IMAP Mail Client Setup: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:05, 16 September 2026

Overview

The CSEE mail servers use a secure connection for incoming and outgoing mail; so you will need to customize your mail client in order to read and send e-mail on your CSEE account. This page explains how to configure your e-mail client for the CSEE Mail Services. This page will discuss Thunderbird. If you use a different client, please refer to your client's documentation. You will need to set up your client for the following services:

Service	Server name	Port
Secure IMAP	imap.cs.umbc.edu	993
Secure POP	imap.cs.umbc.edu	995
Secure SMTP	smtp.cs.umbc.edu	25

Thunderbird (Windows/MacOS/Linux)

If you have no email accounts configured the 'New Account' dialog will automatically open. [1]
If you already have accounts in Thunderbird and are simply adding CSEE mail to Thunderbird open the 'New Account' dialog by clicking on the 3 horizontal bars (menu button) and select 'Preferences' -> 'Account Settings...' then 'Account Options' -> 'Add Mail Account' [2]
Fill in your name, csee username and your password. Thunderbird will attempt to automatically detect the proper settings, but it will not work. Manually, change the settings. [3]

	Server Hostname	Port	SSL	Authentication
IMAP	imap.cs.umbc.edu	993	SSL/TLS	Normal Password
SMTP	smtp.cs.umbc.edu	587	STARTLS	Normal Password

If the 'Done' box becomes grayed out, click in one of the 'Authentication' boxes and select 'Normal Password' again. This should re-enable the button.

Email is now set up--check for new messages by clicking the "Get Mail" button.

New Account dialog when no accounts are configured
How to access the New Account dialog with existing accounts are in Thunderbird
All the settings in their respective fields

Adding LDAP support

Adding LDAP support allows Thunderbird to auto-complete email address of people who are in the UMBC system.

Access the menu, the three horizontal bars in the upper right -> preferences -> preferences [1]
Select the "Composition" tab and then the "Addressing" sub-tab. Click on "Edit Directories..." [2]
Select "Add" to add a new LDAP server.
Fill in the following information [3]
Name: UMBC LDAP

Hostname: directory.umbc.edu

Base DN: dc=umbc,dc=edu
Click "OK" on the "Directory Server Properties" window
Click "OK" on the "LDAP Directory Servers" window
Make sure that the checkbox next to "Directory Server" is checked and make sure that the drop down says "UMBC LDAP" [4]
Click "OK"

That's its, you are all set up for LDAP

Accessing the preferences
The "Addressing" sub-tab under the "Composition" tab
The required settings for LDAP
Selecting the new LDAP server

Alpine

Alpine's default access method uses direct access to your mail spool in /var/mail. A bug in Linux prevents this from actually working. The solution is to manually configure alpine to use IMAP.

Edit the line beginning with inbox-path= and the line beginning with folder-collections= in ~/.pinerc (replace USERNAME with your UMBC username):

inbox-path={imap.cs.umbc.edu/user=USERNAME/ssl/NoRsh/IMAP}inbox
folder-collections=Mail {imap.cs.umbc.edu/user=USERNAME/ssl/NoRsh}[]

Alpine can also use the UMBC LDAP server to search for names and email addresses. This support can be added by editing the line beginning with ldap-servers= in ~/.pinerc (this is all one line):

ldap-servers=directory.umbc.edu:389 "/base=dc=umbc,dc=edu/binddn=/impl=0/rhs=0/ref=0/nosub=0/tls=0/tlsm=0/type=/srch=/time=/size=/cust=/nick=/matr=/catr=/satr=/gatr="

