Or - I can't get Outlook to connect to Mailtraq
In most cases there is no difficulty in connecting Outlook to Mailtraq, but sometimes you cannot get access, and this article will help you solve those problems.
Note:
This KB article is about solving problems connecting Outlook to Mailtraq, but the same priciples apply to all email client connections.
Selecting your Protocol - POP3 or IMAP
All editions of Mailtraq support POP3 connections from Outlook.
Mailtraq Professional, the most popular edition, also supports IMAP
In this article we will troubleshoot an IMAP connection, but again the same principles apply when solving POP3 connection problems. The main difference, for troubleshooting, is that IMAP connects on Port 143 and POP3 connects on Port 110.
Vista:
If you have installed Mailtraq on Windows Vista, make sure you used the correct download - read more: www.mailtraq.com/vista
It does not matter what platform you email client is installed on - Windows, Linux, Mac-OS
Mailtraq
Make sure the service is running in Mailtraq
The 'Active Connections' entry in the Console shows which ports Mailtraq has available.
Mailtraq should be offering by default connections for
- SMTP on Port 25,
- POP3 on Port 110,
- HTTP Webmail on Port 80, and
- Instant Messaging on Port 5222
The IMAP service does not install by default - you need to enable IMAP
Make sure that other programs are not already using ports that Mailtraq will need to handle your mail.
If Mailtraq finds these ports in use when it starts then those sevices will be closed in Mailtraq. It is essential that Mailtraq has access to these ports to be able to offer mail services.
Make sure the LAN is defined in Mailtraq
LAN Tab
This tab appears in the Server Properties dialog and is used to define the range of IP addresses and hosts which represent the machines on a local network.
It is accessed from the Console, at Options | Server
This is one of the most important settings in Mailtraq as it is used in many places as the default method to control access to services.
If you do not have your LAN correctly defined Mailtraq will refuse the connection from your client.
If you are trying to connect clients that are outside the LAN (for example - to a Mailtraq that is remotely hosted) please read the general FAQ page for tips on problem solving.
Users
Make sure you have a User defined in Mailtraq and you know the username and password - read more
Outlook
Make sure Outlook is connecting to the correct server
You may connect either by IP address (as illustrated) or by machine name. If you are troubleshooting a connection then use the known, fixed, LAN (local) IP address of the Mailtraq machine
Make sure you have selected the correct protocol
In the Outlook Account Type dialog select IMAP (or POP3) from the drop-down list.
Make sure your account is set up to access the known user and password
This must match the user name and password set up in Mailtraq (see above)
Note that the user name is not the full email address - only enter the portion of the address to the left of the @ symbol. In the above example you would enter - jsmith
Testing your connection
If your configuration is correct, but you still cannot access Mailtraq from Outlook then it is most likely to be a firewall or anti-virus issue.
How to check your IMAP connection
Use Telnet* to check your connection
The 'Telnet' test
If you cannot 'manually' connect to the Mailtraq machine on Port 143, then neither can your email clients - so you'll need to look to the way your network, firewall or routers are configured.
If you can connect, but don't get Mailtraq mentioned in the 'banner response' like the examples below, then some other program is using the port. You will either have to stop that program, change the port it is using, or change the port that Mailtraq wants to use. It essential for Mailtraq to have exclusive access to Port 143 for successful connections.
Mailtraq accepts connections on the loop-back address of 127.0.0.1 by default, but you should check that you have not removed this ability. Look at Options | Server and you should see 127.0.0.1 listed in the Domain Alias ... box. If it is not there, replace it as illustrated.
1.) See if you can connect to your Mailtraq from the same machine - you can use the loop-back IP address of, 127.0.0.1 This proves that Mailtraq is providing an accessible IMAP service
For example, at a Command prompt on your client machine entering: telnet 127.0.0.1 143
should give a response something like this:
* OK example.com IMAP4rev1 Mailtraq (2.14.1.2482) ready
2.) See if you can connect to your Mailtraq machine - which has, for example, a local IP address of 192.168.1.1 - from another machine on your LAN.
For example, at a Command prompt on your client machine entering: telnet 192.168.1.1 25
should give a response something like this:
* OK example.com IMAP4rev1 Mailtraq (2.14.1.2482) ready
You can also Telnet to other ports to check their connectivity: Port 110/POP3, Port 80/webmail, Port 25/SMTP and so on.
If you don't seem to be able to Telnet on Port 143 at all, then you will need to adjust your Firewall and your Router to allow connections. Read more here: KB06020901 Resolving inbound/outbound mail problems
Using the Mailtraq Event Log
Full details of accessing and using the Mailtraq Event Log are detailed here ...
The Event Log viewer provides a useful diagnostic tool by showing inbound connections to Mailtraq.
To make it easier to see what is happening, restrict the display to just show Connections by only selecting the Connections-button in the top-row.
Then perform your tests, and watch for a matching inbound IMAP connection in the log entries.
*Using Telnet
To use Telnet, go to Windows | Start, Run and enter cmd in the box then [OK] - a black window will open with a flashing command prompt. Type the following example: telnet<space>IP address<space>port number, like this:
telnet 127.0.0.1 143
and you should get a response like: * OK example.com IMAP4rev1 Mailtraq (2.14.1.2482) ready
If you are not familiar with Telnet then you can find information about using it here.
Vista users:
Vista comes with a Telnet client but it is not enabled by default. So:
1. Click Windows Start Orb
2. Click Control Panel
3. Select Programs and Features
4. Select Turn Windows Features on or off
5. May need to confirm the action
6. Wait... this can take a while while the list populates
7. Click the checkbox beside the telnet client
8. Click [OK] ... this can take a while
- now you can use Telnet as described above
