Hi
> I can't get exim to only allow authorised clients to send
> mail without putting in the acl
>
> > require message = "Authentication required"
> > authenticated = *
>
> at which point i get the required authorised for clients but
> the incoming mail gets rejected instead.
Place
accept domains = +local_domains
above the require rule.
However it seems you config is a litte - let's say - not so good.
Think about preventing spam and being abused for smtp relay before putting
this online.
Regards,
Steffen