This page explains how to set up Microsoft Outlook 2010 to send and receive email for an email mailbox you’ve created.

These instructions create a “IMAP” connection using SSL security. If you prefer to create a “POP3” connection, see our Outlook 2010 POP settings page instead.

Before you continue, you should enter your email address (the address you want to set up in Outlook) in the box above. Entering your email address makes sure that the instructions below are correct.

1. Start the Microsoft Outlook program.

Use the Start menu to start Outlook 2010. If you’ve never used Outlook before, it will prompt you to create a new account. In that case, skip ahead to step 2.

If you’ve previously used Outlook and it doesn’t prompt you, click the File tab, then the Add Account button:

2. The “Auto Account Setup” screen appears.

When this window appears, leave the spaces empty, choose the Manually configure server settings or additional server types option, then click Next.

3. The “Choose Service” screen appears.

Choose Internet E-mail, then click Next.

4. The “Internet E-mail Settings” screen appears.

This is the window where you’ll enter most of your account settings. You want the window to look like this:

• “Your Name” is the name that other people will see when you send them email. It should usually be your real name, such as Bill Gates or Joan of Arc.

• Enter your “E-mail Address”. The address must be the email address of the mailbox you created in your account management control panel.
• For “Account Type”, choose IMAP.
• Enter mail.tigertech.net for both the “Incoming mail server” and “Outgoing mail server (SMTP)”.
• Enter your email address again as the “User Name”. (The user name must be all lowercase).
• Type your email password into the “Password” box. This is the password you chose for this email address when you created the mailbox in your account management control panel. This password may be different from your master “My Account” password with our company.
• Make sure that “Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)” is not checked.
• Do not click “Test Account Settings” or “Next” yet; they will not work until you complete the next steps.

5. View “More Settings”.

Click the More Settings button. A new “Internet E-mail Settings” window appears.

6. Choose the “Outgoing Server” tab.

In the “Outgoing Server” tab, check My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication and make sure Use same settings as my incoming mail server is selected:

7. Choose the “Advanced” tab.

Click the “Advanced” tab, then:

• Change both the “Use the following type of encrypted connection” settings to SSL. (This will make the IMAP port number change from “143” to “993”; that’s normal.)
• Change the “Outgoing server (SMTP)” port number from “25” to 465.

Those parts of the window should look like this:

8. Close the “Internet E-mail Settings” window.

Click OK to close the “Internet E-mail Settings” window. The “Add New Account” screen will still be visible.

9. Test the settings.

Click Next. Outlook should tell you that “all tests completed successfully”:

If Outlook tells you a test failed, double-check to be sure you’ve entered the settings correctly.

10. Finish the wizard.

If the “Test Account Settings” window is still open, click Close to continue.

Click Finish to finish the wizard.

Outlook setup is complete

You’re finished! Try sending yourself a test email message to make sure it works.

Keep in mind that when you use IMAP for a mailbox, Outlook displays the folders for that address below the other folders. You might need to click on the little triangle icon below the address to see all the folders on the server, too:

This is unfortunately just the way Outlook displays IMAP accounts, and not something we can control.

Setting up “Sent Items” (optional)

If you want Outlook to store your sent mail on the server so it can be seen from other IMAP devices, you can do this:

• Click the Outlook File tab and select the account for your email address if it’s not already chosen
• Click the Account Settings button to open the settings window
• Make sure your email address is selected, then click Change
• Click the More Settings button
• Click the Sent Items tab
• Choose the folder you want to use to store sent messages

Be sure to choose the same folder on each device you use. Some other devices may automatically choose an existing folder name, such as “Sent”; if you’re using such as device, you should pick the same folder name in Outlook.

Why do deleted messages look strange in other programs or devices?

Outlook 2010 has an idiosyncrasy about how it deleted messages. Unlike other programs, it doesn’t immediately and automatically trash messages you delete. Instead, it marks them for deletion, but doesn’t move them unless/until you “purge” the folder.

When messages are in this half-deleted state, other mail programs (including webmail and devices such as a phone) can show them in strange ways, which can be confusing and make it look like your messages are not “in sync” across devices.

This is the main reason we say above that Outlook 2010 doesn’t work well if you also read mail on other devices like a phone or webmail. Upgrading to a newer version of Outlook will solve this.