How to select the SMTP server automagically according to the current network location/setup?

[Michael Moser]

I am using several ISPs during the day (office, on-the-go, home) and
by now all of them forbid relaying, so in Outlook - when sending an
email - I always first have to choose the appropriate account (and
thus SMTP server) via which to send an email.

I find this most tedious, esp. since - when replying - Outlook by
default seems to preselect the account, via which the mail was
received as the one via which it tries to send the reply. While
originally this might have been a good idea this does not work at all
any more in the presence of these "relaying not allowed" policies that
have been put in place everywhere (claiming that this is a necessary
measure to prevent spam being sent from their network. ||-(

So, what I need is some automatic configuration (or tool that switches
between preset configurations) to automatically select the
account/SMTP server of the network that I am currently connected to
regardless via which account an email has been received.

Can that be configured in Outlook (2002/XP)? Or does anyone know about
a tool that can do that?

I have been trying "Autoroute SMTP" which uses an approach to reroutes
all mails via a local SMTP proxy, but one still has to select the
correct SMTP server after a network change manually (although it's
already a considerable improvement that one only has to select the
correct server *once* after a network change). But is there no tool,
that notices a network change itself and then automagically chooses
the correct server?

Michael

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Rather than something that chooses the right SMTP server, why not ask the
ISP to see if they will allow a relay if one authenticates to the SMTP
server. This is becoming more common place since people tend to have 2 or
more e-mail accounts these days and tend to be more mobile with the advent
of wireless devices.

 

[John Phillips]

So, what I need is some automatic configuration (or tool that switches
between preset configurations) to automatically select the
account/SMTP server of the network that I am currently connected to
regardless via which account an email has been received.

Why not try your own SMTP server?

I have been using one for a few years now, sometimes sending mail from
strange places around the world from my laptop, without bother.

The one I use is Mail Direct Pro http://www.ocloudsoft.com/index.htm

Google will find you plenty others out there!

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

See http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives/2004/20040322.htm for an easy
solution.

--
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/

 

[Michael Moser]

Rather than something that chooses the right SMTP server, why not
ask the ISP to see if they will allow a relay if one authenticates
to the SMTP server. This is becoming more common place since people
tend to have 2 or more e-mail accounts these days and tend to be
more mobile with the advent of wireless devices.

I did but they refused (at least for now...). :-(

 

[Michael Moser]

See http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives/2004/20040322.htm for an
easy solution.

Suggestion 1: Editing the hosts-file? Nah!

Suggestion 2: I am currently using a similar approach as described in
that second solution which uses a local smtp proxy. All accounts have
that local proxy entered as their email server.
The local proxy forwards a mail to the currently selected mail server
which I can choose from a short list by clicking on a tray icon that -
when clicked - displays that list and allows me to pick the current
ISP's server.

But I consider even that already too much! Why do *I* have to select
the SMTP server (manually)? For what do we have computer? Why is there
no solution, that - when one server is currently not reachable or
refuses to accept the mail - goes through a list and picks the next
server.

Michael

 

[Michael Moser]

That sounds like a solution to consider - if I find no other
solution...

But honestly I would prefer to NOT have to run my own server, since
for that I would either have to set up a second system that is
constantly running (plus drill a hole into my home firewall so I can
reach that from the internet plus some DynDNS setup to be able to
always locate that server since my DSL provider doesn't give me a
static IP adress, etc. etc.) or I would have to find (and probably
pay) some place to host that server... I know - not a big deal, but
still I would prefer a solution that can run on my laptop and doesn't
require any further infrastructure.

Michael

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Because not everyone wants to send mail on any server in their list and
prefers to have it not sent until they are connected to the correct server?
Also, not all SMTP will accept email with a from addresses different than
the address associated with the log on.

Each change that is made in the code requires a lot of testing - if the
option can be enabled or disabled (as this would have to be, for the reasons
above) it requires even more testing to insure it doesn't introduce bugs.
Then it needs tested with antivirus and antispam products to insure there
isn't a problem. For this reason, such a feature would not be added to
currently shipping versions via an SP.

An autodetecting version of your second suggestion method would make a great
windows utility - and anyone who wanted to use a SMTP proxy could, without
introducing more bugs into outlook and it would also be backwards compatible
with all versions - in fact, it would be compatible with all windows email
clients.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

No need for a separate server - a simple SMTP server uses less resources
than Outlook - a heck of a lot less. It can easily run on any system.
WinXP includes a SMTP if you install IIS but there are a lot of SMTP apps
available for free that will work as well without requiring IIS.

--
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/

That sounds like a solution to consider - if I find no other solution...

But honestly I would prefer to NOT have to run my own server, since for
that I would either have to set up a second system that is constantly
running (plus drill a hole into my home firewall so I can reach that from
the internet plus some DynDNS setup to be able to always locate that
server since my DSL provider doesn't give me a static IP adress, etc.
etc.) or I would have to find (and probably pay) some place to host that
server... I know - not a big deal, but still I would prefer a solution
that can run on my laptop and doesn't require any further infrastructure.

Michael