Outlook 2003 does not keep default account when reply

[Jennifer]

I have 4 email accounts set up on my Outlook (2003). Occasionally, when I
reply to an email, instead of sending from my default account, Outlook
randomly picks an account to send the email from. So, rather than having a
reply come from (say) ME, it shows it came from My boss... or any of the
other accounts I have set up.

Can anyone tell me why this happens...and if it can be prevented? Is there a
setting? The first couple of times it happened, I deleted the additional
account and rebuilt them, thinking that was the issue. But it has not
resolved that way.

Any information can be most helpful. Thanks and Happy New Year!

 

[DL]

A reply 'should' by default, be sent via the account it was received on

 

[Jennifer]

Right, but say for instance, I receive an email from an outside source,
addressed to "Jennifer" ...then I reply, it should come FROM "Jennifer" but
instead is coming from "Linda" (another account I have set up).

 

[Brian Tillman]

I have 4 email accounts set up on my Outlook (2003). Occasionally,
when I reply to an email, instead of sending from my default account,
Outlook randomly picks an account to send the email from. So, rather
than having a reply come from (say) ME, it shows it came from My
boss... or any of the other accounts I have set up.

What type(s) of accounts are these? "Exchange", "POP", "IMAP", or "HTTP"
would be the list of possible answers.

 

[Jennifer]

All are POP accounts

What type(s) of accounts are these? "Exchange", "POP", "IMAP", or "HTTP"
would be the list of possible answers.

 

[Brian Tillman]

All are POP accounts

OK, then. Are any of these accounts aliases of each other; i.e., do they
connect to the same mailbox using the same credentials?

 

[Jennifer]

Only in receiving. - Let me explain. I have my email account set up on here.
Occasionally, I need to send an email and make it "look" like it came from my
boss (as well as a couple of others in my office) but I don't want to set up
an account to pull in his email - you see? So I have that account set up to
send "from him" but to receive my own email. Make sense?

 

[Brian Tillman]

Only in receiving. - Let me explain. I have my email account set up
on here. Occasionally, I need to send an email and make it "look"
like it came from my boss (as well as a couple of others in my
office) but I don't want to set up an account to pull in his email -
you see? So I have that account set up to send "from him" but to
receive my own email. Make sense?

Yes it makes sense. Why have you set up those other accounts to receive
anything, since you have an account already that receives you own mail
(i.e., your own account)?

When you want to use multiple outgoing addresses like you describe, you will
always need to manually choose the account whose outgoing address is the one
you want.

 

[Jennifer]

Outlook will not allow me to set up the Email accounts without an incoming
server.

When I create a new message to send, it will send from my default - but when
I reply to a message - it randomly picks who to send from...but only
occasionally! So if I understand you correctly, each time I reply I have to
manually select the account I want it sent from? ... and that there is no
setting that will make it automatically send from my default (when replying)?

 

[Brian Tillman]

Outlook will not allow me to set up the Email accounts without an
incoming server.

Sure, but the server doesn't have to be real. Moreover you can set the
send/receive group to prevent receiving for those accounts.

 

[Brian Tillman]

When I create a new message to send, it will send from my default -
but when I reply to a message - it randomly picks who to send
from...but only occasionally! So if I understand you correctly, each
time I reply I have to manually select the account I want it sent
from? ... and that there is no setting that will make it
automatically send from my default (when replying)?

Outlook always replies using the account by which the message was received.
So, the conclusion is that the message was received on an account you
weren't expecting.

 

[Jennifer]

Thank you so much for your help Brian! I did not realize I could set up a
dummy incoming server info for those accountsm also I did not know that I
could set up specific send/receive instructions! You have been most helpful
- thank you.