Progressive Software Solutions, LLC
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Frequently Asked Questions About BrowserExpress

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These are some of the questions you may have about BrowserExpress. At PSS, we provide full product support. Visit the BrowserExpress Support area, if you do not see your question answered here. Or, search our FAQ database for a list of specific issues.

WHAT IS BrowserExpress?

WHY CHOOSE BrowserExpress?

CAPABILITIES OF BrowserExpress

USING BrowserExpress

INSTALLING BrowserExpress

SUPPORT FOR BrowserExpress

Answers to FAQ About BrowserExpress

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Q1. What is BrowserExpress? (from the user's perspective)

A. BrowserExpress is a web based e-mail client. BrowserExpress web-enables any mail server in less than 10 minutes with only three files -- giving all your users web based e-mail from any web browser anywhere. The BrowserExpress interface is fully customizable to support your branding, banner advertisements and language choice. BrowserExpress implements POP3, SMTP, LDAP and MIME standards.

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Q2. What is BrowserExpress? (from the Administrator's perspective)

A. BrowserExpress is an application that provides the user with an interface to his or her own e-mail account from any Web browser anywhere in the world. BrowserExpress is a software application that runs on a Web server as a part of an existing Web site that interacts with a mail server and displays the results through the Web server. BrowserExpress is a POP3/SMTP e-mail client that is implemented as a CGI on a Web server. BrowserExpress can be thought of as a POP3 mailbox "viewer," in that the messages that you see when you log in are the messages that are actually currently present on your POP3 server. BrowserExpress also provides users with the ability to send text messages and binary attachments.

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Q3. Isn’t BrowserExpress just like Hotmail, YahooMail, ExciteMail, etc.?

A. No. Although BrowserExpress provides e-mail functionality via a Web client without any additional software, BrowserExpress lets your corporate user maintain his/her identity using your corporate Mail Server via any Web browser anywhere. Users may send and receive e-mail while at home, a colleague’s office, an Internet café, an airport Internet kiosk, etc.--all without knowing how to configure an e-mail client. Additionally your BrowserExpress users will not be subject to the commercial advertisements, e-mail address harvesting, and other annoyances that are integral to Hotmail, YahooMail, ExciteMail, etc.

WHY CHOOSE BrowserExpress?

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Q1. Why should I buy BrowserExpress?

A. BrowserExpress will give your users the e-mail capabilities they need while minimizing your Total Cost of Ownership. Your Return on Investment in BrowserExpress will be phenomenally high.

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Q2. Is BrowserExpress a good value compared to competing products?

A. Compare for yourself:
Number of Users BrowserExpress Clio D-Mail Web MailMan MailSpinner
1-5 $60 $500 $485 $250 $1,000
6-20 $75 $500 $485 $250 $1,000
21-75 $100 $500 $485 $250 $1,000
76 + $150 $500-$30,000 $485 $250 $1,000-$37,500

 Features |  Download |  License |  Purchase |  Support |  Manual 

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Q3. Is BrowserExpress a fully supported product?

A. Yes, BrowserExpress is fully supported. The PSS development team continually works on adding features requested by our customers. See the list of new features added to BrowserExpress since it's initial release.

CAPABILITIES OF BrowserExpress

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Q1. Is BrowserExpress a replacement for my regular e-mail application (Microsoft Outlook, Qualcomm Eudora, etc.)?

A. No. BrowserExpress is designed to provide the user with basic e-mail service, when s/he does not have access to the regular e-mail client. Basic e-mail services include sending, receiving, and forwarding e-mail with attachments.

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Q2. What main features of my regular e-mail application are not offered with BrowserExpress ?

A. BrowserExpress does not support mail folders, personal address books, or spell checking.

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Q3. Does BrowserExpress support binary attachments that have been encoded using uuencode or binhex?

A. Yes. Although BrowserExpress does not automatically decode attachments that have been encoded with either uuencode or binhex, BrowserExpress maintains the integrity of uuencoded and binhex attachments. This enables the user to and decode and save attachments using his or her favorite application.

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Q4. Can I customize BrowserExpress?

A. Yes. One may create a custom branded or corporate branded Browser Express. User selectable options that are configured with .ini include: logo, language choice, background color, lines, and a message to append to the bottom of e-mails sent. Additionally one can readily create their own login screens using simple .html files. With release 4.03 you can also employ your site's style sheets or link to other pages by designating a header file. And you can be sure that your bottom-of-page links and logos go in with a footer file. The contents of the header file will be inserted into the <HEAD> element of the dynamically created web pages. The contents of the footer file are inserted immediately before the </BODY> element tag.

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Q5. Does PSS intend to enhance BrowserExpress with additional features?

A. Yes. We intend to continue to evolve the capabilities of BrowserExpress. The PSS development team has added many features based on customer requests. See the list of new features added to BrowserExpress since it's initial release.

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Q6. What is LDAP?

A. LDAP stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. It allows BrowserExpress to access your corporate address book or find virtually any address on the Internet by accessing public LDAP directories. More technically, LDAP is a client-server protocol for accessing a directory service. It was initially used as a front-end to X.500, but can also be used with stand-alone and other kinds of directory servers.

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Q7. Why do we need LDAP? Why don't we just use X.500?

A. LDAP does not require the upper layers OSI stack, it is a simpler protocol to implement (especially in clients), and LDAP is under IETF change control and so can more easily evolve to meet Internet requirements.

USING BrowserExpress

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Q1. What special knowledge must I have to use BrowserExpress?

A. No specialized knowledge is required. A client user must know two pieces of information: 1. The URL of the Web Server on which BrowserExpress is resident at the host organization and 2. His or her e-mail username and password.

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Q2 Does BrowserExpress support mail attachments?

A. Yes, BrowserExpress supports sending and receiving binary and text attachments using industry standard MIME encoding.

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Q3. Does BrowserExpress work through firewalls and Proxy Servers?

A. Yes. BrowserExpress can reside on a computer that is inside or outside of firewalls and Proxy Servers. BrowserExpress simply needs to communicate via SMTP and POP3 ports to your mail Server. The default ports are defined as SMTP port 25 and POP3 port 110, but they can be modified in your initialization file as desired to suit your environment. All client communication to BrowserExpress is achieved via your default http port.

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Q4. When I use BrowserExpress, will I subject myself to junk mail, e-mail harvesting, or any inconveniences not associated with a standard e-mail application?

A. No. Your communications is conducted through your mail server.

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Q5. Can a user delete messages from the Mail Server with BrowserExpress?

A. Yes, the user may select to delete messages off the Mail Server.

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Q6. Are messages automatically deleted from the Mail Server when read with BrowserExpress?

A. No, default operation leaves messages on the Mail Server.

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Q7. Do I need to install any software on a computer before I "check my mail from anywhere"?

A. No.

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Q8. When I use BrowserExpress, what software is required on the machine I use to "check my mail from anywhere"?

A. That machine is normally referred to as the "client." Clients must have a working Web browser and Internet-based access to the Web Server running BrowserExpress.

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Q9. Which browsers can access BrowserExpress?

A. Any Web browser that can support the display of text will work with BrowserExpress, including Netscape, MSIE, WebTV, AOL, etc.

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Q10. What are the system requirements to run BrowserExpress ?

A. Must have a standard CGI-capable Web Server that can access a standard SMTP POP3 Server.

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Q11. Will others be able to read my mail (security)?

A. No. BrowserExpress uses the same authentication mechanism as your POP3 Server.

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Q12. Who is a typical BrowserExpress customer?

A. BrowserExpress is useful by the full range of e-mail communicators. From the on-the-go sales professional to the relatively casual user who is comforted to know that s/he can communicate effectively from anywhere. It can also be used by Internet service providers that would like to offer a simple Web-based e-mail interface for their existing users. BrowserExpress is invaluable to all organizations that want to provide a simple Web-based e-mail gateway for users when they are outside of the office .

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Q13. Why does BrowserExpress seem slow when listing messages?

A. If BrowserExpress is running on same platform as your pop3 server, contention on pop3 port 110 can cause delays when listing messages. This behavior was observed on NT platforms. If you experience slow response when listing messages, we recommend that you run BrowserExpress on a platform that is not also your pop3 server.

INSTALLING BrowserExpress

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Q1. How do I install BrowserExpress?

A. No traditional installation is required. See Installation Instructions in BEman.shtml

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Q2. For what specific Operating Systems/Architectures is BrowserExpress available?

A. Currently BrowserExpress has been compiled, tested, and validated on platforms with the following operating systems:

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Q3. Why is BrowserExpress distributed as a compiled executable?

A. Performance of the compiled version is significantly enhanced, and traditional installation is eliminated. Files are simply copied to the correct location on your Web server. Additionally, by offering a compiled version, absolutely no supporting software is required on your Web server. There are NO registry modifications or dll installations. You are simply running a single 100% self-contained executable that generates dynamic html pages that your users see.

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Q4. Does Browser Express require DLLs or shared libraries?

A. NO. BrowserExpress is 100% self-contained.

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Q5. Does the client need direct TCP/IP access to the SMTP/POP3 Server?

A. No. The Web client simply needs Web-based access to the Web Server running BrowserExpress.

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Q6. CAN BrowserExpress reside on the same platform as my host organization’s SMTP and POP3 Server?

A. Yes.

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Q7. MUST BrowserExpress reside on the same platform as my host organization’s SMTP and POP3Server?

A. No.

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Q8. How many files and how big are BrowserExpress files?

A. The BrowserExpress software requires two files to run: the executable and the initialization file. Together, these two files are about one megabyte. One additional file is included, the readme.txt file.

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Q9. Is the BrowserExpress evaluation software the same as the real product?

A. Yes. The evaluation copy is exactly the same as the real product. BrowserExpress automatically generates a 30-day license key if it is run without a license file. Once you purchase the product, we deliver via e-mail a text file that is your permanent license. After activating your evaluation copy with your purchased key, the trial-version-specific nag message inserted in all outgoing mail will no longer be inserted.

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Q10. How do I Uninstall BrowserExpress

A. Just Delete It:
  • Delete browserexpress.exe.(NT Version)
  • Delete BrowserExpress.cgi.(Linux and BSD Unix Version)
  • Delete browserexpress.ini.
  • Delete ReadMe.txt
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    SUPPORT FOR BrowserExpress

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    Q1. What technical support is provided with the licensed version of BrowserExpress?

    A. PSS provides support via e-mail at PSS support and via fax @ 703.660.8500.

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    Q2. How do I upgrade my current version of BrowserExpress? Is there an additional charge?

    A. BrowserExpress comes with 12 months of free updates. Updates will be e-mailed to you at no charge for 12 months from the time of purchase.

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    Q3. Does BrowserExpress     require maintenance?

    A. No. BrowserExpress is intended for use by organizations within which a simple and hassle-free Web-mail solution is of highest priority. BrowserExpress does not store any information on the Web server on which it resides, so it is extremely easy to set up (copy 3 files) and requires no attention once it is working. Since it defers message storage responsibilities to your existing POP3 server, BrowserExpress will not add to your administration and maintenance chores. The Total Cost of Ownership of BrowserExpress is simply the initial cost of product and 15 minutes for initial configuration. There is NO maintenance.
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