Synchronizing Palm VersaMail 2.7 with Microsoft Outlook 2002 and 2003
Forward
The information in this document is provided "as-is". Depending on your particular configuration, your system may vary from the items described here. Please do not directly email me questions about VersMail/Outlook troubleshooting. I just don't have the time to provide one-on-one support. If you are still having trouble getting email synchronization working, please try contacting palmOne's technical support center, reading the VersaMail support pages, or by asking a question on the Brighthand palmOne discussion board.
Alan G.
This document assumes that you have already installed and configured Microsoft Outlook on your Windows desktop or laptop computer, and that you have installed and configured Palm Desktop 4.1 or later and are able to HotSync your Palm OS device.
Update 4/18/05: GrassNet has tested palmOne VersaMail 2.7.1a3 (better known as the version that ships with the palmOne Tungsten T5) and has confirmed that it works with Microsoft Outlook 2003 SP3 and Windows XP SP2.
Update 5/17/04: A few weeks after writing this document, Microsoft sent me a copy of Office 2003 Professional Edition. I have verified that VersaMail 2.6 does in fact work with Microsoft Outlook 2003. When dealing with Outlook 2003, keep in mind that some of the commands make have been moved to new properties sheets/windows/menus, so the text on the screen my differ slightly from what I have written.
Step 1: Preping Microsoft Outlook 2002/2003
Microsoft Outlook 2002/2003 allows you to have multiple email accounts in one application window. This allows you to pull mail from say your ISP’s mail server, as well as any other mail accounts that you may have, such as a Yahoo! account.
If you are using more than one email account, you will need to choose which account will be the default mail account, which is to say the mail account which Outlook will process first. By design, the default account will the account which handles outgoing email messages.
To learn how to set an account as the Outlook ‘default’ account, launch Outlook, and then search for the string ‘Make an e-mail account the default’ in the Outlook online help.
In a nutshell, to choose which account is the default, go to:
Tools > E-mail Accounts > View or change existing e-mail accounts > ‘click the Next’ button
You should now see a list of mail accounts which Outlook has been configured to use. Select the account you want to be your Outlook default account, and then click the ‘Set as Default’ button.
Step 2: Configuring VersaMail 2.6 on the Palm OS device
If you have not already done so, install Palm VersaMail on your workstation, and then HotSync your device to install the handheld files. Once you have the VersaMail conduit installed on the workstation, and the Palm OS application installed on the handheld, you are ready to configure the Palm.
Return to the Palm OS Application Launcher, by taping the ‘Home’ icon, or using the Home key on the built-in keyboard. Launch the VersaMail icon by tapping its icon. If you don’t see the VersaMail application, make sure the Launcher is set to the ‘All’ category in the top right corner of the screen. The first time you launch VersaMail after installing it on the Palm OS device, an account wizard should start. If not, do the following to start the new account wizard:
Menu icon > Accounts > Account Setup
On the Palm OS device, the ‘Account Setup’ screen will be displayed. Create a new mail account by tapping the ‘New’ button. This will cause the ‘Account Setup’ screen to appear. Enter in a name for the account. I will typically use either the service name or full email address to name the account. Next, choose the type of service you will be synchronizing with. In my case, I have to choose ‘Other’. Now, choose the mail protocol your mail server uses. Most ISPs will be using POP. If you are not sure which mail protocol your mail server is running, contact your ISP’s technical support department, your company’s IT depart for assistance. Tap the ‘Next’ button to continue.
Now, you should see a screen prompting you for your mail server username and password. The screen should have the mail account name as it’s title. Enter your username and password. Make sure you enter the account information as it was given to you. Depending on how the mail server is configured, the account information maybe case sensitive. Once you have entered your mail server login information, tap the ‘Next’ button to continue.
The next screen will ask you for your email address, and the inbound (POP3 or IMAP) mail server name or IP address as well as the outbound (SMTP) mail server name or IP address. In most cases, the name and the IP are the same, as is the case with my mail server. You should use either the name or the IP address, but not both. After you have entered the information, tap the ‘Next’ button to continue.
After entering your inbound and outbound mail server information, the wizard will indicate your ‘account [setup] is completed.’ Rather than tapping the ‘Done’ button, tap the ‘Next’ button to configure additional account information.
