How to get an ack rcpt option?

Nikiya

Hi! I have a yahoo address and a hotmail one. I know many people configure their mail box so that they know if a message they have sent has been opened.
I have not found such an option listed in either --not even in the "mail upgrades" which are paid. Do you need to have your own domain for that or is there another way of getting it?
Thanks a lot!

fwor

In the "generic Internet email" (i.e. SMTP) I don't think it's possible to force a receipt acknowledgement, because it's entirely at the discretion of the email client to send a receipt. For example, Outlook can be configured to ask the end user whether they want to send one if one has been requested. I guess this is why webmail clients typically don't bother to implement the option.

In a "company internal email" (e.g. MS exchange server) context it is possible, but only (I believe) because MS has added more to their mail protocols than is in SMTP.

Many years ago an email protocol (called X.400) was devised that made delivery acknowledgements easier to implement - along with many other improvements. But it was never widely adopted because it wasn't devised in the US (sorry, that's unfair - because the US software developers said it was too complicated...)

M3_Sussex

There are third party applications such as this, but I don't think it would work with Hotmail etc. Also, I don't know how reliable such a method would be.

Nikiya

Thanks guys! I am not sure I understood everything but basically it is not possible for ordinary servers.... What I do know is that it was a real job to find how to turn on the "sent" folder, since it was not evident how to do it. I have it now and can't even remember which button I clicked...

Red_Rose_Exile

Just because a message has been sent, doesn't necessarily mean it has been read

You might want to have a look at some of the plugins here

Nikiya

Thanks REd Rose! It seems cool... can you safely download it?... I did not understand very well which version but it seems to be free is that so? Excuse the questions I did read everything and went to the site, but my IT knowledge is quite restricted and I do not even know the meaning of some of the words.... thanks a bunch!

Red_Rose_Exile

You need General Purpose Plugin version 3.2 to start with and then which ever one that is required by your email app. If you use outlook express, then download the outlook express addin

It adds a button to the compose screen, the screen you get when you write a message, and you then can choose which options you want by clicking the read/notify button