I have found that in Outlook Express when I view an unread message on an IMAP
account, it will show up as unread again on the next send/receive (giving me
the "new mail" indication again as well). In other words, the 'unread' flag
is not being changed on the IMAP server. However, I have found that
switching to a mailbox on any other account (such as a local folder) after
reading the message causes the unread flags to be set properly so I do not
get false "new mail" alerts.

My question is, is there any way to either:
1. Set OE to automatically change the flags immediately, or at regular
intervals; or
2. Set OE to automatically switch to the local inbox after a specified
interval, which will force the flags to be updated.

The reason this is a problem is that I often forget to change the mailbox,
so 5 minutes after reading an email I get the "new mail" alert again (and I
am always disappointed!)

"Andrew" wrote in message
...
I have found that in Outlook Express when I view an unread message on an IMAP
account, it will show up as unread again on the next send/receive (giving me
the "new mail" indication again as well). In other words, the 'unread' flag
is not being changed on the IMAP server. However, I have found that
switching to a mailbox on any other account (such as a local folder) after
reading the message causes the unread flags to be set properly so I do not
get false "new mail" alerts.

My question is, is there any way to either:
1. Set OE to automatically change the flags immediately, or at regular
intervals; or


According to the Help you can use a Synchronize command with IMAP
accounts. Have you tried doing that?

It may help if you explained more how you download messages,
e.g. just via Send/Receive? Also, you could use the troubleshooting log
for IMAP to see if OE is doing what you think it should be doing.
If so, you may have evidence that the source of your symptom is really
in your server and in that case ask your server operator to make changes
so that OE's requests are honored. Etc.

BTW you may have better luck finding a newsgroup or forum where your
particular server is the main focus of discussion. E.g. you are more likely
to find knowledgeable comment about both it and OE there than here.


Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
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2. Set OE to automatically switch to the local inbox after a specified
interval, which will force the flags to be updated.

The reason this is a problem is that I often forget to change the mailbox,
so 5 minutes after reading an email I get the "new mail" alert again (and I
am always disappointed!)

According to the Help you can use a Synchronize command with IMAP
accounts. Have you tried doing that?

Yes, the inbox folder is set to synchronize on send/receive.

It may help if you explained more how you download messages,
e.g. just via Send/Receive?

Yes, I download messages using send/receive. After I read a message (and
mark it as read), on the next send/receive the message becomes unread and I
get the new mail notification.

Also, you could use the troubleshooting log
for IMAP to see if OE is doing what you think it should be doing.
If so, you may have evidence that the source of your symptom is really
in your server and in that case ask your server operator to make changes
so that OE's requests are honored. Etc.

I have a few pieces of evidence that this is an OE problem. The first clue
is that other clients, including Outlook and Thunderbird, do not have the
problem with the same server. Another clue is from Princeton's website:

"Some e-mail clients set message flags improperly. Outlook Express 5 in IMAP
mode does not update message flags (Read, Deleted, etc.) on the server until
the program exits. Users of Outlook Express (any version) using IMAP may see
read messages revert back to an unread state. This is due to Outlook Express
incorrectly using multiple connections to the same mailbox. This is a
documented bug with Outlook Express in IMAP mode."
(http://helpdesk.princeton.edu/kb/display.plx?ID=3542)

I don't go to Princeton or use their server by the way, I just found this
with a web search.

I took a look at the logs but they don't mean anything to me.

"Andrew" wrote in message
...

Also, you could use the troubleshooting log
for IMAP to see if OE is doing what you think it should be doing.
If so, you may have evidence that the source of your symptom is really
in your server and in that case ask your server operator to make changes
so that OE's requests are honored. Etc.

I have a few pieces of evidence that this is an OE problem. The first clue
is that other clients, including Outlook and Thunderbird, do not have the
problem with the same server.


In that case you could refine your symptom description by comparing
their traces with OE's. What does OE do or not do differently?


Another clue is from Princeton's website:

"Some e-mail clients set message flags improperly. Outlook Express 5 in IMAP
mode does not update message flags (Read, Deleted, etc.) on the server until
the program exits. Users of Outlook Express (any version) using IMAP may see
read messages revert back to an unread state. This is due to Outlook Express
incorrectly using multiple connections to the same mailbox. This is a
documented bug with Outlook Express in IMAP mode."
(http://helpdesk.princeton.edu/kb/display.plx?ID=3542)

I don't go to Princeton or use their server by the way, I just found this
with a web search.

I took a look at the logs but they don't mean anything to me.


You don't need to understand what you are looking at to compare two
supposedly equivalent traces.

Also, since you know that OE's support for IMAP is weak
perhaps this is just a symptom of that? You could try using OE's
successor Windows Live Mail to see if it has improved IMAP
support at all. I don't know and can't test, since I don't have any
IMAP accounts.


Good luck

Robert
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