Every time alpine is run, a prompt will ask for your password to be entered.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[Category:Email]]
 ==Overview==
-The CSEE mail servers use a secure connection for incoming and outgoing mail; so you will need to customize your mail client in order to read and send e-mail on your CSEE account. This page explains how to configure your e-mail client for the CSEE Mail Services. This page will discuss Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, and MS Outlook Express. If you use a different client, please refer to your client's documentation. You will need to set up your client for the following services:<br/>
+The CSEE mail servers use a secure connection for incoming and outgoing mail; so you will need to customize your mail client in order to read and send e-mail on your CSEE account. This page explains how to configure your e-mail client for the CSEE Mail Services. This page will discuss Thunderbird. If you use a different client, please refer to your client's documentation. You will need to set up your client for the following services:<br/>
 <br/>
-{| border="1" align="center"
+{| border="1" align="center" class="prettytable"
-|'''Service'''
+! '''Service'''
-|'''Server name'''
+! '''Server name'''
-|'''Port'''
+! '''Port'''
 |-
 |Secure IMAP
@@ Line 20: / Line 21: @@
 |}
 <br/>
+<!--
 '''Note:''' For Thunderbird and Microsoft Outlook, the same installation steps can be followed for both IMAP and POP server types. Outlook Express, however, must be configured to use POP. (see below)
 '''Update 10/5/2010:''' Port 25 may no longer work for off-campus connections from the Verizon network. The work-around is to port 587 for SMTP instead.
+-->
 ==Thunderbird (Windows/MacOS/Linux)==
-<ol>
+#If you have no email accounts configured the 'New Account' dialog will automatically open. [[:File:Thunderbird-1.png|[1]]]<br />If you already have accounts in Thunderbird and are simply adding CSEE mail to Thunderbird open the 'New Account' dialog by clicking on the 3 horizontal bars (menu button) and select 'Preferences' -> 'Account Settings...' then 'Account Options' -> 'Add Mail Account' [[:File:Thunderbird-2.png|[2]]]
-<li>[[Image:Thunderbird-1.png|right|300px|New Account page]] If you have no email accounts configured the 'New Account' dialog will automatically open.<br />If you already have accounts in Thunderbird and are simply adding CSEE mail to Thunderbird open the 'New Account' dialog by clicking on the 3 horizontal bars (menu button) and select 'Preferences' -> 'Account Settings...' then 'Account Options' -> 'Add Mail Account' </li>
+#Fill in your name, csee username and your password. Thunderbird will attempt to automatically detect the proper settings, but it will not work. Manually, change the settings. [[:File:Thunderbird-3.png|[3]]]
-<li>[[Image:Thunderbird-2.png|thumb|How to add a new account with accounts already added]]Fill in your name, csee email address (username@cs.umbc.edu) and your password. Thunderbird will attempt to automatically detect the proper settings. This will probably not work, this is ok. We will manually fill in the correct settings.</li>
 {| class="prettytable"
 !
@@ Line 37: / Line 39: @@
 |IMAP||imap.cs.umbc.edu||993||SSL/TLS||Normal Password
 |-
-|SMTP||smtp.cs.umbc.edu||25||STARTLS||Normal Password
+|SMTP||smtp.cs.umbc.edu||587||STARTLS||Normal Password
 |}
 <ol start="3">
 <li>If the 'Done' box becomes grayed out, click in one of the 'Authentication' boxes and select 'Normal Password' again. This should re-enable the button.</li>
-<li>At this point email should be all setup, to check for new email click the "Get Mail" button.</li>
 </ol>
+Email is now set up--check for new messages by clicking the "Get Mail" button.
+<gallery>
+File:Thunderbird-1.png|New Account dialog when no accounts are configured
+File:Thunderbird-2.png|How to access the New Account dialog with existing accounts are in Thunderbird
+File:Thunderbird-3.png|All the settings in their respective fields
+</gallery>
+=== Adding LDAP support ===
+Adding LDAP support allows Thunderbird to auto-complete email address of people who are in the UMBC system.
+# Access the menu, the three horizontal bars in the upper right -> preferences -> preferences [[:File:Thunderbird-ldap-1.png|[1]]]
+# Select the "Composition" tab and then the "Addressing" sub-tab. Click on "Edit Directories..." [[:File:Thunderbird-ldap-2.png |[2]]]
+# Select "Add" to add a new LDAP server.
+# Fill in the following information [[:File:Thunderbird-ldap-3.png|[3]]]
+#: Name: UMBC LDAP
+#: Hostname: directory.umbc.edu
