Configure Email and SMS Parameters

IMPORTANT! IT information required: Before you begin the procedure below, check through the settings and ask your IT Systems Administrator or your ISP for any details that you may require.

To configure Email and SMS parameters (from server or any workstation)

  1. Either

    Access to this option is controlled by user security settings.

    - Or -

  2. In either case, the email set-up wizard will display.

    The set-up wizard will guide you through the relevant steps to set up the email parameters. Descriptions of the fields that require information are listed below.

    For correct email operation, please refer to Software of Excellence support for help with setting these parameters.

Welcome screen:

v12-8EmailSetupWizard-01

Please check that you comply with this statement:

"You should ensure that the server has the necessary hardware and software to connect to the internet."

Account Details:

v12-8EmailSetupWizard-02

The following details are normally supplied by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) when you set up an internet account:

Practice Email Address

This is the full practice email address.

User Name

This is usually the user name used to access the internet connection.

Password

This is usually the password used to access the internet connection.

If you have a domain registered with a company other than your internet provider, the user names and passwords for internet access and for email may be different. Check with SOE Support or your domain/internet provider(s) if you are unsure.

Incoming Mail Server Port

This is the address of the mail server used to receive incoming mail. It can be specified by name (e.g. pop3.hotmail.com for a dialup setting, or server name for a LAN setting), or by numeric IP address (e.g. 190.167.250.112)

For a LAN you will also need to specify the port number in the appropriate field.

 

IMAP option:

If you opt to use IMAP, edit the address to read imap where it otherwise reads pop3, and change the default port. Also tick the Use IMAP checkbox, as described below...

checkbox,grey-unchecked Use IMAP

EXACT historically used the POP protocol for Email, but from v12.7 the IMAP protocol is optional for incoming Email.

POP is a simple protocol that generally allows the downloading of original messages (not copies) from an Inbox to a local computer, and has few other features.

The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a more feature-rich mail protocol used for accessing email on a remote web server from a local client. It stores email messages on the mail server, but allows the end user to view and manipulate the messages as though they were stored locally on the end user's computing devices. Copies of messages and attachments are transferred to an email client only on request, but the originals always reside on the mail server.

If you check this box you also need to change the above Incoming Mail Server Port.

See also: IMAP option for Incoming Email

Outgoing Mail Server Port

This is the address of the mail server used to send outgoing mail. It can be specified by name (e.g. smtp.hotmail.com for a dialup setting, or server name for a LAN setting), or by numeric IP address (e.g. 190.167.250.112)

For a LAN you will also need to specify the port number in the appropriate field.

Specify if checkbox,grey-unchecked STARTTLS.

The STARTTLS checkbox is only enabled if it is on port 25, otherwise its status will be determined automatically, whether needed or not. When the wizard is being configured, the STARTTLS tick-box is enabled or disabled according to the outgoing port being used. Some ports (such as 587, which is a common port) specifically use STARTTLS, causing the tick-box to be greyed out (disabled)).

checkbox,grey-unchecked Use authentication for outgoing Email

Tick this checkbox if your ISP requires authentication for outgoing email.

checkbox,grey-unchecked Allow Email setup without account details

By default this is un-checked, and you are required to complete all fields in the Account Details screen, and then successfully Test Credentials before the Wizard Next> button is enabled.

You can check this Allow Email setup without account details to entirely bypass the Account Details screen setup. In this case all screen fields are greyed out and the Next> button is enabled.

Test Credentials

 

Click this button to check your connection and details.

The Test is only compulsory on the initial setup.
Once the Test is passed you can come back into the wizard to edit without being forced to re-Test.

You will see a progress indicator, and the test may take up to 5 minutes to complete.

TestingEmailCredentials

EXACT will immediately display an error message if there is a test failure. For example:

TestFailed-01 TestFailed-02

 

In this test EXACT runs a series of checks:

If any check fails you will see an immediate failure message with instructions.

No email will be sent during this check.

 

  1. Checks that workstations can access the Internet through the server.
  2. Checks that the Email Server is running.
  3. Checks that it can connect to the incoming Mail Server.
  4. If Incoming Mail Server check is successful, it then connects again to the Email Server to check user credentials and password.
  5. Checks that it can connect to the Outgoing Mail Server.
  6. If Outgoing Mail Server check is successful, it then connects again to the Outgoing Mail Server to check user credentials and password.
  7. Disconnects.

 

You cannot continue to the Next screen until either

- The Test is completed successfully, or

- You check the checkbox to checkbox,grey-checked Allow email setup without account details.

AllowEmailSetup

 

Scheduled Send and Receive

v12-8EmailSetupWizard-03

checkbox,grey-unchecked Send all mail immediately

With this checkbox un-checked checkbox,grey-unchecked your practice requires manual user action to send email.

