OE sends mail with my wife's E-Mail address

Steve Canyon · 5th June 2003

My wife and I both have accounts using the same computer and software, using Outlook Express with two different E-Mail addresses.

When I send mail, it goes out with my wife's E-Mail address as the sender, rather than me. When someone replies to that E-Mail, it comes back to her in-box, rather than mine.

How do I make it stop doing that?

**Steve R Jones** · 5th June 2003

When you start a new message, right above the "TO" it shows the "from" with a drop down list to chose.

Or, have you doubled checked the account setup?

Last but not least, you can create seperate idenities. Read the help file if needed.

Steve Canyon · 5th June 2003

Steve, I don't see a From and a drop down window.

I don't know how to double check the account setup. What would I double check for, and where would I perform this double check.
As far as I know, the account is set up properly.

Finally, we have separate identities - hence, my comment that the replies come to her inbox, rather than mine.

The help file is rather lengthy.

aleekat · 5th June 2003

When you click on OE, do you get an "identity logon window" to select the user? If it goes straight to you inbox, mail etc, then you have not set up different identites. Need to know this to go further.

**Miz** · 5th June 2003

If there is no "From" field showing in a new mail message, you have only one account (email address) set up in Outlook Express or you're forgetting to switch identies when you check and send your email. That field only shows when there is more than one account set up for that identity.

There are two approaches to achieve what you want: set up a separate identity in Outlook Express for your email or set up new account in the same identity and then set up some rules to tell OE what to do with messages coming into that account. (Once you set up a second email account within the same identity, the "From" field Steve R. Jones referred to will appear).

To learn how to set up a new identity, open OE's help file, go to the Index tab and type in "identities" (without the quotes) and choose "adding". To learn how to set up a new account within the one identity, go to Help>Index tab and type in "accounts" (without the quotes) and choose "adding." To learn how to set up rules, Help>Index tab and type in "rules" (without the quotes)and choose "creating."

Steve Canyon · 5th June 2003

Quote from Miz:
If there is no "From" field showing in a new mail message, you have only one account (email address) set up in Outlook Express or you're forgetting to switch identies when you check and send your email. That field only shows when there is more than one account set up for that identity.
Unquote

I have two accounts set up, with a separate identity for each account. And - I AM switching accounts. That's how I found out what was happening, when the wife checked her E-Mail, switched accounts, of course, when she did so, and found a bunch of replies that were intended for me.

I guess I should have made all this clear in my first post.

Perhaps you and Steve are using a different version of Outlook Express. Mine is version 6.

Thanks, anyway, Miz. Looked like a good try.

Steve Canyon · 5th June 2003

quoting aleekat:
When you click on OE, do you get an "identity logon window" to select the user? If it goes straight to you inbox, mail etc, then you have not set up different identites. Need to know this to go further.
unquote

It does go straight to my inbox, yes. That's a selectable option, under the Manage Identities tab. And, yes, we do have separate identities. I don't know how my wife's address could possibly appear in the E-Mails if we had NOT set up separate identities.

If I close OE with my wife's identity still up, then her identity comes up the next time I open OE.

?????????

aleekat · 5th June 2003

It does go straight to my inbox, yes. That's a selectable option, under the Manage Identities tab.

If I close OE with my wife's identity still up, then her identity comes up the next time I open OE.

If you or your wife just close OE, and not select exit and logoff, then the last identity opened will open again.

Checking your account:
Open your identity, click on tools, accounts, mail tab, properties. Look and see if your email address is correct. You should do the same with your wife's account.

Also, if your wife was the last to use OE, and you elect to "send a link, mail, etc" from the web, it will use her account since she never logged off, and your address will not be available in the "from" drop down box.

Just to be sure we understand each other.

I have two accounts set up, with a separate identity for each account. And - I AM switching accounts. That's how I found out what was happening, when the wife checked her E-Mail, switched accounts, of course, when she did so, and found a bunch of replies that were intended for me.

You actually mean your switching identities. You can have multiple accounts setup within one identity. Since it appears you and your wife only have one email address, then within each of your identities, you should have only one account set up. Hope this is clear.ie. Identity 1=yourmail, Identity2=wife's mail, then your ISP mail accounts fall under each of these.

I'm running IE/OE6.

Steve Canyon · 6th June 2003

quoting aleekat:

If you or your wife just close OE, and not select exit and logoff, then the last identity opened will open again.

Checking your account:
Open your identity, click on tools, accounts, mail tab, properties. Look and see if your email address is correct. You should do the same with your wife's account.
[unquote]

That was the answer, aleekat. I was surprised to see that on my account, the email shown was the wife's address.

When I decided to add my wife, I called my ISP and they walked me through adding the new user. I had never gone back and checked the entries, since I had been using my own account for quite some time with no problems.

The only way I caught the problem is that my wife happened to check her email, and found a bunch of replies to my messages. People just click on "reply", and that's just natural.

I had checked the Help file, but didn't know where to look. My problem wasn't under "Troubleshooting", the natural place, in my way of thinking, to look for the trouble.

Thanks again, folks, and most of all, aleekat, who hit the nail on the head.

aleekat · 6th June 2003

Glad you got it fixed.