citwiki.oberlin.edu

From CIT Wiki

Contents

Configuring Macintosh Thunderbird for OCMail Accounts

Please note: These instructions are for the latest version of Thunderbird for Macintosh. If you do not have the latest version, visit http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird before continuing with the OCMail configuration process or update your current copy.

Before you Begin

If you have not used Thunderbird before to access Obie Mail and would like a printable (.pdf) version of these instructions, please click here. Before configuring any desktop e-mail client, you must:

Enable IMAP in OCMail Web Interface

Go to http://ocmail.oberlin.edu and log-in.

In the top right-hand corner of the window, choose Settings.

Settings Panel in OCMail Web Interface
Settings Panel in OCMail Web Interface

Choose the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab at the top of the Settings panel.

Settings Panel in OCMail Web Interface
Settings Panel in OCMail Web Interface

Choose the radio button beside Enable IMAP. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the window.

Settings Panel in OCMail Web Interface
Settings Panel in OCMail Web Interface

Once you've completed these steps, you can continue configuring your desktop e-mail client to use OCMail.

Add Your First.Lastname OCMail Alias

With OCMail, you can send mail from an address that's different from your OCMail username. To define another e-mail address:

  1. Click Settings along the top of any page, and open the Accounts tab.
  2. Under Send mail as, click Add another email address.
  3. In the Name field, enter your full name.
  4. In the Email address field, enter your alternate e-mail address in the form first.last@oberlin.edu.
  5. Click Next Step >> and then click Send Verification. OCMail will send a verification message to your OCMail inbox; confirm.
  6. Click the link in the message OCMail sent or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your OCMail settings.
  7. Back under the Accounts tab, click Make Default beside the address you wish to use.
Alternative From Address Setup
Alternative From Address Setup

Note: when you're sending with a different 'From:' address, your Gmail address will still be included in your email header's sender field, to help prevent your mail from being marked as spam. Most email clients don't display the sender field, though some versions of Microsoft Outlook may display "From yourusername@gmail.com on behalf of customaddress@mydomain.com."

Adding a New Account

New Account Setup

Open Thunderbird. Choose New, and then Account from the File menu. Choose the radio button next to Email account and click Continue.

New Account Setup Dialog
New Account Setup Dialog

Identity

Type your full name next to Your Name and enter your OCMail address into the e-mail address area. Note: your e-mail address is your ObieID plus @oberlin.edu.

Identity Dialog Box
Identity Dialog Box

Server Information

Choose the radio button next to IMAP. Enter imap.gmail.com and smtp.gmail.com for the Incoming and Outgoing servers respectively. If you have used Thunderbird prior to this setup (with your old ObieMail account), you may not see the second screenshot below, indicating that you already have an SMTP server entered. You will change this information in a later step.

Servers Dialog Box: For Brand-New Thunderbird Users
Servers Dialog Box: For Brand-New Thunderbird Users
Servers Dialog Box: For Users Who Have ObieMail Accounts Established in Thunderbird Already
Servers Dialog Box: For Users Who Have ObieMail Accounts Established in Thunderbird Already

User Names

Enter your full e-mail address, including the @oberlin.edu, in both the Incoming and Outgoing User Name boxes.

User Names Dialog Box
User Names Dialog Box

Account Name

Name your new account OCApps IMAP.

Account Name Dialog Box
Account Name Dialog Box

Configuring Incoming and Outgoing Ports

Once you've gone through the New Account Setup dialog boxes, you'll need to go into the account and configure some additional settings before you will be able to receive or send mail. Under the Tools menu, choose Account Settings.... Click on Outgoing Server (SMTP) in the left-hand list. Verify that the port listed is 587. If it is not, choose Edit... enter 587 and click OK.

If you have used Thunderbird in the past and were not given the dialog box requiring an SMTP server because you have one already, you will need to change mail.oberlin.edu to smtp.oberlin.edu as well before choosing OK.

Thunderbird Port Settings
Thunderbird Port Settings

If you have used Thunderbird in the past and were not given the dialog box requiring an SMTP server because you have one already, you will need to change the line titled Server Name from mail.oberlin.edu to smtp.gmail.edu as well before choosing OK.

Changing the Outgoing Port Settings
Changing the Outgoing Port Settings

With Server Settings selected in the left-hand list, verify that the port is 993. If it is not, change it.

Changing the Incoming Port Settings
Changing the Incoming Port Settings

Additional Network Settings

In the Thunderbird menu, go to Preferences and click on the Advanced tab, then the Network and Disk Space Tab. The default is 60 sec, change to something at least 3-5 minutes (180-300 seconds) higher to avoid SMTP and IMAP errors when connected. The 60 seconds times out without giving the remote server time to respond.

Changing the Connection Timeout Settings
Changing the Connection Timeout Settings