NSIT: Computing, Networks & Phones

Setting up Outlook 2007 for xMail

Note that the xMail web interface has almost all the functionality of Outlook when used with Internet Explorer and is the recommended way to access xMail from off-campus or personally-owned machines.

Off-campus users must have an active VPN connection. You can also connect to http://xmail.uchicago.edu to use xMail's web interface. The web interface does not require a VPN connection.

1. Obtain and install a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows. Microsoft Outlook 2007 is a part of this software package.
2. Go to Start → Control Panel → User Accounts → Mail (or Start → Control Panel → Mail, depending on your configuration).
3. This will open the "Account Setup" window. Click "New".
4. Choose "Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or HTTP"; click Next.
5. On the "Auto Account Setup" screen, do not enter the information. Instead, check the "Manually configure server settings or additional server types" box, then click Next.
6. Select "Microsoft Exchange" on the next screen, then click Next.
7. On the Microsoft Exchange Settings screen, enter the following:
   • Microsoft Exchange Server: evs01.ad.uchicago.edu
   • Use Cached Exchange Mode: make sure this is unchecked.
   • Enter your CNetID into the "User Name" box. Click Check Name and your full name should pop up in the text box.
     • If your computer is not currently in the University's Active Directory, you will be prompted to log in to evs01.ad.uchicago.edu. Make sure your username is adlocal\cnetid and use your CNet password.
8. Click Next.
9. On the E-mail Accounts screen, click Finish. If you see a warning which states that, "By adding a Microsoft Exchange account you have changed where some of your new-email messages and calendar information is saved," or any other warning which indicates a change in mail delivery preferences...
   
   ...then read the note below carefully before continuing.
   
   At this point, users should confirm where Outlook will deliver their email. Return to the Mail control panel via Start → Control Panel → User Accounts → Mail (or Start → Control Panel → Mail, depending on your configuration). Click "E-mail Accounts," then click on the Microsoft Exchange account to highlight it. You should see an option menu below which says "Selected e-mail account delivers new e-mail messages to the following location:". Make sure that it is set to "Mailbox - CNetID\Inbox" (or just "Mailbox - Your Name"), and NOT "Personal Folders." This will ensure that mail is kept on the server instead of only being accessible from one computer. If your computer is part of the University's Active Directory, this choice may not be configurable. It will, however, be set properly without any user intervention.
   
   
10. Open Microsoft Outlook 2007.
11. If you don't see a Personal Folder in the left navigation pane, you need to create a new Outlook data folder. Select File → New → Outlook Data File. If you already have a Personal Folder, skip to step 15.
12. On the New Outlook Data File screen, highlight Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) and click OK.
13. On the Create or Open Outlook Data File screen, accept the default file name and click OK.
14. On the Create Microsoft Personal Folders screen, enter "Personal Folders1" in the "Name" field and click OK. The folder you created displays in the navigation pane.
15. Go to Tools → Options → Preferences. Click E-mail Options.
16. Deselect the "Remove extra line breaks in plain text messages" checkbox and click OK.
17. Click the Mail Format tab. Select "Plain Text" in the "Compose in this message format" field.
18. If you want Outlook to check the spelling before sending a message, click the Spelling tab and select the "Always check spelling before sending" checkbox.
19. Click OK. You're done setting up Outlook!

For off-campus usage or personally owned machines

If you are at an off-campus location or need to access your email from your personally-owned machine, our official recommendation is to access your email and calendar via xMail's web interface rather than Outlook. If you use Internet Explorer as your web browser, the xMail web interface looks and acts almost exactly like Outlook, and has almost all the features of Outlook; it also avoids some security hassles that make Outlook troublesome for off-campus use.

However, it is possible to use Outlook from an off-campus machine. To do so, you will first need to install and configure a University VPN connection. Whenever you are off campus, you will need to connect with the VPN before starting Outlook. Since you aren't logged in to the adlocal domain on campus, you may then be prompted for authentication data. At the username prompt, type: adlocal\cnetid and your CNet password.

Last updated: 10/8/07