OLEXP: How to Use Multiple E-mail Accounts for Multiple Users in Outlook Express

This article describes how to use multiple Outlook Express 4.0 e-mail accounts for multiple users, so that more than one person can use the same computer for e-mail.

The procedures in this article do not apply to Outlook Express version 5 and later. Beginning with Outlook Express 5, you set up multiple users by using identities. For additional information about how to distinguish between multiple users in Outlook Express 5, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

NOTE: This article and the additional articles referenced in this article assume that each user already has an e-mail account that they use to view e-mail messages. If you do not have an e-mail account, you must obtain one from an Internet service provider (ISP) before you can use Outlook Express to view e-mail messages. Furthermore, this article does not describe how to configure an e-mail account, including what to type for the e-mail address, e-mail server type, incoming and outgoing e-mail servers, or password. For additional information about how to configure an e-mail account, see the "Setting Up Mail and News Accounts" section below.

The information in this article is useful in the following scenarios:

• You want more than one person in your house to use the same computer for e-mail. For example, you and your spouse want to use the same computer to view e-mail messages, and you want to keep each other's messages separate.
• You want a person visiting your house to use your computer for their e-mail. For example, a friend wants to use your computer to view their e-mail messages, and you want to keep their messages separate from yours. Similarly, you may want to use a friend's computer to view your e-mail messages, and keep your messages separate from theirs.
• You want more than one person in your house to use the same computer for e-mail, and you want them to log on separately. For example, you and your spouse want to use the same computer to view the same e-mail messages, but you do not want your spouse to log on using your information.

To use multiple e-mail accounts for multiple users, you must perform the following tasks, which are described in detail in the following sections:

• Enable user profiles in Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98. This allows you to distinguish between multiple users in Outlook Express so that more than one person can use the same computer for e-mail.
  
  NOTE: You do not need to enable user profiles in Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. User profiles are enabled by default in Windows NT 4.0.
• Set up the appropriate e-mail and news accounts for each user. For people to receive the desired e-mail messages in Outlook Express, each person's profile needs to be configured with the appropriate e-mail accounts. To do so, start Outlook Express by using the appropriate profile, and then add or configure the appropriate e-mail accounts.
  
  For example, if you want two different users to view their e-mail messages separately, then each user's profile needs to be configured with their own e-mail accounts. If you create two separate profiles for two different users, but you configure each profile with the same e-mail account, both users receive the same e-mail messages. Similarly, if you create a new profile for a different user, but you do not configure the new profile with any e-mail accounts, the user does not receive any e-mail messages.

Enabling User Profiles

NOTE: You should enable user profiles before you install Outlook Express for Windows 95 or Windows 98. For additional information about what to do if you installed Outlook Express before you enabled user profiles, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To enable user profiles:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Passwords, and then click the User Profiles tab.
3. Click Users can customize their preferences and desktop settings. Windows switches to your personal settings whenever you log in.
4. Click OK, and then close Control Panel.

When a user logs on, their e-mail account is available. For one user to log off, and another to log on:

1. Click Start, and then click Log Off username, where username is the name of the user who is currently logged on to the computer.
2. When you are prompted, "Are you sure you want to log off," click Yes.
3. When you are prompted to log on, type your user name and password, and then press ENTER.

Setting Up Mail and News Accounts

Outlook Express provides support for multiple mail and news accounts for a single user. For more information about setting up additional mail and news accounts for a single user, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: