Using 2 computers with one email adress? (Outlook)

[dumb_ricer]

Okay, so I'm just starting up a company, and I am unsure of how to do something.

We will be using Outlook 2003.

We have 2 computers in the office area, and they are LAN'ed together through a router.

We have a company email, lets just say sales@xxxbbb.com.

We want to both have access to the same emails. The problem is, that when outlook gets the email, it deletes it off of the POP3 server, so in other words, it seems that only one computer would get the email. I want it so both computers get the email.

Is there a file I should share between on the computer to do this, or will it automatically send to both computers?

What about sent emails? Say I send an email to one customer, and then leave.... Will my partner be able to see that I have already read and replied to that message? Let me know what I can do.

Thank you!

Nathan

 

[mikeblas]

I don't think any email program does this. POP3 simply isn't rich enough; it doesn't know what you want to keep, what you want to synch, what can be deleted, what one account has read, what the other account has read, and so on. Maybe someone knows of some tool that does it.

If you use Exchange Server, it can eat the POP3 mail and store it in Exchange Server. Then, your Outlook clients can both connect to Exchange Server, which manages all those things.

 

[djnes]

You're going to need something more than a POP3 account. You'll need an IMAP account, or else a full blown Exchange Server to do what you want.

 

[Langford]

With pop3 and outlook (thunderbird and most other clients too), you can set it to leave emails on the server, and you can also set it to delete after a certain amount of time has passed. In Outlook, the account settings for pop3 usually has a button with something like "More Settings" in the lower corner. If you click it, you can reach the settings that provide access to those features. Setting both systems up like that will let them receive the same emails with one account.

That only covers half of your needs however. it still won't tell your second system that you have replied to something. I suppose you could get used to BCC for that purpose, but it may grow tiresome.

 

[mikeblas]

What stops the client from downloading the same mail again and again if they were left on the server? Does POP give the message a GUID that lets the client know it doesn't need to be downloaded again?

 

[Langford]

What stops the client from downloading the same mail again and again if they were left on the server? Does POP give the message a GUID that lets the client know it doesn't need to be downloaded again?

The email client avoids duplicates automatically on it's end. I don't know if it's using a unique identifier, or if it's by receive date. I use the functionality all the time for people who switch between desktops and laptops with the same address, and also so I can preserve usefulness of web-mail interfaces while still allowing pop3 access.

 

[Grentz]

What stops the client from downloading the same mail again and again if they were left on the server? Does POP give the message a GUID that lets the client know it doesn't need to be downloaded again?

I think it compares the message IDs to see if you have already downloaded. It works well, but you will have to remember to clear the pop boxes everynow and then as with email left on the server, you will reach your limit fairly quickly (most hosts are 100 - 1000mb limits.)

 

[MrMike]

It uses an ID called a UIDL.
Not all e-mail clients support this properly, but all major ones today definitely do. By that I mean Outlook, Windows Mail, and Thunderbird.