How to Configure MS Office Outlook

The Microsoft Office Outlook email client is designed to be used in business and personal settings so users can send, receive and organize their email. Outlook uses an email protocol called POP3, which allows you to attach any existing email address to the program so you can receive all of your email for your various accounts in one location. To send or receive any email messages in the Microsoft Outlook program, you will need to configure it with your email provider's incoming and outgoing server information.

Instructions

1. Contact the company that provides your email address such as your Internet service provider or a free email provider such as Yahoo! Provide them with your account information, which should be on your bill if you are contacting your Internet service provider. Ask for your email address, password, and the incoming and outgoing Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server information.

2. Open the Microsoft Outlook email program, then click on the "Tools" button at the top of the window. Scroll through the drop-down menu that will appear and click on the "Account Settings" option.

3. 

   Navigate to the "Email" tab in the "Tools" window. Click on the "New" button and wait for a new window to appear. Click on the radio button marked "Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP or HTTP," then click on the "Next" button.

4. Type the name you want to be attached to your emails in the "Name" text box. Press the "Tab" key, then type in the email address provided to you earlier. Type in the password you were given in the "Password" text box.

5. Click on "Next," then enter in the incoming SMTP server information in the corresponding text box. Hit the "Tab" key and type in the outgoing server information in the "Next Text" box. Click on "Next," then click on "Finish."

6. Return to the "Tools" menu, then click on "Options." Navigate to the "Preferences" tab, then click on "Email options." Click on the box next to the email settings you want turned on such as "Save Copies of Messages in Sent Items Folder" or "Automatically Save Unsent Messages."

7. Click on "Apply Changes," then close the "Options" window to finish configuring the Microsoft Outlook email client.

Tips & Warnings

• You can change the name associated with your email account by changing the text inside the "Mark My Comments" box in the "Email options" menu. The incoming and outgoing SMTP information lets Microsoft Outlook know what server it needs to contact to send and receive your email messages. If you get your email through your Internet service provider, it will give you a pre-generated password. You can usually change that password by accessing its website and entering your account information.

References

• Setting Up MS Office Outlook