Introduction
Frequently Asked Questions
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- What is Microsoft Exchange?
- What is my email address?
- Is Outlook secure?
- What is Outlook Web Access (OWA or MOWA)?
- Is the new email server available for everyone?
- Is there spam and anti-virus protection activated on the Exchange Server?
- Can I use a MAC to access my Exchange email messages and calendaring information?
- What are the minimum system specifications for MS Outlook?
- Are Exchange public folders available for department use?
- Can I use another email client besides Outlook or Outlook Express?
- What level of support is available for the email server?
- What is the difference between MS Exchange and MS Outlook?
- Why is the training material for Outlook 2007 NOT available on the website?
- Will temporary staff and faculty (Adjunct Faculty) receive an email account on the Exchange server?
- Who can I contact to receive support for my email application?
- How do I set up Outlook on my computer?
- Is there a limit on the amount of mail I can store on the server?
- Is there a warning message to indicate that I am getting closer to the storage limit?
- Is there a limit on the size of the message you can send?
- Sometimes, I receive messages from the System Administrator. What should I do?
- Can I use a PDA with the Exchange Server?
- I received a message that one of my emails contained a virus. What should I do?
- What are the differences between Outlook and Outlook Web Access?
- How do I obtain my exchange email password?
- Will meeting requests to non-Alamo Colleges email accounts post on non-Alamo Colleges calendars?
- Can we check shared calendars at home?
- Can we share exchange features with external organization members?
- Can I select a calendar to open as a default calendar in Outlook?
- How can I remove @alamo.edu addresses from my To:, Cc:, or Bcc line since those addresses will not be valid after October 1, 2009?
- Does PALS Outlook Web Access (OWA) have the auto-completion of email addresses feature?
- Can we setup external email accounts within PALS Outlook Web Access (OWA)?
- If my email Out of Office Assistant is ON and I receive email from a LISTSERV, will Outlook send the Out of Office notification to all members of the LISTSERV?
- In reference to sharing the calendar or other Outlook folders, what is the difference between "folders," "items," and "files"?
- What is Microsoft Exchange?
Exchange 2003 is Microsoft Corporation's messaging and calendaring product that works well with Windows desktop computers. Exchange 2003's main advantage is most apparent in its functionality with Outlook email clients. It provides users with enhanced custom and collaborative functions.
- What is my email address?
Your email account will be your PALSID@alamo.edu. To get your PALS email ID, please go to the Login page of your PALS portal or go to www.alamo.edu/PALS and select "Click Here to obtain your PALS username" link. Follow the onscreen prompts. Your email account will be your PALS ID followed by the suffix alamo.edu. For example, if your PALS ID is jdoe, then your email account is jdoe@alamo.edu.
- Is Outlook secure?
Earlier versions of Outlook suffered a number of targeted attacks. However, Microsoft has made several improvements in the security of Outlook. These improvements come in the form of spam filtering, updated security patches, and more. Today, the Outlook client is widely being used by major universities and corporations.
- What is Outlook Web Access (OWA or MOWA)?
Microsoft Outlook Web Access is a part of the Exchange email system, thus allowing users to connect remotely via a web browser. Outlook Web Access will be integrated to our enterprise portal - PALS. The web client looks similar to the desktop outlook system, offering email, calendaring and address book functions.
- Is the new email server available for everyone?
Yes, the new email server is available to all faculty, staff and students. Every Alamo Colleges user will automatically receive an account on the email server. Faculty and staff will be able to use Outlook in and out of PALS, while students will be restricted to accessing email only via PALS.
- Is there spam and anti-virus protection activated on the Exchange Server?
Yes, the email server is integrated with the anti-spam and anti-virus applications, providing added security to email messages and spam.
- Can I use a MAC to access my Exchange email messages and calendaring information?
Yes, you can use Entourage 2004 or Apple Mail. Please refer to the following Help Guides for software setup.
How to setup Apple Mail
How to setup Entourage 2004
MAC users will also be able to access Outlook Web Access (OWA) for their immediate email and calendaring needs. OWA works with Safari, Firefox and Opera browsers.
- What are the minimum system specifications for MS Outlook?
- 256 MB of RAM
- Windows 2000, XP
- 1GB free space
- Intel Pentium 1GHz or faster processor
- Are Exchange public folders available for department use?
A department representative should contact the college IT Department to request a public folder, if needed.
- Can I use another email client besides Outlook or Outlook Express?
No. Alamo Colleges has chosen Outlook to be the institutional standard e-mail client.
- What level of support is available for the email server?
The email service is categorized as a 24/7 service. However, the server will be unavailable during certain times for regular system maintenance. Users will receive notice in advance for scheduled outages via the enterprise system alert facility located at the bottom right of www.alamo.edu/it. IT staff are on call 24/7 to respond to emergency problems that are related to the exchange server.
- What is the difference between MS Exchange and MS Outlook?
Microsoft MS Exchange is the software for the mail server and it is installed on our servers that are dedicated to the email service. Microsoft Outlook is the client software that is located on your computer that interacts with MS Exchange for accessing your mail messages and calendar events.
- Why is the training material for Outlook 2007 NOT available on the website?
Training materials for Outlook is copyrighted and therefore cannot be made available directly from our public website. You will need to log in to our PALS portal and access the documents that are available to support your training for email. Materials are located in the Employee Tab > Employee Resources > Alamo Colleges File Sharing link > IT Documentation > Email folder.
