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Step by Step: How to add Gmail to Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007

This article will guide you through configuring Gmail using POP3 and IMAP in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003

Adding Gmail to Outlook is very easy; you don’t have to be a techie for this. I personally love Gmail and its services. Most people have shifted to Gmail because of its features and services. This post shows you how to Configure or add your Gmail to Outlook. Outlook is one of the popular mail clients used as an e-mail application. If you are using Outlook earlier than Outlook 2003, It doesn’t make any difference. Settings will be the same for all; the difference is only with the User interface. However, I’ll provide the link for the prior version of Outlook 2003. This post will guide you through configuring Gmail using POP3 and IMAP.

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Before adding Gmail to Outlook, let me clarify a few things. Typically, people are confused with terms like POP3, IMAP & SMTP. You may have heard them because they are responsible for sending and retrieving emails from the server. They are nothing but the protocol used to communicate from a mail client to a mail server and vice versa.

POP3: Post Office Protocol (Version 3) downloads emails from the mail server to your local computer. Once the mail has been downloaded, you can read or manipulate the email offline. POP3 is designed to delete mail on the server when the user has downloaded it. However, some implementations (POP3 UIDL (Unique Identification Listing)) allow users or administrators to specify that mail be saved. POP can be considered as a “store-and-forward” service.

IMAP: IMAP4(Version 4) stands for “Internet Message Access Protocol.” The IMAP is a newer and modern alternative to the POP3 protocol. Unlike it, the IMAP allows users to work with their messages in both online and offline modes. It downloads emails from the server to your email application, similar to POP. However, the main difference is that when you request your email from the server, it sends a copy of the email rather than sending the entire email. It does not delete the mail from the server immediately after you download it to your computer. Gmail encourages you to consider IMAP, which offers all the benefits Plus two-way communication between your web Gmail and your email client. It is designed to synchronize between the mail server and the mail client.

SMTP: POP and IMAP protocols are used for receiving email and are not to be confused with the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), a protocol for transferring email across the Internet. You send an email with SMTP, and a mail handler receives it on your recipient’s behalf. Then, the mail is read using POP or IMAP.

POP & IMAP Protocols are used to receive email from the server, and SMTP Protocol is used to send an email. Gmail supports both POP3 and IMAP protocols so that you can choose either one. Still, Gmail encourages you to use IMAP because if you make any changes in your email or transfer the mail to the folder, it will instantly and automatically appear in Gmail. For example, if you add a flag mark in Outlook, you will see a star appearing for that email in your Gmail. i.e. Outlook Flag = Gmail Star

See below table shows you how to perform common functions on your IMAP client.

Action on email-client
(e.g. iPhone,Outlook,window mail)
Result in Gmail on the web
Open a messageMark a message as read
Flag a messageApply a star to the message
Move a message to a folderApply a label to the message
Move a message to a folder within a folderApply a label showing folder hierarchy (‘MainFolder/SubFolder’)
Create a folderCreate a label
Move a message to [Gmail]/SpamReport a message as spam
Move a message to [Gmail]/TrashMove a message to Trash
Send a messageStore message in Sent Mail
Delete a message in inboxRemove the message from inbox
Delete a message from a folderRemove that label from the message
Delete a message from [Gmail]/Spam or [Gmail]/TrashDelete the message permanently

So, Let’s start Configuring your Gmail using IMAP Protocol

Add Gmail to Outlook 2007 and 2003

Step 1: Enable IMAP Option in Gmail Settings

>> Click on Settings in Gmail to open Gmail setting options.Gmail Setting

>> And then Click on “Forwarding and POP/IMAP”
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>> Now, Enable IMAP Access by Selecting the Enable  IMAP radio button and Clicking Save Changes.
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Step 2: Configuring Gmail into Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2003

Now it’s time to Add Gmail to Outlook 2007 or 2003
If you are using Outlook for the first time, then you may get the Outlook 2007 Startup window.

outlook 2007 startup

Click on Next, and you may be asked, Do you want to Configure your mail, Choose Yes and Click On and Start Configuring Gmail settings to Outlook 2007(Skip directly to Manual Configuring Gmail to Outlook 2007 steps given below).
Follow the steps below to add your email ID to Outlook.

For Microsoft Outlook 2007 >> Go to Tools >> Account Settings…

For Microsoft Outlook 2003 >> Go to Tools >> E-mail Accounts…
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 Manual Configuring Gmail to Outlook 2007

Now in Outlook 2007, click the “New” Button under the E-mail tab.
If you have already added another account to Outlook 2007, it may prompt you to select the protocol. Choose “Microsoft Exchange, POP3, IMAP, or HTTP” and click Next.


Choose Outlook services to be used

Now, you may see the Auto Account Setup Window. Outlook is smart enough to auto-configure your Gmail, but we may choose manual configuration to set up Gmail.

