Local mail problem

[Don Johnson-freeuk]

Hi,   We previously had a PC running W98 and a postoffice system to distribute internal and external e-mails to networked pcs using Outlook, but at my suggestion (!) my assistant set up a replacement on a pc set up as a linux box with a printer, qmail, fetchmail, and hylafax installed - and had just got the system up and running when he left. I am unable to contact him so am trying to catch up with about 3 months of his setting and problem solving to get/keep the system working. I am not sure if it has always been so, but it appears that when we address items to eachother within the company, e-mails are sent to our ISP and back again to reach the recipient.  Although this does work, it seems very wasteful and time-consuming, so my (first) question is: Can I set anything so that these local e-mails are handled locally by Outlook.   ***   Since writing the above, I have found the ..control/local file, which does appear to have the correct lines in it, but still the system seems not to do a local send, as the message stays in the outbox for a number of minutes. Each user has an address like [EMAIL PROTECTED] and addresses the local linux server 89.1.1.100.   Although I do not fully understand it yet, the system has some individual addresses like this, and a group called 'others' which have identities in qmail (or fetchmail ?) which direct the mail to their own /home/fbloggs/Mailbox/new - cur - ?? These seem to be working, as I do get mails arriving at the postmaster's terminal (my assistant's pc) and others when they are correctly addressed, but because of 'local' not working, I cannot quickly transfer any 'unknown' messages from the postmasters pc where they end up to the correct users locally when I identify the recipient from the text - it takes ages. As a related/unrelated problem, if the 'Check for new mail on' function is used in Outlook, the Outlook program 'hangs' for a long time - even before the 'Checking for messages ....' message appears - is this normal ?? (I hope not) I am sure my questions are very vague and unclear, but if you can assist me whilst I try to catch up with the mass of documentation on qmail etc, I would be most grateful. Don Johnson (not the film star)