I was wondering if there is a way to configure Netscape Mail
(Communicator 4.x, Windows 9x, Me, and/or XP) to automatically dial
up, check for messages, download any new messages, then hang up. I
want Netscape to do this at an interval. (say, every 10 minutes) I
know this is possible in Outlook Express, and possibly in Netscape 6.x
. A third-party solution to make this possible is OK. If you believe
there is no satisfactory solution, please post a comment, not an
official answer. Thank You!

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Request for Question Clarification by a_butler-ga on 03 Jun 2002 10:39 PDT

What platform and operating system are you using?

Hello!

I can understand your liking for Netscape Mail. Lexi's solution works
for dial-up, but it doesn't perform the automatic hangup. Netscape
Mail will just hang around online waiting for the next check.

There's a third party mail notification program that I've used and
especially like, and yes, it'll dial, check your mail, from multiple
accounts even, and hang up. You have the option of automatically
downloading mail each time or just receiving a notification. It'll use
any schedule or interval you prefer, and you can customize it by day
of the week. MailAlert may be configured to perform some preliminary
spam filtering, too. Very handy little utility. $15 registration, 30
day free trial. I found it well worth the investment.

MailAlert
http://www.diamondridge.com/software/mailalert/features.htm

~larre-ga

It's not free, but heck, it should work. My employer wanted me to find
a way to do this for the customers that sit on the lines all day
checking mail; hope he likes this. Thanks for the answer, larre.

Noodle

As NS 4.x has under 4% market share these days, I suggest you upgrade
to NS 6.x if you believe it already has the features you are looking
for.

You can configure Netscape 4.x to auto-check for messages. I am not
sure if it will do the autodialing for you at this point - I vaguely
remember that it will, but am not particularly confident in that
statement.  (To get it to auto-check for messages,  go to
Edit->Preferences->Mail_and_Newsgroups->Mail_Servers, select your
incoming mail server and click 'edit', then select 'check for mail
every n minutes' and choose the right time.)

You can configure Windows to let any application autodial with the
following:
    *  Open My Computer -> Control Panel.
    * Double-click the Internet or Internet Options icon.
    * Click the Connection tab.
    * Select the checkbox next to "Connect to the Internet as Needed"
or "Dial whenever a connection is not present."
    * Select the ISP that you want the autodialer to use.

In theory, the combination of these two options should do what you
want.  I'm not at a computer that I can test this on right now, so I'm
posting this as a comment instead of an answer. Good luck.

Quickeys is a macro recorder that allows you to automate many tasks.
It can do such things as open programs, select menu items, wait for
dialog boxes to close, etc, and string them together into a macro
sequence that can be automatically or manually invoked, including
periodically.

If Netscape Mail can't do what you're asking for, give it a try:

  http://www.cesoft.com/products/quickeys.html

It retails for $100, but you can download a 30-day trial to test it
out.