Question : configure outlook express imap / pop to save all incoming and outgoing maill

Hi,

I have an aol email account and I'd like to be able to sync all of the emails from that account into outlook express.
I want all the mail folders to by synced, inbox, spam, send, drafts, etc.
I want the messages to be able to be deleted off the the aol account, yet still remain on the local outlook express.

I've tried setting up aol via imap.  This is great because it syncs everything. However, when something is deleted off of the aol account, it then autmatically gets purged out of outlook express.  I want it to stay in outlook express.

I've also tried setting up aol via pop.  This is nice because I can set it up to leave the mail on the server and simply download a copy of the mail to outlook express, but I can't sync the sent, drafts, etc.

I've also tried setting up message rules, but that didn't have the sorting ability that I was looking for because it would only run the rules against new mail coming in and exclude the sent, drafts, etc.

Is there a way to sync all the email in all folders from an aol account and store them within outlook express?  So after it gets deleted off of the aol server, it still remains within outlook express?

I don't have Outlook on this computer, but I think it has better message rule capabilities.  Could that give me the automated sorting and copying rules I need?  I don't have Outlook, so I'd have to go out and buy it. So I want to make sure that's what I need before I purchase.

Thanks for your help!

Answer : configure outlook express imap / pop to save all incoming and outgoing maill

IMAP is only a way to view messages on the server.  You set it to show a particular amount of mail for example, two months.  Once a mail goes past the two month period, it drops off the local machine and that's it.

POP3 only syncs the inbox.

IMAP can sync all the folders you choose, but only for a specific time period, then they disappear as they are only stored temporarily.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Message_Access_Protocol

If your user buys his own domain name and moves away from the restrictions that AOL places on him, he will find life much easier and more flexible.  Currently AOL restricts access to certain websites it presumably deems unsafe for viewing.  I have a Family Tree Website that AOL won't allow access to and there is nothing Adult or offensive about the site.

If I come across an AOL customer, I try to encourage them away from AOL and into the real world - full of options, rather than the restricted world they have been living in.