Either

  • Click the Send/Receive Email button in the main Inbox, or
  • Right-click the email server icon and select Send/Receive Now from the drop-down menu, or
  • For Draft-status emails, send them individually by clicking the Send button within each email window.

 

 

With this checkbox checked checkbox,grey-checked the mail server will check regularly for new mail and send it immediately, but only during the periods specified in the screen:

 

TimesToCheckEmail

 

IMPORTANT: Ensure that scheduled network backup times don't coincide with these specified periods.

 

Within these periods your email server can check every __ minutes, and / or it can check at specific configured times:

PerformRegularChecks

checkbox,grey-unchecked Add a delay between sending each email

By default this setting is OFF (un-checked).

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have automated ways of identifying clients who are spamming via their service. This includes measuring the volume and rate of client outgoing emails.

So if your ISP red-flags your practice for "spamming", you have the option to choke the rate of your email passing through the ISP facility.

This is by adding a delay between each outgoing email - tick the checkbox and then specify the maximum number of outgoing emails per minute, with the default being 40.

Minimum figure is 1. If you specify a very large number the software will send as many emails as it can within each minute.

This setting is deliberately presented as a per-minute figure because this way it is easier to comprehend the rate of sending than it would be with a seconds-delay figure.

AddADelay

 

NOTES:

Manual sending overrides the delay - if you create 10 emails and click the Send button, EXACT sends them all immediately, with no staggered delay.

DRAFT status emails are not sent automatically - when ready to send, click the Send button within that email's window.

 

Open email attachments directly

v12-8EmailSetupWizard-04

checkbox,grey-unchecked Open email attachments directly

This setting is off by default to provide default protection.

Please read the screen text carefully and only check this option if

Important notes to avoid virus infection of your practice:

SMS Messages

v12-8EmailSetupWizard-05

These options set up the ability to send text messages (such as appointment reminders) to a cell phone.

SMS Provider

radiobutton,grey-unchecked Software of Excellence

Select Software of Excellence to use SMS reminder messages.

radiobutton,grey-unchecked None

 

Select None if reminder text messages are not going to be sent.

The Finish button will then immediately become available:

None-Finish

Practice ID [ ]

 

With Software of Excellence selected above, enter the appropriate Practice ID (if not already defaulted from the Practice Information screen) as supplied by Software of Excellence.

Once entered and your settings successfully tested (see below), the Practice ID will be "greyed out" and cannot be changed, as it is used in several places in EXACT for various functions.

Practice ID Password [ ]

Enter the password that is associated with your Practice ID.

Test

The Test button becomes available once the two fields above have been completed. It will test the SMS settings and functionality and if successful will display a message like the example below, which will tell you how many SMS credits you have left.

SMS Test message

If the Test button fails, check that you have entered your details correctly. If you have, and your practice uses a proxy server for connection to the internet, then you may need to check the configuration of your SMS services.

SMS Messages

v12-8EmailSetupWizard-06

Configure either:

radiobutton,grey-unchecked Send all SMS when the list is generated

Select this option to have SMS messages added to the queue for sending as soon as they are generated by a recall list or call list. (Other options will be 'greyed out' if this is selected).

It requires less setting up, but you have less control over when patients are likely to respond to the messages.

It would be useful for a small practice or if you had few patients preferring to be contacted by SMS.

radiobutton,grey-unchecked Enable staggered SMS sending

Select this option to control when the messages are sent by scheduling and staggering the sending times'

You can automatically stagger the sending and therefore also stagger most of the responses. It is ideal for a practice with many dental providers and patients with a preference for being contacted via SMS.

Delivery Times

This field shows the days and times that messages are to be queued for sending.

Use the Up/Down buttons to scroll up/down through the delivery time entries.

Click the +1 button to add a new date/time entry; this will open the Add Sessions window:

Add Sessions window

For each delivery session that you want to configure, select the day(s), then enter the start and end times in the boxes.

Use the scroll buttons to scroll up/down as follows:

1-minute intervals

1-hour intervals

Shift 10-minute intervals

Alt key 5-minute intervals.

Click the button to save each date/time entry.

To change an entry

  1. Delete it
  2. Click a date/time entry
  3. Select the Delete button to delete it
  4. Add the new details as above.

Finish button

Save the details and close the wizard.

See also...

Configuring SMS Replies

Checklist: Configure SMS Replies

Create automated Appointment Reminders

Create automated Appointment Follow-ups

Create automated patient surveys by SMS

Configuring Keywords for SMS Replies

Next >>

Create automated Appointment Reminders