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Why aren't WinZip's email features working for me?

If you are using e-mail software on your computer:

WinZip® support for emailing archives using your email software requires that you have the email program installed and properly configured. If there is a problem with your email configuration, then these features will either be nonfunctional or revert to using the WinZip built-in email program.

WinZip uses a Windows feature called MAPI (Mail Applications Program Interface) to "talk" to your email program. MAPI is a standard interface that allows WinZip and other programs to instruct your email program to create a new message, attach a file to it, etc. If MAPI is not properly configured on your system, then WinZip and other programs can't create email for you. "Properly configured" means that:

  • you have a MAPI-compatible e-mail program installed, and
  • the email program properly supports the "Simple MAPI" interface that WinZip requires, and
  • the email program is configured to be the default email program (sometimes called the "default MAPI client").

Examples of popular MAPI-compatible email programs include (but are not limited to) Outlook, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, and Mozilla Thunderbird. Please note that beginning with Windows 7, a default email client (such as Windows Mail) is no longer included with Windows and you will need to either install a MAPI-compatible email client or use WinZip's built in enail program for these functions to work.

If you are using WinZip's built in email program:

WinZip support for emailing archives using your Web Mail account requires that you have WinZip properly configured to communicate with your web mail service. If there is a problem with your email configuration, then these features will be nonfunctional

WinZip uses an Internet feature called SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol ) to "talk" to your web email service. SMTP is a standard interface that allows WinZip and other programs to instruct the email program to send a message. If your account and the SMTP service information is not properly configured in WinZip, then WinZip can't send email for you. "Properly configured" means that:

  • you have a live internet connection to an SMTP-compatible web service, and
  • the web service properly supports the "SMTP" interface that WinZip requires, and
  • WinZip is configured with valid logon information and service information to connect to your web email service.

Examples of popular SMTP-compatible web service include (but are not limited to) Yahoo! Mail, Gmail,and HotMail.

If you are having difficulty emailing your archives with WinZip, please see this article in our knowledge base.