Outlook Express is an email and news client program that was included with Internet Explorer versions four through to six. Outlook Express 6 is the version that was included with Windows XP although previous versions are virtually identical to set up.

Outlook Express can be used to collect email from your Internet Service Provider, work mailserver or any mail server that supports the common POP, IMAP and SMTP protocols. To set up your mail correctly you should know your email address, your ISP or email providers pop and smtp server names and types and your account name and password. If you do not know these details you should contact your Internet Service Provider or the mailservers administrator or support team.

When you first use Outlook Express and open it for the first time without any mail accounts configured chances are good that it will automatically run a wizard virtually identical to the one documented here without needing to take the extra steps of going to Internet accounts and adding an account from there. So if the wizard automatically runs when you start Outlook Express simply go to the bottom of this page and start at display name.

To configure Outlook Express we should start by opening it up. Click on the start menu on the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

If Outlook Expresss is your default email program then you will see it on the top left hand corner of your start menu just under Internet Explorer. If it isnt there you will find it by clicking on all programs on your start menu instead. Once you have located Outlook Express click on it.

If this is the first time you have opened Outlook Express and there are no email or news accounts configured a wizard will most likely automatically run prompting you to set up your email account. If this happens simply skip to the bottom of this page and start at Display Name, otherwise click on the Tools menu up the top of Outlook Express and then click on Accounts.

Internet Accounts allows you to add, remove and edit email, news and directory service accounts. If you are changing ISP's you can single click on the old email account and click on the remove button on the right hand side if you would like to delete it off your PC. To add our new email account click on the Add button and then click on mail.

A wizard will start at this point and the first thing it will ask for is a display name. A display name is a friendly name that appears instead of your email address to show the recipient of the email who its from. Most people would put their first name or perhaps their first name and the name of their significant other. If you were using the email address for work or business purposes you may prefer to type in your full name. You can use capital letters and spaces if you wish. Once you have finished click next.