Outlook 2010, Multiple Accounts & Default Account

[Diane Poremsky]

Outlook 2010 is an embarrassment.And a pain in the ass of any professional institution.

You are gone.

What program replaced it? For all its warts (and it does have some), Outlook is the best mail/calendar/contact client around for businesses. Even Notes users perfer it... many smartphone users are stuck with it for syncing calendar and contacts...

[Chris Butler]

For the first time in many years (with a lot of help from Slipstick), this feature has me stumped.

I have two account with two different ISPs. One is IMAP (me@imap.com), one is POP (me@pop.com). Neither ISP allows relaying of other ISP's mail.

So ... Outlook 2010 always uses the POP account to send from and so I can't send me@imap.com e-mail at all !

Am I missing something ?

[Forum Admin]

If you are viewing the imap folders when you send new mail, does it work?
If you select the IMAP account in the account selector, does it work?

In this case, you're hitting the new behavior - see http://www.slipstick.com/emo/2010/up100826.htm#4 for methods to work around this problem.

Is the POP3 account the one provided by the ISP through whom you are connected to the Internet?

If the IMAP account is selected as the send account but is mysteriously changed to the pop account, its usually the internet host doing it - many no longer allow access to port 25 on other networks and some will change the from address to the one acssociated with the account. Changing the outgoing port and authenticating with the server will fix this problem.

[Chris Butler]

Q: If you are viewing the imap folders when you send new mail, does it work?
A: No, even if I select the IMAP account, the mail goes to the folder associated with the POP account and uses the POP account to send.

Q: If you select the IMAP account in the account selector, does it work?
A: No, same as above

Q: In this case, you're hitting the new behavior ...
A: I've tried the macro one, but not the registry one - but since Outlook always sends to the POP account no matter what I select, I don't see it working.

Q: Is the POP3 account the one provided by the ISP through whom you are connected to the Internet?
A: No, it's the IMAP account which is the 'home' account. The POP one is the one that works and is the 'foreign' account !!!

By the way, the test send in the account set-up works just fine.

I'm just baffled. It seems so simple to have two accounts and all worked fine in the previous Outlook versions.

I've been reduced to sending e-mail through the POP account with the IMAP address as a reply-to which defeats the whole purpose of the IMAP account (having web access to my Outlook folders).

[Forum Admin]

Definitely baffling.

Did you upgrade and keep a profile used in an older version? (If so, it should mostly work like before- and selecting the imap account as the from account should use it.)

Did you try a new profile? I'd start with an imap only profile and see if it works ok. Then add the pop account and see if the behavior reverts. (Don't delete the first profile - just make a new one to test.)

[Chris Butler]

I started afresh and didn't convert.

I've tried the new Profile as you suggested and offer below some comments on what seems to cause the problem.

Previously, I think I set up the POP account first. This time I started with the IMAP account. When you set that up Outlook automatically creates a 'companion' pst to the IMAP-linked pst. Obviously that 'companion' pst has the default Contacts etc. in it, but it is also the account used to send mail through. I guess that makes sense since the sending is done though SMTP and not IMAP.

When I set up the POP account, I created another (third) pst so that the pst used for the POP account and the pst used for the IMAP sending are separate. That seems to work.

What still screws it up is if you move the IMAP pst. That seems to break the invisible link to the 'companion' pst and at that point sent e-mail goes to that pst but just sits in the Outbox. I did the move in the 'proper' way, so I guess that process just doesn't work for IMAP accounts in Outlook 2010 ?

Net result is it works, but it does mean that I have two psts (I have two IMAP accounts, not just the one) that will grow and grow on my c: drive unless I clear out the trash regularly (having a very large trash box on a server was another attraction of IMAP for me).

You can safely guess which way I'm voting in the poll !

[Diane Poremsky]

What still screws it up is if you move the IMAP pst. That seems to break the invisible link to the 'companion' pst and at that point sent e-mail goes to that pst but just sits in the Outbox. I did the move in the 'proper' way, so I guess that process just doesn't work for IMAP accounts in Outlook 2010 ?

You used this method? http://www.slipstick.com/config/moveimap.asp - i know it works for the bgasic maove in 2010, but i didn't test how it worked with the sending accounts. I guess i'll have to check it out.

[Chris Butler]

Yup. I followed your advice (as always ).

I didn't try moving both the IMAP pst and the 'companion' pst so that they stay together. Perhaps that works.

[Diane Poremsky]

i'll test it - oh, another thought - what sent folder were you using for sent items? That might need updated when a pst is moved.
Account settings, double click account, more settings - sent tab.

[Chris Butler]

I used the default - made no changes. That is to say, the Sent Items folder in the IMAP pst (not in the 'companion' pst).

Just to be clear, when I send items from the IMAP account, you see them in the Outbox on the 'companion' pst, but the sent item is in the Sent Items folder in the IMAP pst.