If you clicked the ‘Next’ button on the previous screen, you will now see a screen of ‘Incoming Mail Options’. I will leave the option to ‘Get unread mail ONLY’ enabled. I don’t want to waste time or memory downloading messages that I have already read on my desktop. Since I also use several workstations in my office and at home, I also leave the default option to ‘Leave mail on server’ enabled. (My primary PC workstation at home is the only computer configured to download mail from my POP3 server.) I also up the ‘Maximum Message Size’ from 5KB to 128KB. Feel free to experiment with this value as required. Tap the ‘Next’ button to continue.
On the next page, you will be given the change to enter your display name (so John Smith is displayed on the sender rather than j.smith@yahoo.com). I like to use a display name so my family, friends, co-worker, etc don’t have to memorize my email account to know who has sent them mail. I also would like to have a record of mail that I have composed and mailed from my Palm OS device, so I usually enable the ‘BCC a copy of outgoing msgs to’ option, and filling in my email address. Tap the ‘Next’ button to continue.
The next screen is the signature page. If you want to use a signature, enable the ‘Attach signature to messages’ option on the ‘Outgoing Mail Options’ screen. Tap the ‘Next’ button to continue.
The last screen is the ‘Advanced Outgoing Options’ page. Most SMTP servers are configured to use TCP/IP port 25 to send messages. If your mail server uses some other port number for outbound mail, enter the port number value, otherwise accept the default value of 25. Tap the ‘Done’ button.
The VersaMail application on the Palm OS device is now configured for email synchronization. The last step is to configure the desktop or laptop computer.
Step 3: Configuring the VersaMail 2.6 conduit
At this point, your default Outlook mail account should have been selected, and VersaMail should be configured on the Palm OS device. The last thing we need to do is to setup the desktop or laptop computer for email synchronization.
Before we begin to setup the desktop or laptop computer, confirm that the VersaMail conduit appears in the HotSync Manager list of installed conduits, and that the VersaMail conduit is set to ‘Synchronize the files’.
HotSync your Palm OS device with your workstation. Keep in mind that at this point, mail will not yet be synchronized. During the HotSync process, you should see a VersaMail status window pop up briefly. The HotSync Manger will also have the following error message in your HotSync Log:
- An account has been configured on the handheld, but is not present on the desktop. The account '<your account name>', has been created and requires configuration to sync on the desktop.
To configure this account on the desktop:
1. Right-click on the HotSync icon in the System Tray.
2. Select Custom...
3. Highlight VersaMail and select Change.
4. Select the '<your account name>' account in the tree.
5. Edit the account properties.
VersaMail - None of the accounts are configured for HotSync. Use the conduit to configure accounts to HotSync.
Close any open HotSync Manager windows which are still open.
Now, we need to configure the account on the workstation. Follow the steps which where outlined in the HotSync Log to access the VersaMail conduit.
Once you have the VersaMail account window open, you will see that the widow is divided into two panes: mail accounts will appear in the left pane, and when you select an item from the left, the details or object properties will appear in the right pane.
Find the account you just created on the Palm OS device in the list in the left pane, and click the ‘+’ icon to expand the contents. Directly below, and indented from the mail account name, select the ‘Mail Client Sync Setup’ item. In the right pane, enable the ‘Check this box to synchronize this mail account when you perform a HotSync operation’. Now select the mail client you are using on the desktop computer. For the purpose of this document, choose ‘Microsoft Outlook 97 or higher’. Select your mail profile. I only have one listed, ‘Outlook’. Next, enter your mail server password in the ‘Mail Password’ field.
If you want to synchronize Outlook mail folders, adjust max message size, etc, click on the ‘Advanced Sync Options’ in the left pane. I don’t care to synchronize mail folders, so the only options I change is the enable the ‘Synchronize unread mail only’ option and increase the max message size to 128KB.
The last object for the newly created mail account should be ‘Handheld Settings’. You can use these options to reconfigure VersaMail on the Palm OS device if you need to make an adjustment to the settings on the handheld.
Close the VersaMail conduit window. You will be prompted to save the changes you just made. Click the ‘Yes’ button to update the VersaMail conduit settings. Close any remaining open HotSync Manager windows.
Step 4: Finishing Up
You should now be ready to begin synchronizing your Outlook email with your Palm OS device. Perform a HotSync operation now to verify that everything is working. This time, when you HotSync, you should see the VersaMail window processing any inbound and outbound email messages.
1/7/2004, Revised 4/18/2005
All information contained on this page is copyright Alan Grassia. Any trademarked items discussed on this page is/are the property of their owners. Use of this material is prohibited without permission by the author.
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