OME-RESA's
Exchange e-mail system provides Outlook Web Access (or OWA as we call it for
short) a web-based interface to your e-mail. This is accessible from
anywhere you have access to a web browser, making it a very convenient
option for reading your e-mail.
However, in
addition to OME-RESA's Outlook Web Access interface, OME-RESA's Exchange
e-mail system supports Exchange (MAPI), POP3 and IMAP protocols for receiving
e-mail through an Outlook or Outlook Express client.. If you prefer to use
an Outlook client rather than the web-based interface, which protocol should
you choose?
First, you may
be limited by your software. Only Outlook 2003, 2002, and 2000 support the
Exchange connection. Outlook Express is a stripped-down version of Outlook
that only supports POP3 and IMAP.
If you have the
choice to use a true Exchange connection, you probably should. This stores
all of your mail, calendar appointments, and contacts on OME-RESA's Exchange
server. You will have access to all of the same information you see in
Outlook when you log into Outlook Web Access.
If you are going to use Outlook Express, you have to choose between POP3 and
IMAP. Which one you choose depends on your e-mail habits. Do you always
check your e-mail from the same computer every day? Or do you check your
e-mail with Outlook at school, and maybe check it with OWA from home or in a
lab? If you check mail from multiple computers at multiple locations, and
want to be able to see ALL of your e-mail each time, you should use IMAP.
If you always check e-mail from one computer, POP3 might be a better choice.
POP3 will
download all new messages from OME-RESAs e-mail server to Local Folders on
your computer. Once the mail is downloaded, it is faster to read since it is
right there on your local computer, rather than pulling each message across
the network. POP3 has some disadvantages. If you log in with OWA, you will
only see NEW messages, but no old ones. That's because all of the old
messages have been downloaded to your local computer and are no longer on
OME-RESAs e-mail server. NOTE: There is an option in Outlook for POP3 that
says "Leave a copy of the messages on the server". We do not recommend you
do this. If you are going to do this, you might as well use IMAP instead.
Also, once the
messages are downloaded to your local computer, you will be responsible to
back them up if you need to keep them. If your hard drive crashes, you
will lose all of your e-mail messages, since they are now stored on your
computer, not at OME-RESA.
IMAP allows you
to read the messages, but leaves them on OME-RESAs e-mail server. IMAP has
the advantage of keeping your e-mail in one spot. If you move around and
check your e-mail from multiple places, then IMAP is the choice for you.
The disadvantage of IMAP is the speed....IMAP is slower than POP3 because
each message has to be retrieved from the server when you click on it.
Hopefully this
document helps you make your choice. If not, please e-mail
emailstaff@omeresa.net
for further assistance with your questions.