+#: Base DN: dc=umbc,dc=edu
+# Click "OK" on the "Directory Server Properties" window
+# Click "OK" on the "LDAP Directory Servers" window
+# Make sure that the checkbox next to "Directory Server" is checked and make sure that the drop down says "UMBC LDAP" [[:File:Thunderbird-ldap-4.png|[4]]]
+# Click "OK"
+That's its, you are all set up for LDAP
-==Microsoft Outlook==
+<gallery>
+Thunderbird-ldap-1.png | Accessing the preferences
+Thunderbird-ldap-2.png | The "Addressing" sub-tab under the "Composition" tab
+Thunderbird-ldap-3.png | The required settings for LDAP
+Thunderbird-ldap-4.png | Selecting the new LDAP server
+</gallery>
-{|
+==Alpine==
-|'''Set up a new Account'''
+Alpine's default access method uses direct access to your mail spool in /var/mail.  A bug in Linux prevents this from actually working.  The solution is to manually configure alpine to use IMAP.
-If you're starting up Outlook for the first time, you'll see a new e-mail account wizard pop up. Otherwise, create a new e-mail account by selecting '''E-mail Accounts''' from the '''Tools''' menu.
-Click '''Add a new e-mail account''' and then click '''Next'''.
-|<br/>[[Image:outlook0.JPG]]<br/><br/>
-|-
-|Under '''Server Type''', select '''IMAP''' to use IMAP for your incoming mail or '''POP3''' to use POP. Other server types are not supported by CSEE.
-Click '''Next''' to continue.
-|<br/>[[Image:outlook1.JPG]]<br/><br/>
-|-
-|Under '''User Information''', enter your full name for '''Your Name''' and your CSEE e-mail address for '''E-mail address'''.
-Under '''Server Information''', enter "imap.cs.umbc.edu" for '''Incoming mail server (IMAP/POP)'''  (use this address for both POP and IMAP) and enter "smtp.cs.umbc.edu" for '''Outgoing mail server (SMTP)'''.
-Under '''Logon Information''', enter your login name for '''User Name''' and your login password for '''Password'''.
-Click on '''More Settings'''.
-|<br/>[[Image:outlook2.JPG]]<br/><br/>
-|-
-|Click the '''Outgoing Server''' tab.
-Check the box that says '''My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication.'''
-Make sure '''Use same settings as my incoming mail server''' is selected.
-|<br/>[[Image:outlook3.JPG]]<br/><br/>
-|-
-|Click the '''Advanced''' tab.
-Under '''Server Port Numbers''', for both '''Incoming Server (IMAP/POP)''' and '''Outgoing Server (SMTP)''', check the boxes that says '''The server requires an encrypted connection (SSL).'''
-If you're using IMAP, make sure the '''Incoming Server''' port number is set to 993. If you're using POP, make sure it's set to 995.
-Make sure the '''Outgoing Server''' port number is set to 25.
-Click '''OK''' to close the More Settings dialog, and then click '''Next'''.
+Edit the line beginning with <tt>inbox-path=</tt> and the line beginning with <tt>folder-collections=</tt> in <tt>~/.pinerc</tt> (replace USERNAME with your UMBC username):
+ inbox-path={imap.cs.umbc.edu/user=USERNAME/ssl/NoRsh/IMAP}inbox
-You are now configured to use CSEE mail services!
+  folder-collections=Mail {imap.cs.umbc.edu/user=USERNAME/ssl/NoRsh}[]
-|<br/>[[Image:outlook4.JPG]]<br/><br/>
-|}
-==Alpine==
-Alpine should work out of the box.  However, the default access method uses direct access to your mail spool in /var/mail.  This means that running multiple copies of Alpine (even on multiple systems) will not work.  If you anticipate doing this a lot, you may wish to configure Alpine to use IMAP to access your mail.  This change will require that you have to type your password to access your mail.  This configuration is not recommended for general use.
-With that said, to configure Alpine to use IMAP, edit the line beginning with <tt>inbox-path=</tt> in <tt>~/.pinerc</tt>:
+Alpine can also use the UMBC LDAP server to search for names and email addresses.  This support can be added by editing the line beginning with <tt>ldap-servers=</tt> in <tt>~/.pinerc</tt> (this is all one line):
-  inbox-path={imap.cs.umbc.edu/ssl/novalidate-cert}INBOX
+  ldap-servers=directory.umbc.edu:389 "/base=dc=umbc,dc=edu/binddn=/impl=0/rhs=0/ref=0/nosub=0/tls=0/tlsm=0/type=/srch=/time=/size=/cust=/nick=/matr=/catr=/satr=/gatr="
-Alpine can also support the UMBC LDAP server to search for names and email addresses.  This support can be added by editing the line beginning with <tt>ldap-servers=</tt> in <tt>~/.pinerc</tt> (this is all one line):
+Every time alpine is run, a prompt will ask for your password to be entered.
- ldap-servers=directory.umbc.edu "/base=dc=umbc,dc=edu/impl=0/rhs=0/ref=0/nosub=0/type=/srch=/time=/size=/cust=/nick=/matr=/catr=/satr=/gatr="