Fix the outgoing mail settings in Microsoft Outlook Express
Microsoft Outlook Express 5 on classic Mac OS can fail to successfully send e-mail messages to others at RIT if you use some of the program's default settings.
Fixing this problem fully requires making the following changes. Without changing these settings, Microsoft Outlook Express can incorrectly send messages -- resulting in delivery failures or problems with replying to messages that were sent.
- Add the RIT Directory to your Microsoft Outlook Express directory service account settings.
- Turn on the Preference option to automatically check names on all outgoing messages. This will use the RIT Directory -- and Microsoft Outlook Express' own address book -- to look up addresses for any recipients of new messages you create.
- Add the "rit.edu" domain as the default domain in your e-mail account settings. If you enter an RIT username instead of e-mail address -- such as "abc1234" rather than "abc1234@rit.edu" -- then Microsoft Outlook Express will add the critical domain information for you when sending the message.
- Should your frequent recipients appear in the Microsoft Outlook Express address book, verify that they are listed there with the correct fully qualified e-mail address, such as "abc1234@rit.edu" -- not just "abc1234." The partial e-mail address can cause delivery failures or problems with message replies.
We often see these problems when people cannot reply to messages they have received. In many cases, those messsages were sent by a Microsoft Outlook Express user, and the messages include e-mail addresses like "abc1234@129.21.168.4." These improper addresses, formed with numeric IP addresses, should not appear on e-mail messages at RIT.
Note: Most of these settings are set more appropriately "out of the box" in Microsoft Entourage. The same settings apply, though, so if you have changed account options or preferences in Entourage, you should confirm that the settings above are correct.