Can I have multiple identities in Outlook?

[X_Eyed_Bear]

I'm switching from Outlook Express to Outlook (2003) and immediately find
some functional shortcomings (which really surprises me): I would greatly
appreciate some advice from those with much more experience than myself.

..1 I have multiple email accounts across multiple POP providers. In Outlook
Express I keep email into/out of these accounts completely separate by
having separate identities for them and using the Outlook Express
File/Switch Identity command to switch between them This has worked to my
satisfaction for the past 10 years or so. But I can find no equivalent
function in Outlook. Is this possible?

2. I have defined all my accounts to Outlook and attempted to sort email
coming into or out of these accounts into separate folders by setting up
rules in the Tools/Rules and Alerts dialog. By the behaviour is strange:

a) In creating a rule one can specify an account and a folder, but the
account actually used depends on which account is set as the default, not
the account which is specified in the rule. This makes the rule pointless.
On sending, one has the opportunity to change the default account at the
point of sending the email, but unless you have switched the default account
correctly before closing Outlook, when it starts up again it will
immediately read email into whatever is set as the default account - again
ignoring the rules. This whole process is obviously error prone and much
more cumbersome that the 'separate identity' facility in Outlook Express. or
am I missing something here?

b) One can select an action as 'move a copy into the specified folder'.
This is misleading. It actually means 'make a copy in the specified folder'.
This results in 2 copies of the emails being created and kept. What I want
to do is 'move the item to the specified folder'. Can I do this?

 

[Gordon]

I'm switching from Outlook Express to Outlook (2003) and immediately find
some functional shortcomings (which really surprises me): I would greatly
appreciate some advice from those with much more experience than myself.

.1 I have multiple email accounts across multiple POP providers. In Outlook
Express I keep email into/out of these accounts completely separate by
having separate identities for them and using the Outlook Express
File/Switch Identity command to switch between them This has worked to my
satisfaction for the past 10 years or so. But I can find no equivalent
function in Outlook. Is this possible?

Outlook uses Profiles, not Identities. As Outlook is aimed at the Business
user, who normally only has one email addresss, there is no capability to
switch from one Profile to another without first closing Outlook.

2. I have defined all my accounts to Outlook and attempted to sort email
coming into or out of these accounts into separate folders by setting up
rules in the Tools/Rules and Alerts dialog. By the behaviour is strange:

a) In creating a rule one can specify an account and a folder, but the
account actually used depends on which account is set as the default, not
the account which is specified in the rule. This makes the rule pointless.
On sending, one has the opportunity to change the default account at the
point of sending the email, but unless you have switched the default account
correctly before closing Outlook, when it starts up again it will
immediately read email into whatever is set as the default account - again
ignoring the rules. This whole process is obviously error prone and much
more cumbersome that the 'separate identity' facility in Outlook Express. or
am I missing something here?

Did you start from a blank rule set up, or did you try to use one of the
templates? I think you'll find that if you nstart from a blank new rule, all
the things you want to do will be there and will work the way you want them
to.

b) One can select an action as 'move a copy into the specified folder'.
This is misleading. It actually means 'make a copy in the specified folder'.
This results in 2 copies of the emails being created and kept. What I want
to do is 'move the item to the specified folder'. Can I do this?

Yes, see above. On the second options screen is the function "Move to
specified folder".

 

[John C. Harris, MPA]

Let me see if I can guide you though this as best I can:

You can have multiple identities in OL. You set them up as separate accounts
and enter the data each time. Then you create a rule stating basically to
MOVE the item to the corrct folder if it is SENT to the specific address.
EX: I have three accounts in my OL folder. A personal account, My
business account, and my wifes account. Each ahve separate email
addresses, though they are all through my Road Runner Main account.
I then set up a rule that is I receive an email addressed TO
(e-mail address removed), it MOVES the email to the Business Folder I have
created, and so on.
As far as the rule goes, you stated the amswer to your own problem. If you
select COPY the item to another folder it will do exactly that. It will COPY
the email into the designated folder, and keep the original in the INBOX.
When creating the rule, choose instead the MOVE item option. Try not using
the Wizard and creating the rules manually and you will see many other
options.

To send email you will have to choose which account to send it under. Nature
of the beast I am afraid. But even with the little irksome problem, OL2K3 is
FAR better than OE in all matters, especially for business users. I ran into
this at a number of agencies that were stuck in the 1990's with Netscape
Navigator. Once you accept the new tools, and LEARN to use them to their
full capabilities, you will be much happier with OL2K3.

 

[X_Eyed_Bear]

Outlook uses Profiles, not Identities. As Outlook is aimed at the Business
user, who normally only has one email addresss, there is no capability to
switch from one Profile to another without first closing Outlook.

OK, I don't mind closing Outlook, but how/where do I define Profiles?

Did you start from a blank rule set up, or did you try to use one of the
templates? I think you'll find that if you nstart from a blank new rule, all
the things you want to do will be there and will work the way you want them
to.

Yes, I did start from a blank rule, but failed to notice that the second
option (check box) on Step 2 was 'move it to the specified folder'.
I've changed this now and hope it works

Thanks for prompt guidance.

 

[X_Eyed_Bear]

Let me see if I can guide you though this as best I can:

You can have multiple identities in OL. You set them up as separate accounts
and enter the data each time. Then you create a rule stating basically to
MOVE the item to the corrct folder if it is SENT to the specific address.
EX: I have three accounts in my OL folder. A personal account, My
business account, and my wifes account. Each ahve separate email
addresses, though they are all through my Road Runner Main account.
I then set up a rule that is I receive an email addressed TO
(e-mail address removed), it MOVES the email to the Business Folder I have
created, and so on.
As far as the rule goes, you stated the amswer to your own problem. If you
select COPY the item to another folder it will do exactly that. It will COPY
the email into the designated folder, and keep the original in the INBOX.
When creating the rule, choose instead the MOVE item option. Try not using
the Wizard and creating the rules manually and you will see many other
options.

To send email you will have to choose which account to send it under. Nature
of the beast I am afraid. But even with the little irksome problem, OL2K3 is
FAR better than OE in all matters, especially for business users. I ran into
this at a number of agencies that were stuck in the 1990's with Netscape
Navigator. Once you accept the new tools, and LEARN to use them to their
full capabilities, you will be much happier with OL2K3.

Thanks for this. I'm going to rework my rule definitions. If at first you
don't succeed, this gives another chance...

 

[Alias]

As Outlook is aimed at the Business
user, who normally only has one email addresss,

Huh? I am a business user and I have seven business email accounts and two
personal accounts and I have them all under one profile.

 

[Brian Tillman]

.1 I have multiple email accounts across multiple POP providers. In
Outlook Express I keep email into/out of these accounts completely
separate by having separate identities for them and using the Outlook
Express File/Switch Identity command to switch between them This has
worked to my satisfaction for the past 10 years or so. But I can find
no equivalent function in Outlook. Is this possible?

Multiple mail profiles, if you need completely separate message stores, but
you have to stop and restart Outlook to switch profiles.

2. I have defined all my accounts to Outlook and attempted to sort
email coming into or out of these accounts into separate folders by
setting up rules in the Tools/Rules and Alerts dialog. By the
behaviour is strange:

a) In creating a rule one can specify an account and a folder, but the
account actually used depends on which account is set as the default,
not the account which is specified in the rule.

This can be explained if you have more than one account actually referencing
the same POP server; i.e., multiple accounts using the same mailbox on the
same POP server. The first account that references the server downloads all
the mail, so all the messages are received by that account, despite what
address was used to place the message in the mailbox. If you have multiple
addresses that are aliases of each other, this will happen. In that case
you have to use the rule that says "with specific words in the recipient's
address".

b) One can select an action as 'move a copy into the specified
folder'. This is misleading. It actually means 'make a copy in the
specified folder'.

No, it doesn't. The fault lies in the fact that you haven't included the
"stop processing more rules" action on your rule. All rules get applied to
each message unless you tell Outlook otherwise. Because you haven't done
so, Outlook retains the message in the Inbox so that subsequent rules (after
the one that moves it to the folder) can also take action. By including the
action I cite, Outlook will no it doesn't have to retain the message in the
Inbox and you won't get a copy in both places.

 

[Hal Hostetler [MVP S/U]]

The how and where of setting up Profiles would be 'Control Panel|Mail|Show
Profiles|Add'

Hal
--
Hal Hostetler, CPBE -- (e-mail address removed)
Senior Engineer/MIS -- MS MVP-S/U -- WA7BGX
http://www.kvoa.com -- "When News breaks, we fix it!"
KVOA Television, Tucson, AZ. NBC Channel 4
Still Cadillacin' - www.badnewsbluesband.com

 

[Gordon]

Huh? I am a business user and I have seven business email accounts and two
personal accounts and I have them all under one profile.

That's very much an exception AFAIK - most Outlook users, especially in
companies, only have one email address - the company one.

 

[Alias]

That's very much an exception AFAIK - most Outlook users, especially in
companies, only have one email address - the company one.

You didn't say that. I own two companies and consider myself to be a
"business user".

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Only in big corps where the systems are locked down so users can't add a
personal account. As of last year, CEIP data had like 60% of Outlook
profiles with at least 2 accounts. I'm sure current data has it much
higher - it's been growing over the years and I have no reason to believe
its peaked.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Gordon]

You didn't say that. I own two companies and consider myself to be a
"business user".

As I said - very much an exception to the norm.

 

[Gordon]

Only in big corps where the systems are locked down so users can't add a
personal account.

That may be so else where, but in the UK it's very much the norm in anything
over a small company to have no access to POP email.

 

[Alias]

As I said - very much an exception to the norm.

"The norm"? LOL! Generalizations, generalizations, generalizations.