Setting Up Outlook Express for Use with Google Apps at USC

This page provides instructions for setting up Outlook Express to use with your Google Apps at USC email account.

You will need to enable IMAP or POP access on your Google Apps at USC email account in order to check your email through Outlook Express. ITS strongly recommends the use of the IMAP protocol and provides configuration documentation for that protocol only. For information about POP3 and IMAP, see the IMAP and POP Comparison page.

NOTE: You will need to enter your Google password in order to check your Google Apps at USC email.

Setting Up IMAP Access

1. Go to google.usc.edu and click Gmail.
2. Click Settings at the top the Gmail page.
3. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
4. Choose Enable IMAP in the IMAP Access section.
5. Click Save Changes.

Setting Up Email for the First Time

If you are using Outlook Express for the first time, the Internet Connection wizard will automatically begin.

1. From the Tools menu, select Accounts.
2. In the Internet Accounts window, click Add and select Mail.



3. In the Your Name window, enter your full name, and click Next.



4. On the Internet Email Address window, enter your email address. Your email address should be in the format username@usc.edu



5. Click Next.
6. In the Email Server Names window, in the My incoming mail server is a field, please select IMAP.
7. For the Incoming mail server field, enter: imap.gmail.com.
8. For the Outgoing mail server field, enter: smtp.gmail.com
   Note: If USC is not your Internet Service Provider (ISP), then you will need to enter the SMTP server of your ISP. If you do not know the name of the server, please contact your ISP for that information.


9. After supplying outgoing mail server, click Next.
10. For the Account name field, enter your login name. This should be the same as your email address, including "@usc.edu".



11. You may choose to save your password in the Password field and click the Remember password check box.
    Note: It is recommended that you do not save your password if multiple people have access to your computer.
12. Click Next and then click Finish to close the Internet Connection Wizard window.
13. Click Close to close the Internet Accounts window.

Setting Up a New Account

If you already have your Outlook Express mail account set up, follow these steps below to configure Outlook Express to work with Google Apps at USC.

1. From the Tools menu, select Accounts.
2. A dialog box will appear. Click the Mail tab, and select your account.
3. Click Properties .
4. Select the Servers tab.
5. In the Incoming mail (POP or IMAP): field, enter imap.gmail.com.
6. In the Outgoing mail (SMTP): field, enter smtp.gmail.com
   Note: If your Internet Service Provider is not USC, then you will need to enter the SMTP server of your provider. If you do not know the name of the server, you will have to contact your provider for that information.
7. Supply your outgoing mail server, and click Next.


8. Click the Advanced tab.
9. Under Sever Port Numbers, make sure that Outgoing (SMTP) is set to 587 and Incoming (IMAP) is set to 993.
10. Check This server requires a secure connection for both outgoing and incoming servers.
11. Click OK to save the changes, and click Close to exit the Internet Accounts window.

Setting Up Server Authentication

In order to send email using USC Google Apps, Outlook Express must be configured to use authentication.

1. Click the Tools menu, and select Accounts.
2. Click the Mail tab, highlight your account, and click Properties.
   
3. Click the Servers tab. Change the entry in the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) field to email.usc.edu.
4. Check the box My server requires authentication and click Settings.
   
5. In the Outgoing Mail Server window, select Use same settings as my incoming mail server, and click OK.
6. Click the Advanced tab.
7. Under Sever Port Numbers, make sure that Outgoing (SMTP) is set to 587 and Incoming (IMAP) is set to 993.
8. Check This server requires a secure connection for both outgoing and incoming servers.
9. Click OK again to close the email.usc.edu Properties window, and Close to close the Internet Accounts window.

Subscribing/Unsubscribing to Folders

If you check your email for the first time, you may have noticed that some of your mail folders have disappeared. If this is the case, you will need to remap your folders in order to see your previous mailboxes. Or, if you have email stored in other IMAP folders besides the Inbox that you want to view, you may need to subscribe to them.

1. Click the Tools menu, and select IMAP Folders.
   
2. To subscribe/unsubscribe to a email folder, select the name from the listing and click Subscribe/Unsubscribe accordingly. Subscribed folders will have a folder-envelope icon placed next to them.
3. Once you have finished configuring the email account, click OK to close the IMAP Folders window.

Creating New Folders

To create a new IMAP folder:

1. Click the File menu, select Folder, and then select New.
   
2. In the Create New Folder window, enter a new folder name, and select where you wish to create the new folder. For most IMAP users, this will be the name of the IMAP account, and the folder will be created on the email server.
3. To create a folder on your computer, you may select Personal Folders from the Outlook Folders tree.
4. Click OK to create the folder, and the Create New Folder window will close.