Section 4: Setup > Communication Options

Communication Options - E-mail Tab

Technical Overview of E-mailing via MAPI

MAPI is a standard e-mailing interface used by programs to send e-mail, particularly via Microsoft mail programs (e.g. Outlook, Outlook Express, Exchange server). All e-mail that is sent via the MAPI standard is processed through your mail program and, if configured accordingly, a copy of each e-mail is retained in the Sent Items folder of your mail account.

If multiple mail programs are installed (e.g. both Outlook and Outlook Express) then the mail program which handles the processing of e-mail by third-party programs, and therefore where sent e-mails will be recorded, needs to be configured. To select the desired mail program, open Microsoft Internet Explorer, select Internet Options from the Tools menu, and select the Programs tab.

Additionally, while most users accept the default mail profile that is automatically configured when a mail program is installed, some users may have configured multiple profiles, particularly if multiple users are sharing the same workstation. The desired mail profile can be selected as part of the communication options setup.

Due to the prevalence of e-mail viruses, recent versions of Microsoft mail programs severely limit automated mail processing by third-party programs. Each time another program attempts to send an e-mail message via the Microsoft mail program, a warning message pops up requiring the user to manually verify that it is not a virus. Further, the warning message may not allow the verification until after a 5-second delay. To circumvent this problem, At Your Service integrates with a utility from Context Magic called ClickYes which automatically bypasses the popup warning messages. The utility can be downloaded from their web site and tried for free.

While it is preferable to have a permanent high-speed connection to the Internet, a regular dial-up account will still work. The disadvantage of a dial-up account is that your outgoing mail will sit in the outbox of your mail program until you manually connect and send it, rather than being processed immediately. There is also the speed consideration if you are expecting to send a high volume of e-mails, or numerous large reports.

Technical Overview of E-mailing via SMTP

SMTP is the de facto standard for sending e-mail messages across the Internet. E-mail that is sent via SMTP bypasses your local mail program (e.g. Microsoft Outlook) and goes directly to an Internet mail server. As a result, no record of the e-mail is recorded in your mail program.

If SMTP relaying is turned off on your mail server then the mail server may refuse to send e-mail messages sent to e-mail addresses outside of your local domain (i.e. if your local domain name is mycompany.com, then e-mails cannot be sent to destination e-mail addresses that do not end in @mycompany.com). While this is not always a problem on your Internet service provider’s mail server, this feature is often disabled on internal corporate mail servers to protect the servers from being used to relay spam messages. In most cases, you can still send e-mails by configuring secure mail authentication as part of the communication options setup. The mail server then uses your POP3 e-mail login name and password to verify who is sending the messages.

While it is preferable to have a permanent high-speed connection to the Internet, a regular dial-up account will still work when used in conjunction with a mail server that can be configured to automatically dial up and send e-mail on a regularly scheduled basis (e.g. Microsoft Exchange). There is also the speed consideration if you are expecting to send a high volume of e-mails, or numerous large reports.

Configuring E-mail Settings

The E-mail tab allows configuration of e-mail communication settings.

Setup Communication Options - Main E-mail Tab Entry Fields

Option

Description

E-mail Gateway

Select whether to send e-mail via MAPI, via SMTP, or None if no e-mail is configured. If a configured SMTP mail server can be detected from the Windows registry then the e-mail gateway will default to SMTP. Otherwise if a MAPI mail program is detected on the workstation then the e-mail gateway will default to MAPI. If neither can be detected then it will default to None.

 

The remaining fields vary depending on whether MAPI or SMTP e-mail has been selected.

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Setup Communication Options - MAPI E-mail Entry Fields

Option

Description

MAPI Profile Name

Select an existing MAPI profile. If a default MAPI profile can be detected in the Windows registry then it will be selected as the default.

Reply E-mail Address

Enter a reply e-mail address, up to 50 characters. This reply e-mail address will be used when creating reply-to hyperlinks in e-mail messages that are sent via MAPI (see Responding to a Repair Estimate Form E-mail, and Responding to an Estimated Notice). It must be a valid e-mail address and may not be left empy.

Note that this will not be the e-mail address that appears as the From address when the recipient receives e-mail messages. The From address will be the one configured in your MAPI profile.

If a configured e-mail address can be detected from the Windows registry then it will be the default reply e-mail address. If no configured e-mail address can be detected then if there is an e-mail address set up for the business location of the logged in user (see Business Locations) then it will be the default reply e-mail address.

Click the  button to test the configured MAPI e-mail settings. A status message will indicate whether the attempted connection was successful. If any problems are detected then suggestions may be made on how they may be resolved.

 

Setup Communication Options - SMTP E-mail Entry Fields

Option

Description

SMTP Mail Server

Enter the domain name (e.g. smtp.mycompany.com) or the IP address (e.g. 192.0.0.0) of your primary SMTP server, up to 100 characters. Optionally enter additional backup SMTP servers, separated by commas (e.g. smtp1.mycompany.com, smtp2.mycompany.com).

If a configured SMTP mail server can be detected from the Windows registry then it will be the default SMTP mail server.

Reply E-mail Address

Enter the e-mail address that you want to appear as the From address when the recipient receives the e-mail message, up to 50 characters. If the recipient chooses to reply-to-sender using their local e-mail software, the reply e-mail message will be sent back to this address by default. It must be a valid e-mail address and may not be left empty.

This reply e-mail address will also be used when creating reply-to hyperlinks in e-mail messages that are sent via SMTP (see Responding to a Repair Estimate Form E-mail, and Responding to an Estimated Notice).

If a configured e-mail address can be detected from the Windows registry then it will be the default reply e-mail address. If no configured e-mail address can be detected then if there is an e-mail address set up for the business location of the logged in user (see Business Locations) then it will be the default reply e-mail address.

Secure Mail Authentication

Check this box if the SMTP server requires that the sender of the e-mail must be authenticated in order to confirm that the e-mail is not spam being sent by a third-party Uncheck this box (the system default) if no authentication is required. If this field is unchecked then the remaining fields will be disabled.

Secure mail authentication is available only for licensed users of version 2.1 and higher.

Account User Name

Enter the user ID required to authenticate the sender of the e-mail, up to 50 characters. This would typically be the POP3 user ID of a known e-mail address on the mail server, often the e-mail address itself.

Account Password

Enter the password required to authenticate the sender of the e-mail, up to 50 characters. This would typically be the POP3 password of a known e-mail address on the mail server. The password will appear as a series of asterisks for added privacy.

Click the  button to test the configured SMTP e-mail settings. A status message will indicate whether the attempted connection was successful. If any problems are detected then suggestions may be made on how they may be resolved.

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Communication Options - Fax Tab