With more and more people using e-mail, households are increasingly finding that one e-mail address per family is not enough. But if you’ve got more than one person using a computer, how do you control mail arriving for a variety of people all using the same PC, without them getting jumbled up together in the same inbox?
Outlook Express has a feature called Identities – a way of making sure mail goes to its intended recipient by setting up separate mailboxes for each person. That way, a family can ensure they don’t get each other’s mail.
Make sure you are using the latest version of Outlook Express (version 5), as previous versions don’t support identities. If there is only one user of the computer, there’s no need to use identities at all, as Outlook Express can easily cope with multiple accounts for a single person. To add an account, click on the Tools menu and click on Accounts, then on Add, then on Mail, and follow the instructions.
However, if more than one person uses the PC, and each has a separate e-mail address, it’s best to create identities for each one. That way, Outlook Express creates a separate message store for each person – where incoming and outgoing messages are kept. It’s then possible to switch between them without restarting the computer or, if you’re using a dial-up internet service, losing the connection.
Outlook Express creates a default main identity when the program is first started. The first thing to do is change this to the name of one of the people to whom we’re giving identities. Click on File, then on Identities, then on Manage Identities. Click on Main Identity in the dialogue box and click on Properties. Change the name in the box marked ‘Type your name’ and click on OK, then on Close to close the dialogue box.
To add a further identity, click on File, then on Identities, then on Add New Identity. Type a name into the box and click on OK. The program will ask whether you want to switch to that identity now. Click on Yes, and the program will restart. At this point, the wizard to add a new email account will appear. Follow the steps – give the account a name, type in the address, then type in the server names as provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), and provide the account name and password. Finally, Outlook Express may ask whether you want to import previous messages. Click on ‘Do not import at this time’ and click on Next, then on Finish.
So now we have two identities, each of which reads messages going to a separate email address, and can send from that particular address. You can add extra addresses to each identity as we described above.
It’s important not to add the same email address to more than one account. If this happens, when the first person-say dad- uses Outlook Express, messages will appear under his identity. When mum comes to use her identity, she won’t see the messages that have already gone into dad’s inbox, nor will he see any messages that now arrive and go into mum’s inbox.
If you need an extra e-mail address, get in touch with your ISP. Most of them offer at least two addresses for home users, at no cost. The ISP will also give you the information needed by Outlook Express when setting up the new account, as we’ve just described (you will need the username, password and mail servers as well as the actual email address being set up). These details, and the process of setting up a new account, vary between service providers. If your ISP offers a web-based toolbox or management option, this is often a good place to start.
To switch between identities, go to the File menu and click on Switch Identities. When the dialogue box appears, double-click on the name of the person to whose identity you wish to switch. Outlook Express will then restart with the new identity. The name associated with the identity is shown in the Title Bar of the Outlook Express window.
Remember to log off your identity once you’ve read messages, otherwise it will still be active even if you close Outlook Express, and the next person who uses the program can read your mail. Click on File, then on Switch Identities, select your name, click on Log Off Identity, then click on Yes.
If you want to keep your messages private, it’s possible to add a password to identities. To do so, click on File, then on Identities, then on Manage Identities. Click on the name in question and click on Properties, then tick the box marked ‘Require a password’. A window will appear asking you to enter a password and to confirm it. Do so and click on OK. The next time you wish to switch, you will be required to enter this password.
Bear in mind that this system isn’t entirely secure, as it doesn’t encrypt messages. However, it should be enough to deter all but the most determined attempt to read your mail.
Remember, though, that you won’t be able to retrieve messages without the password, so make sure you don’t forget it.
Get the message
Finally, each identity has its own contacts list – to see them, click on Tools, then on Address Book. Contacts are not shared, so if you wish other identities to be able to use them, drag them to the Shared Contacts folder.
That’s all there is to it – identities are easy to set up, and they stop your messages from being confused with others’. So if you want to untangle your messages, get on to your ISP for another address, and get going.
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers