I have just downloaded BuckyMail from the website. Is there anything else I need to download?
Yes, you need three things to run BuckyMail.
1. Winzip. The file you've downloaded is a zip file. You'll need WinZip to extract it. You can download WinZip from here
2. Microsoft Data Access Components. Only If you do not have MS Access installed on your machine, you'll need to download MDAC. You can get it from here
3. Version 1.1 of the .NET Framework.The .NET framework is the latest standard platform for the next generation of applications from Microsoft. Because BuckyMail was designed using the very latest in technology, you'll need to install the .NET framework - this will become a standard requirement for most software in the near future, so it might be a good idea to download even if you do not intend to use BuckyMail. You can download it from here
All right. I've got all the required software and I've unzipped the files, what do I do now?
Simply run the Setup.exe file. The wizard will guide you through the installation process.
I've installed the Software, how do I prepare it for first time use?
You can run the program by clicking on the BuckyMail.exe file. This file will be in the location specified by the Installation Wizard. You'll need to do three things before you'll be able to start sending off emails.
1. You'll need to set up your Connection details . Beause BuckyMail only sends off emails (and doesn't receive any) you only need to set up your SMTP details. You'll need to have a connection set up to the Internet because you'll need to be on the Internet when sending mails. You needn't have Outlook or any other mailing tool installed on your system though. If you have an connection to the Internet set up in Windows, you can set up the SMTP details through BuckyMail. It's quick and easy - for further instructions, click here
2. If you intend to include any personal details (optional), you'll need to set up the Sender Details
3. You'll need to set up Recipient Groups
What makes BuckyMail special?
1. BuckyMail is a mass-mailer. That means it has a mail sending engine optimized for sending bulk mail messages to a large number of recipients all in one go.
2. It personalizes the standard messages for each recipient. Hence, each recipient believes the message has been typed up especially for him/her whilst in fact it took you, the sender, the effort of typing up only one message. This can save hours!
3. It has its own mail engine. That means that you don't need any other mailing tools installed in order to use BuckyMail, not even Outlook or Outlook Express.
4. BuckyMail is a mail tool backed up by the formatting and presentation power you can expect from a word processing engine. It allows you to type messages in a wide variety of fonts and colors, it allows the inserting of images and many other formatting capabilities. How? Great for advertisements! It even has a Spell and Grammar checker.
5. BuckyMail gives you the option of sending mail through standard STMP (faster) or through direct delivery (more reliable). How?
6. You can send messages either as highly formatted HTML or plain text messages (faster). How?
7. BuckyMail can import your Contacts directly from Outlook into BuckyMail. How?
8. BuckyMail comes equipped with a powerful system to manage your contacts effectively for business purposes. How?
9. With BuckyMail you can divide your contacts into distribution lists and BuckyMail will personalize the message in the distribution list for each recipient. How?
10. BuckyMail is easy to set up and use with artistic and professional user interfaces optimized for use based on research studies.
11. BuckyMail has proved to become a powerful business tool to those who use it, providing functionality far beyond distribution lists organizations typically rely on.
What's the difference between sending mail using SMTP and Direct Delivery?
Sending mail using the SMTP port (usually port 25) is the most commom way of sending mail and is used by most mail engines. However, some mail server (depending on your Internet Service Provider) doesn't allow the sending of mass mail using SMTP. If this is the case, BuckyMail gives you the added option of sending mail using DNS (usually port 53). However, sending mail using Direct Deilvery (although more reliable) will also take longer than SMTP because BuckyMail will create many different sessions with the server instead of using just one session. Using SMTP is therefore faster. More on connection info
I know with HTML messages I can create highly formatted messages, but what's the advantage of using plain text messages?
Plain text is a great deal faster than a highly formatted HTML message. How do I switch between the two?
What's the difference between the Groups in BuckyMail and Distribution Lists in Outlook?
The Distribution lists in Outlook can only be used to send exactly the same message to all recipients in the Distribution List. BuckyMail can personalize the messages sent to all recipients in a Group by using Personalized fields