Hotmail advice please

1. Can Hotmail be used to download email from other email providers.
2. Is it possible to link a smtp server to a particular account, rather than using the Hotmail default.

Thanks in advance.

1. Yes - They do need to be DAD-enabled, but we'll check that for you.
2. Yes, as long as it isn't blocked by your ISP, but why would you want to?

2. Yes, as long as it isn't blocked by your ISP, but why would you want to?

A small business account is hosted with a hosting company that also hosts the domain name. Two people have access to the account which is IMAP. One using Windows Mail can create new folders within the Inbox, the other using Hotmail can't. The one using WM uses the smtp server as supplied by the hosting company. I'm not sure what the Hotmail user is using as smtp.

I was wondering if the Hotmail user isn't using the supplied SMTP if this would affect their ability to create folders. Apparently they get an "account is locked" error message when trying to create folders. However they are able to view all folder messages.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

One using Windows Mail can create new folders within the Inbox, the other using Hotmail can't.

You seem to be confusing a Hotmail Webmail account/access and an email client like WM.

"other using Hotmail" - using Hotmail what? Hotmail itself doesn't have a SMTP; it's Webmail, but it does supply a SMTP to use from a email client (it does not supply IMAP).

What's stopping the "Hotmail user" installing any email client and accessing your hosted domain via IMAP, completely independent of Hotmail? They can still use their Hotmail a/c to read and send their own emails.

You seem to be confusing a Hotmail Webmail account/access and an email client like WM.

I would agree, I have never used Hotmail so don't understand how it works.

What's stopping the "Hotmail user" installing any email client and accessing your hosted domain via IMAP, completely independent of Hotmail

There's nothing stopping them doing it. However they can access the IMAP account via Hotmail, they just can't create folders on that account. I was wondering if that was to do with Hotmail.

I still don't understand what you are getting at.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

I have never used Hotmail so don't understand how it works.

Basically, Hotmail is a Webmail system that you normally access thro' a browser, using no servers other than the port-80 HTTP one. However it provides custom POP3 & SMTP servers so you can also read and write msgs from/to your Hotmail a/c only using your favourite email client.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

However they can access the IMAP account via Hotmail

How via Hotmail? Do you mean they pull in msgs from your hosted domain into the Hotmail a/c, a la your Q1? In which case they are not using IMAP at all and IMAP has nothing to do with it; Hotmail only uses POP3 access to these "foreign" a/c's. In which case they should cease using Hotmail in this manner and follow my original suggestion of accessing your hosted domain directly from an email client via IMAP.

Edited by XRaySpeX (Tue 03-Jan-12 22:55:48)

I still don't understand what you are getting at.

The user who uses WM is able to create folders on the IMAP mail account. The user who uses Hotmail isn't. I'm trying to find out why. I assumed, obviously wrongly, that it may be a Hotmail issue.

I will ask them to add the IMAP account into WM and try from there.

In reply to a post by wingco1:

The user who uses Hotmail isn't. I'm trying to find out why.

As I keep telling you this is because Hotmail doesn't do IMAP and you need IMAP to access (incl. create) the folders of an email account.

You don't have an "IMAP account". What you have is an email account that may be accessed by IMAP, but it may equally be accessed by POP3, which is how Hotmail accesses it.

Apologies, the penny has just dropped. Thanks for your time on this.

Edited by wingco1 (Wed 04-Jan-12 14:14:00)

No problem! You're welcome!