Original publication date: September, 2007

Softshare Vista Will No Longer Support SMTP Access to Network

Back when Softshare Vista 3.0 was released in 2001, one of its touted new features was the addition of HTTP communications between Vista and the Softshare network. HTTP had been introduced at that time as a workaround for those clients whose SMTP/POP3 connections were at odds with internal firewalls or proxy servers, something that we were beginning to see happen with more and more frequency.

Over the last six years, however, the role of HTTP has grown a lot more prominent. Once introduced as an alternative to SMTP/POP3, HTTP is now the communications method of choice in Vista. Its speed, accessibility, and nonconfrontational manner with firewalls and proxy servers make it a cinch to work with.

For this reason, Softshare will discontinue SMTP access to our network via Vista at the end of the year and, instead, require that all mail deliveries from Vista to Softshare's network take place via HTTP (or FTP if you are a Vista Professional user who has purchased the FTP Mailbox Template). To get ready for this transition, we are asking that all Vista users who are currently performing mail exchanges via SMTP/POP3 switch to HTTP sometime over the next couple of weeks.

Vista Standard Users: How to switch from SMTP/POP3 to HTTP communications

In Vista, select Tools|Mailbox to open the properties of your Softshare mailbox. If you are running a networked version of Vista, this command is only available from the communications workstation.
Open the Servers property page.
Look at the value in the Service field. If it is followed by an "SMTP/POP3" designation, you will need to change it to one of the two "HTTP" designations.
Which HTTP option should you choose: North America or Europe? The North America HTTP server is located in Santa Barbara, California while the Europe server is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Choose whichever one is physically closest to your location. If geography was never your strong suit, just make your best guess! Softshare has procedures in place to ensure that your mail is delivered appropriately.
Questions? Call us at +1 805-882-2588 or +31 (0)20 6388077, or e-mail support@softshare.com.

Vista Professional Users: How to switch from SMTP/POP3 to HTTP communications

In Vista, select Tools|Mailbox. If you are running a networked version of Vista, this command is only available from the communications workstation.
From the mailbox screen that displays, you will see one or more mailboxes listed.
Highlight your primary mailbox (the primary mailbox is denoted by a blue house icon) and click the Properties button. (If additional mailboxes are present, you will tackle those in steps 8-10.)
Open the Servers property page.
Look at the value in the Service field. If it is followed by an "SMTP/POP3" designation, you will need to change it to one of the two "HTTP" designations, as described in step 6. (If this mailbox is not using SMTP/POP3, skip to step 7.)
Which HTTP option should you choose: North America or Europe? The North America HTTP server is located in Santa Barbara, California while the Europe server is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Choose whichever one is physically closest to your location. If geography was never your strong suit, just make your best guess. Softshare has procedures in place to ensure that your mail is delivered appropriately.
If you have only one mailbox configured in Vista, you are all set! But if you have multiple mailboxes configured, proceed to step 8 to verify that none of these secondary mailboxes are delivering mail to Softshare via SMTP.
For each secondary mailbox, open the Servers property page and identify the type of communications being used. If any of them are using SMTP/POP3 as their communications method, review the conditions set forth in step 9 to determine if the secondary mailbox can remain SMTP/POP3 or if it needs to be switched to HTTP. (If none of your secondary mailboxes are using SMTP/POP3, you are all done.)
Because secondary mailboxes are often used to communicate with servers other than Softshare's and/or are used to retrieve mail only, there is a good chance that a secondary mailbox configured for SMTP/POP3 communications can remain that way. However, if both of the conditions highlighted in this graphic are met, then the secondary mailbox must be switched to HTTP.
If a secondary mailbox does not meet the previously highlighted conditions, then it is free to maintain an SMTP/POP3 configuration. But if it does meet BOTH of these conditions, you will need to switch it to HTTP communications, as described in steps 4-6.
Questions? Call us at +1 805-882-2588 or +31 (0)20 6388077, or e-mail support@softshare.com.