Imap?

[woolyg]

Hi,

I've got 2 PC's that are required to 'share' an email account (ie, both PC's need to be able to see every email that drops into the account info@domain.com).

Can this be easily done? Is it as simple as configuring the email client to be IMAP?

Cheers,
WoolyG

[Early Out]

That should do the trick.

The other alternative is to set up each email client as a POP3, but set to leave a copy of messages on the server. Then set up each to delete messages on the server after, say, 30 days. As long as each PC checks in at least once a month, each will receive all the messages. The downside of this approach is that sent messages will appear only on the PC that sent them.

[woolyg]

Thanks for the reply Early.

If I reconfigure the client to be IMAP, will sent messages also appear only on the PC that sent them, or will they be viewable by both machines?

Cheers,
WoolyG

[Early Out]

With an IMAP setup, all messages should be visible to both PCs, both incoming and outgoing. With IMAP, your folders of messages are all sitting on the server. The advantage is that they can be seen from wherever you happen to be. The disadvantage is that all your stuff is sitting on a server, where you have a lot less control over what happens to it.

However, I gather that some email client programs (Outlook being first among them, but Thunderbird also seems to share this deficiency) have trouble with saving sent messages to the right place. There are ways to configure the client to do it, using some rules. You'll have to do some Googling for the client program you're using.

[woolyg]

It's actually MAC mail, so I'll get reading about that client now.

One last Q - do I need to reconfigure the account within the site's CP at all? Or should I be able to go ahead and simply change the client settings...?

Thanks for your help.
WoolyG

[Early Out]

I'm pretty sure it's just a client-side fiddle, but don't quote me on that. Everything I've seen indicates that it's just a matter of using the right ports (143 on the incoming side, instead of 110 - outgoing stays the same).

The only knowledgebase article I could find about Mac Mail and IMAP:

http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/kb/index.php?x=&mod_id=2&id=370

[woolyg]

Excellent Early - thanks a million for your help.

WoolyG

[Barbouille]

Hi
I have never used IMAP mail. I have always used POP mail but this time, I may have to. I do not know for sure. You people will tell me.

I am about to create two new email boxes on my domain; one for my brother and one for his wife. However, they only have one portable computer to access their mail.

My question is:
If I setup their respective accounts on their portable computer as IMAP accounts, each account having its own separate password, will each of them be able to read, delete, create folders, save mail to these folders etc...without one party being able to see the emails of the other be it in the inbox, sent, trash or folder that they created ?

In other words, I want to make it the same as if each person had his/her own computer. Can this be done with only one computer.

Thank You

[Early Out]

If I setup their respective accounts on their portable computer as IMAP accounts, each account having its own separate password, will each of them be able to read, delete, create folders, save mail to these folders etc...without one party being able to see the emails of the other be it in the inbox, sent, trash or folder that they created ?
You're coming at this from the wrong side. It's not a question of using POP or IMAP. What you want to do is set up an email client so that each user can log in, and deal only with the email sent to that person's account.

In the original version of Outlook Express, that was simply a matter of setting up two "identities" in OE. Each user would log in to that identity, which would then retrieve only the emails addressed to that account. Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, eliminated that capability in the new Windows Mail. So now, you're left with only one alternative, that being to create separate accounts in Windows itself. Each user then logs in to Windows, and calls up the email client (Windows Mail, Outlook, whatever). That copy of the client is then set to fetch only the messages addressed to that account.

[Barbouille]

As always, Early Out, you've been of great help.

I always appreciate your dedication to this forum an your quick interventions to help solve our issues/problems.

Thanks a lot.

[Barbouille]

Hi

Here is another alternative I just found provided one is using Mozilla Thunderbird as an alternative to Outlook Express.

With this method, you will not have to create separate identities in Windows. The separate entities will be created in Mozilla Thunderbird.


http://www.mozilla.org/support/thunderbird/profile

Cool !!!

[Early Out]

Sounds like just the ticket. I've never been a fan of having multiple users on a Windows machine - too many problems with software updates, with installed applications, and so on. Why Microsoft has abandoned the "identities" approach of Outlook Express is a real mystery, since it worked so well.