Almost everyone I know is now using Gmail for one thing or another.  Often you are more comfortable with another interface.  Here is the first set of instructions in our line of how to configure Gmail to be used with various email clients.

Before starting, please check if POP3 is activated for your Gmail account. To check, login to your account and go to Settings – Forwarding and POP/IMAP.

Here you can activate your POP3 and/or IMAP service by selecting one of these two options: Enable POP/IMAP  for all mail, or Enable POP/IMAP for mail that arrives from now on.

If this is the first account you are setting up the New Account Wizard will automatically pop up.  If it’s another account you are adding, then launch Windows Mail and go to the Tools menu and then click on the Accounts button.

Then, click on the Add button.

Select the E-mail Account option and click on Next.

Next you can choose the display name that will be shown in every outgoing e-mail message. Type it in and click Next.

Next you will be prompted for your email address, type it in and click Next.

In the next window you have to setup the e-mail servers. From the Incoming e-mail server drop-down list, select POP3. Then, enter the Incoming & Outgoing server names as shown in the chart here;

                                    POP                                          IMAP   
INCOMING                    pop.gmail.com                          imap.gmail.com           
OUTGOING                   smtp.gmail.com                        smtp.gmail.com

and check the Outgoing server requires authentication option. When you are done, click Next.

In the Internet Mail Logon window you have to enter your e-mail address and password. Also, if you want – but it isn’t recommended check the Remember password option to save your password, that way you won’t have to type it in every time you log in and then click Next.

Check the Do not download my e-mail at this time option as you will have to make some other minor adjustments then click the Finish button.

The Internet Accounts window should be opened. Select your Gmail account and click on Properties.

Go to the Advanced tab and type 465 as the port for the SMTP server and 995 for the POP3/IMAP server. You also have to check the option that says "This server requires a secure connection (SSL)" for both POP3/IMAP and SMTP.

If you want your messages to be left on the Gmail servers as backup then check the option that says Leave a copy of messages on server. If you do not check it, when a message is downloaded it is automatically removed from the Gmail servers. When you’re ready click OK.

Windows Mail is now configured to access your Gmail account and download your messages. Press the Send/Receive button and the download will start.

Tags | General, Google, Microsoft, Windows Vista