- Will temporary staff and faculty (Adjunct Faculty) receive an email account on the Exchange server?
Yes, they are qualified for an email account. All employees, including temporary employees with a profile within the Human Resources System will receive an email account.
- Who can I contact to receive support for my email application?
You can contact Support Central at 210-485-0555. Please remember to take advantage of our online training options.
- How do I set up Outlook on my computer?
Please refer to the Help Guides listed below for software setup.
How To Cofigure Exchange Using Outlook 2007
How To Configure Exchange Using Outlook 2003
How To Configure Exchange at Home
- Is there a limit on the amount of mail I can store on the server?
Yes, you will receive a warning message. To prevent from going over the quota, try to delete all the unneeded messages and deleted messages.
Staff will be allocated 250 MB of space. Students will be allocated 50 MB of space.
Staff will receive a Warning message when 200 MB is reached. When 225 MB is reached, a Prohibit Send message will display. When 250 MB is reached, a Prohibit Send & Receive message will display.
Students will receive a warning message when 40 MB is reached. When 45 MB is reached, a Prohibit Send message will display. When 50 MB is reached, a Prohibit Send & Receive message will display.
- Is there a warning message to indicate that I am getting closer to the storage limit?
Yes, when your mailbox gets 95% full. You will receive a warning message. To prevent from going over the quota, try to delete all the unneeded messages and deleted messages.
- Is there a limit on the size of the message you can send?
Yes, email messages should not exceed 20 MB. This includes the text on the body of the message plus any attachments.
- Sometimes, I receive messages from the System Administrator. What should I do?
Messages from the System Administrator are messages that are sent from the Exchange Server, for example, alerts, error message notifications and warnings. They are automated messages and do not require a response from your end. If you have additional questions or concerns, contact Support Central at 210-485-0555.
- Can I use a PDA with the Exchange Server?
Yes, employees will be able to perform automatic synchronizations with their wireless PDA's, but it is highly recommended to have the Owner's Manual of your PDA to help in the setup.
- I received a message that one of my emails contained a virus. What should I do?
Contact Support Central at 210-485-0555. Our support technicians will walk you through the appropriate steps to verify and prevent any further virus problems on your computer and the network. Also, an IT support specialist will be dispatched to Employee workstations to help remove the virus.
- What are the differences between Outlook and Outlook Web Access?
Web based version of Outlook (Outlook Web Access) is very similar to the Desktop Outlook version but not exactly the same. For example, personal folders and archive folders can only be accessed using the desktop version of Outlook. For a full list of Outlook and Outlook Web Access feature comparisons, click here and click here.
- How do I obtain my exchange email password?
Login to PALS, click on the Employee tab (located at the top left side of the page). Click on the Welcome to PALS Web Services link (located at the top left side of the page). Click on the Employee link, place your mouse cursor over the Personal Info menu (listed at the top). Click Email Password. Your password will be displayed as an eight-digit alphanumeric case sensitive password. Example A1b23c4E.
- Will meeting requests to non-Alamo Colleges email accounts post on non-Alamo Colleges calendars?
It may post if the external organization is using an Exchange Email Server and the Outlook desktop client is used.
- Can we check shared calendars at home?
Yes, if the Outlook desktop client is used at home and steps noted on the New E-Mail System - How To Setup Exchange at Home Help Guide are followed.
- Can we share exchange features with external organization members?
No, in order to share exchange features with other organizations they would need to share security rights with our servers.
- Can I select a calendar to open as a default calendar in Outlook?
No, Unfortunately a user is not able to change the system default for calendars.
- How can I remove @alamo.edu addresses from my To:, Cc:, or Bcc line since those addresses will not be valid after October 1, 2009?
To Remove individual names/email addresses:
1. Begin typing the name on the To, Cc, or Bcc line
2. When the list pops-up under your cursor, use the Down Arrow to highlight the name you want to remove
3. Press the Delete key
4. Repeat for each name you wish to delete
- Does PALS Outlook Web Access (OWA) have the auto-completion of email addresses feature?
Unfortunately, OWA does not have the auto-complete feature. However, you can use the following shortcut to find a person in the Global Address List: Type at least part of a person's PALS ID in the To: line and click "CTRL" and "K" (i.e., agonzale for Adam Gonzalez), a list of Names will display; all those names are matches to the specified ID. You can then select a name from the list and click OK which places the email address on the To: line.
- Can we setup external email accounts within PALS Outlook Web Access (OWA)?
Unfortunately, external accounts cannot be setup in PALS OWA.
- If my email Out of Office Assistant is ON and I receive email from a LISTSERV, will Outlook send the Out of Office notification to all members of the LISTSERV?
No, the Out of Office notification message will only be sent to the sender of the LISTSERV message.
- In reference to sharing the calendar or other Outlook folders, what is the difference between "folders," "items," and "files"?
Outlook has a folder for each of the following sections:
Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks List, Journal, or Notes.
An item refers to an email message, an appointment or meeting, a contact, a task, a journal entry, or a note.
A file refers to Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Power Point presentations, etc. placed in the Mail folder.
Files can also be placed in folders other than the Mail folder, however the files are placed as attachments. For instance, a file can be placed in the Calendar folder, however the file will display as an attachment in the specified appointment date/time area.
