Access Emails From Any Computer 1

[damonous]

I'm looking for a solution to a question that I've had for quite some time about Exchange and emails. How is it possible to access both read and unread emails for an account from any computer? Let's say I leave Outlook open on my computer at work. If I VPN from home to check my mail, I naturally won't have any, because all of the emails have been sent to my workstation at work. Is there a way to automate this? Does it have something to do with sending the emails to a Public Folder?

I don't usually ask for help, because for the most part, I can figure things out on my own with all the sources available on the internet. I just haven't been able to find a solution for this one. Guess I'm looking in the wrong places.

Could anyone lead me in the right direction?

 

[Davetoo]

Are you using PST files on your machine at work?

 

[damonous]

Thanks for the reply Lander,

I only found one pst file on my workstation. Outlook.pst, so I'm not sure if the correct answer is yes or no.

 

[Davetoo]

Well, let's check, shall we? ;-)

In Outlook, go to Tools/Services/Delivery. In the "Deliver new mail to the following location:", what does it say? Personal Folder or Mailbox - "username"?

 

[damonous]

Personal Folder. Should I switch it to Mailbox - "Username"?

 

[Boydie1122]

This issue is about Mail protocols and the mail client that you are using.

It appears you are using POP3 and selecting your work Outlook to delete mail off the server.

If you want to check mail from multiple locations you need to leave the mail on the server.

All the protocols can achieve this but each have their own merit. If this is an Exchange 2000 Server you also have the option to check your mail using Web Access.

Probably the easiest solution would be to use IMAP or web access which is available for all clients and will just browse the mail on the server.

Nathan

 

[Marcs41]

It's not because mail is in a PST that pop3 is used, outlook uses the exchange connection to do that.
IMAP is an option but misses much of the exchange features.
The cleanest way is to leave the mail in the Delivery options to: Mailbox.
If you then setup Outlook on several PC to acces that mailbox, you will get the mail everywhere with the same options and possibilities.
However: you can only connect one at the time.
But, for your scenario set it like this.
At work, delivery : mailbox.
From home, use IMAP, it's easier to setup from a home PC.
Alternatively, you could setup a VPN and still use the Outlook/Exchange settings.
All depends on the connection and security in place. If the answer is here, mark it, others can benefit from it too.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC!

 

[Peping]

damonous

If I VPN from home to check my mail, I naturally won't have any, because all of the emails have been sent to my workstation at work. Is there a way to automate this? Does it have something to do with sending the emails to a Public Folder?

If you VPN from home and connect to Exchange you'll have both read and unread messages. But if you connect using POP3 everything will be unread the first time. Using POP3 you can set i.e. Outlook Express to leave copy on the server.

Should you need to access your account anywhere you have to use OWA.

Peping

 

[Marcs41]

Although a valid point, the question was: from home, not anywhere.
And a VPN solution is still the most secure and gives an EXACT representation of the mailstate in Exchange. If the answer is here, mark it, others can benefit from it too.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC!

 

[damonous]

Thanks everyone. So my best bet for other users, who don't have VPN access, is the following:
1. Change delivery options from PST to Mailbox-Username
2. Setup OWA to allow them to access their mail accounts offsite.
3. Setup IMAP for VPN users.

"If you VPN from home and connect to Exchange you'll have both read and unread messages."

What you're saying is true if I have Mailbox-Username set instead of sending the mail to Personal Folders, right? Otherwise, when I logged in through the VPN, I won't have any mail, since it was all sent to the Personal Folder on my workstation.

Thanks again for the info guys.

 

[Marcs41]

Bottomline, that's rigth, if you want to access the mail from anywhere else, it has to be set to Mailbox instead of Personal folders. If the answer is here, mark it, others can benefit from it too.
Free Tip: The F1 Key does NOT destroy your PC!