indicate that you want
to use SSL (port 465) with SMTP by checking off "This
server requires an encrypted connection."
- Next, set up the Outgoing Server tab as shown below .
You're now all set with the standard setup instructions but may want to read on...
If you discover later that you need to change any settings, such as those of your SMTP server setting, or your Root folder path...
- Choose Tools->E-mail Accounts from the menu.
- In the E-mail Accounts dialog box, click to View or change an e-mail existing account and choose Next.
- Select the BU (acs-imap) account and click Change
Outlook's User Interface
Outlook 2003 looks somewhat different from previous versions of Outlook, and different from other popular mail programs. If you were used to something else, you may want to explore through the features a bit to see where things are. If you like the new look, great. If you would rather modify the interface so that it looks more familiar, here are some setting changes to help you revert:
-
Choose View-Reading Pane-Bottom
-
Choose View-Arrange by-and (turn off) Show in Groups
-
Click on the Folder List button (bottom left) to display the folders in a more familiar way.
Purging Deleted Messages
Users of Outlook with IMAP will need to bear in mind that deleted or moved messages are simply marked for deletion but will not be *purged* until you manually choose to "Purge Deleted Messages." To make it easier to quickly purge the messages marked for deletion, you should set up the following button:
- Choose Tools-Customize and click on the Commands tab.
- Click on the Edit category and scroll down until you see the Purge Deleted Messages option.
- Click to select the Purge Deleted Messages option and drag it up to your toolbar. One nice place to locate it might be next to the black X tool (which represents "delete").
- After you see the words Purge Deleted Messages on your toolbar, you can click Close.
- (In the future, if you need to move that command off of the toolbar, or move it to another location, simply repeat steps 23-26 but drag it back onto the Edit list.)
Working with Folders
When you are working with Outlook, you should be able to see the list of your folders in a window to the left. If you are using IMAP, you will see both local folders (those that reside on your computer) and your remote folders (those that reside on the server). (In fact you will have two Inboxes. One will be the local Inbox and one will be your server Inbox.)
You can create new folders either locally or on the server using the File-New Folder menu. Move messages between folders just by dragging them.
About the Mail directory
If, after configuring your mail program and connecting to the server, you do not see any of your known/existing mail folders, or you see a lot of extra files that you didn't expect to see, set the Root folder path (a.k.a. the IMAP server directory) as Mail. This requirement is rare, but could be an issue for some ACS accounts created prior to February 19, 2008. To make that change, go back to the More Settings button and click on the Advanced tab. Set your Root folder path as Mail.