>> Select the Checkbox for “Manually configure server settings” and Click on the Next Button.
outlook manual configure

>> Now it’s asking the same question again to choose E-mail services, which was asked earlier. However, Choose the first option, “Internet E-mail,” and Click on Next.
Choose service

>> Now, Fill in the Required information and follow the screenshot below.
Settings: name, full email address (including ‘@gmail.com’ or ‘@your_domain.com’)

  • In the Account Type dropdown menu, select IMAP; enter the incoming and outgoing server names shown below.
  • Incoming mail server         :     imap.gmail.com
  • Outgoing server address:    smtp:gmail.com
  • In the ‘User Name’ field, give your full Gmail address, including ‘@gmail.com’ or ‘@your_domain.com.’ Google Apps users, enter your full email address, e.g., ‘username@your_domain.com.’
configure gmail to outlook 2007

Note: If you are outside of the US, you may need to use imap.googlemail.com and smtp.googlemail.com instead of imap.gmail.com and smtp.gmail.com.
>> Now, Click on “More Setting,” Go to the “Outgoing Server” Tab and Make sure the Authentication option is selected for SMTP. Select the checkbox for “My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication” and choose the radio button. ‘Use same settings as my incoming mail server’ should also be selected.

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>> Now, Go to the Advanced Tab and make the necessary changes here.

  • The incoming server must be 993 and must use SSL encryption.
  • The outgoing server can use 587, TLS encryption.

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>>
Click on the Ok button to save and close the dialog box. Now click on “Test account setting” to test whether it will work or not. If all goes well, you may see the status as completed,


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Now, Click on Close, then click on Next, and finally, click on Finish.

Congratulations! You have successfully Configured Gmail Imap to Outlook 2007.

Manual Configuring Gmail to Outlook 2003

For Outlook 2003, you will see the wizard window. Select “Add a new E-Mail account” and then click on Next. new_account



Now, Choose “IMAP” and Click Next, and we are finally on the account setting page. server_type




Now, Fill up the required information and follow the screenshot below.

The setting that we did for Outlook 2007 is the same as Outlook 2003. The only change is the user interface; that’s it. So, you can simply follow the above setting configuration done to Outlook 2007. However, you can follow the given below screenshot for Outlook 2003. email_settings
Next, go to “More Settings…” and configure the port setting and outgoing mail server settings. Test the account by Clicking on “Test Account Settings…” If everything goes well, you may see the status as completed. Then, click Next and Finish.

Congratulations! You have successfully Configured Gmail IMAP to Outlook 2003.

Configure Gmail in Outlook using POP3 Protocol

If you still want to use the POP3 Gmail service, change the setting Gmail settings to use POP3 as the protocol. Everything remains the same except the Gmail server address and port setting.

The incoming mail server address is pop.gmail.com

The outgoing Mail server address is smtp.gmail.com

Port setting:
The incoming server Pop3 Port is 995. Select the checkbox for “This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL).

The outgoing server (SMTP) port is 465. Select the checkbox for “This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL)” under Outgoing Server (SMTP)

To Configure Gmail for any other Email Client, you just have to remember Gmail’s incoming and outgoing server addresses, Ports, and the Type of encryption used. That’s it.

Mail Protocols
Server Address
Port
Type
POP3
pop.gmail.com
995
Incoming mail address
IMAP
imap.gmail.com
993
Incoming mail address
SMTP
smtp.gmail.com
465 Or 587
Outgoing mail address



To Configure your Mobile device or other Email Client using Gmail IMAP
To Configure your Mobile device or other Email Client using Gmail POP3

Roshan Karkera
Roshan Karkera
Roshan Karkera is a passionate blogger and a software engineer by profession, driven by a love for technology, science, and continuous learning. With a strong belief in sharing knowledge, he started this blog to inspire and inform readers through simple, insightful content. When he's not coding or exploring the latest in tech, you’ll find him writing about ideas that matter. Connect with him on Twitter or your favorite social platform to stay updated.
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12 COMMENTS

  1. That was helpful…I finally understood and figure out , how to configure mail.but how to configure mail for yahoo.

  2. The problem with using Outlook 2003/2007 for IMAP and Gmail though is that you cannot specify where you want the mail to be moved to when you press the delete key.

    It moves the mail to the local Outlook folder rather than your online folder for deleted items so if you switch machines it's hard to locate the item in the All Mail folder.

    They've actually fixed the problem in Outlook 2010 but being a relatively expensive product it isn't suitable for everyone's needs.

    Windows Live Mail is a great FREE alternative and works really well with Gmail's IMAP functionality. Here is a step by step guide on how to set it up: http://bit.ly/9MqrbE

  3. I work on an one firm, which solves other problems with computers. As a matter of fact I had funny accident. My MS Outlook was crashed. I used all products of my firm and fruitlessly ot my great surprise. I was eventually lucky and found out one tool, which might be good determination for such situation – how go i import outlook ost file.

  4. Does your site have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great website and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

  5. Hi,
    I tried so many times with different ways but i couldn’t configure my ms-outlook according to your instruction.
    When i use “Test account settings” it ms-outlook failed to send & receive any message.
    Please!Help me to configure ms-outlook in a right way.
    Thanks

    • Ok that may be because u haven’t set the correct port, if you ar using pop set the port 995 and if you are using IMAP then set it to 993… for outgoing mail SMTP port set it to 465 or 587.
      Which outlook version are you using?

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