Microsoft KB Archive/883081

= How to configure an AOL e-mail account in Outlook Express =

Article ID: 883081

Article Last Modified on 6/7/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0
 * Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0

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INTRODUCTION
This article describes how to configure Microsoft Outlook Express to connect to an America Online (AOL) e-mail account.

Until recently, AOL’s e-mail technology was not compatible with Outlook Express. AOL has now made it possible to configure later versions of Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Microsoft Entourage to use AOL e-mail accounts.

Note Certain AOL e-mail features are not available when you connect to your AOL account by using Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, or Microsoft Entourage. For more information about this, see the &quot;AOL e-mail features that are not available on IMAP&quot; section.



MORE INFORMATION
AOL uses the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) protocol for incoming mail and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for outgoing mail. To configure Outlook Express to connect to an AOL e-mail account, follow these steps.

Step 1: Add the AOL e-mail account
To add an AOL e-mail account in Outlook Express, follow these steps:  Sign on to AOL. Start Outlook Express. If Outlook Express is not your default e-mail client, you may be prompted to specify if you want to use Outlook Express as your default e-mail client. To select Outlook Express as your default e-mail client, click OK. If you are prompted to type your name in the Display name box, click Cancel, and then click Yes when you receive the following message:

The new Internet account has not been created yet. Are you sure you want to exit the wizard?

 In Outlook Express, click Accounts on the Tools menu. Click Add, and then click Mail. In the Display name box, type your name as you want it to appear on your outgoing e-mail messages, and then click Next. In the E-mail address box, type your AOL e-mail alias. For example, type user@aol.com .</li> Click Next.</li> In the My incoming mail server is a list, click IMAP.</li> In the Incoming mail (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP) server box, type imap.aol.com .</li> In the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server box, type smtp.aol.com, and then click Next.</li> In the Account name box, type your AOL account name.</li> In the Password box, type your AOL account password.</li> If you want Outlook Express to save your password, leave the Remember password check box selected.</li> Click Next, and then click Finish.</li></ol>

Step 2: Configure the AOL e-mail account
After you add the AOL e-mail account, you must configure this account in Outlook Express. To do this, follow these steps: <ol> When you return to the Internet Accounts dialog box after you complete the steps from the &quot;Step 1: Add the AOL e-mail account&quot; section, click the Mail tab.

Note If the Internet Accounts dialog box is not open, click Accounts on the Tools menu.</li> On the Mail tab, click the AOL account that you added, and then click Properties.</li> Click the Servers tab, and then click to select the My server requires authentication check box.</li> Click Apply, and then click the Advanced tab.</li> In the Outgoing mail (SMTP) box, type 587.

Note By default, the SMTP port number is 25.</li> Click Apply, and then click the IMAP tab.</li> Click to clear the Store special folders on IMAP server check box, click Apply, and then click OK.</li> Click Apply, and then click OK.</li> <li>Click Close. If you receive the following message, click Yes:

Would you like to download folders from the mail server you added?

</li></ol>

AOL e-mail features that are not available on IMAP
The following AOL features are not available when you configure Outlook Express to connect to an AOL IMAP server:
 * In the Recently Deleted E-mail folder, e-mail messages are marked ready to be deleted in the Inbox folder or in the Sent Items folder and then removed by the AOL IMAP servers every night. Some programs, such as Outlook, display deleted e-mail messages in the original folder with the flagged for deletion message. Other programs may not display these e-mail messages.
 * You cannot view the status of a sent e-mail message or of a retrieved unopened e-mail message from AOL members.
 * The Report Spam button is not available on IMAP. To report e-mail messages as spam, move those e-mail messages to your Spam folder.
 * AOL IMAP servers do not permit folders to be created in the root folder or to be removed from the root folder. You see an Inbox folder, a Sent Items folder, a Saved folder, a Spam folder, and a Voicemail folder. You cannot access the Voicemail folder unless you subscribe to the AOL Voicemail product. For more information about AOL Voicemail, visit AOL Keyword: Voicemail.
 * You cannot manually add e-mail messages to the Inbox folder or to the Sent Items folder. E-mail messages only appear in these folders when an e-mail message is received or sent by the AOL IMAP server.

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