Subscribe to an IMAP Folder in Outlook Express

What does subscribing mean?

An IMAP account keeps your mail on a server. IMAP lets many devices see the same folders. Not every folder on the server shows in your mail program. You choose which ones to show. This choice is called subscribing. Think of it like picking TV channels to watch.

Outlook Express is very old software. Microsoft stopped it long ago. Newer mail programs such as Outlook and Thunderbird work in a similar way, but menus differ.

Steps

1. Open Outlook Express.
2. In the folder list on the left, click your IMAP account name.
3. Click the IMAP Folders button on the toolbar. If you do not see it, click the Tools menu and choose IMAP Folders.
4. A window opens. Click the All tab to see every folder on the server. If the list is empty, click the Reset List button.
5. Click the folder you want.
6. Click the Subscribe button.
7. Check that a small icon appears next to the folder name. This shows you are subscribed.
8. Repeat for other folders.
9. Click the Subscribed tab to see the folders you will see in your mail list.
10. Click OK.

Unsubscribe from a folder

1. Open the same window.
2. Click the folder.
3. Click Unsubscribe.

The folder is hidden. Your mail is not deleted. It stays on the server.

If a folder still does not show

• Right-click the account and choose to refresh or update the folder list.
• Check that the folder name is typed the same way on the server.
• Open webmail and make sure the folder exists.

Quick recap

• Subscribing makes a server folder visible.
• Use the IMAP Folders button.
• Pick a folder and click Subscribe.
• Unsubscribing only hides it.