Email on a Mac

[mstaub]

Sorry if this is a double post, I did some searching and didn't find anything that fit.

I'm new to bluehost and setup an email account. I use Mac Mail for email. I created an IMAP account in Mail, can receive mail, send mail, work with folders, almost everything.

But I get an error when I start an email that I can't save the draft to the server. I've logged in thru WebMail (Horde) and selected the options to store in the Drafts folder.

The other problem I'm running into really isn't a problem, but personal preference, and will only make sense to those who use Mac Mail. Normally it displays IMAP accounts as Grey Globes with "@" symbols with the arrow to the left so you can show or hide the folders on the server, this isn't happening, the folders are showing, but they are right below the inbox. Like I said, only will make sense to those who use Mac Mail.

Last question, still in Mac Mail, under preferences, there's a spot for IMAP path prefix and port, right now there is no path prefix, and the port is set to 143. Is there a reference for these settings?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[breakingball]

Port 143 is used for IMAP accounts in Mail.app. (I only use one IMAP account, and, like yours, that one has no IMAP Path Prefix entered.)

Re: Draft messages stored on servers, perhaps this will help . . .


From Mail > Help:

I can't find email messages stored on the mail server

If you have an IMAP email account and you set the account preferences to store copies of messages (draft, sent, junk, or trash) on the IMAP mail server, you might experience situations in which your messages are not stored where you expected.

When Mail attempts to store messages on the server, it looks for specific mailboxes, by name, in which to put the messages. If Mail doesn't find those mailboxes on the server, it tries to create them. If Mail can't create them on the server, it can't store the messages. For example, Mail looks on the server for a mailbox called Sent Messages in which to put the sent messages. If Mail can't find a Sent Messages mailbox on the server, it tries to create one. If it cannot, it doesn't save copies of messages you send. You might be able to address this issue if there is another mailbox on the IMAP server (for example, Sent Items) that contains the messages you're looking for. You can have Mail use that mailbox to store its sent messages. To do so, select that mailbox (listed under the account's name and icon) in the Mail viewer window, choose Mailbox > Use This Mailbox For and then choose Drafts, Junk, Sent, or Trash, as applicable. You can select any mailbox on your IMAP server to use to store draft, sent, junk, or deleted messages.

If you change the account preferences to no longer store copies of messages on the mail server, you'll see that messages aren't where they used to be. To use sent messages as an example: If you were saving sent messages on the server and then change your settings to save those messages on your computer, the Sent mailbox will change to contain only messages stored on your computer; messages that were stored on the server will no longer appear in that mailbox. Instead, you'll see those messages are now located under the account's name and icon at the bottom of the list of mailboxes, in a mailbox called Sent Messages. Similarly, if you change from saving sent messages on your computer to saving them on the server, the Sent Messages mailbox will change to contain only messages stored on the server. You'll now see the messages that were saved on your computer in a mailbox called Sent Messages, followed by the account name in parentheses, such as Sent Messages (.Mac Account).For your other Mail.app issues, I'd suggest posting in the Mail & Address Book forum at Apple Discussions:

http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=753

Good luck!

[CHARL1E F1VE]

@ mstuab :: I am also new to bluehost and use Mac Mail. I cannot get the darn program to sync! How did you get it to work? Think you could help me out?

1st. I start an IMAP account. Input my info in on that page. (what i want to call the account and the email address)

2nd. Incoming Mail Server page. I tried everything I thought of but couldnt get it to work...
incoming mail server :: mail.my website name.com
username :: my username+my website name.com
password :: my password for the email account

Am I doing something wrong? Should I use the @ sign instead of the + sign in the username? This is the info I got from the webmail page. Thanks in advance.

[kaskudoo]

uhm, am i wrong in using POP instead of imap with mail.app on the mac? POP works just fine for me - what are the advantages with imap instead of pop ?

[breakingball]

Am I doing something wrong? Should I use the @ sign instead of the + sign in the username? This is the info I got from the webmail page. Thanks in advance.

Yes, you are doing something wrong. You should use the @ sign instead of the + sign in both the Incoming and Outgoing Mail Server fields when you are setting up accounts in Mail.app.

__________________

@kaskudoo - The main reason you might want to set an IMAP account is if it is necessary that your mail be stored on a server and not your own machine. This may be because you don't have a machine of your own or regular access to a particular computer to which you are able to download and store your email. If you have a machine that you use regularly and which you can dependably access to send, receive and store your email messages, then you are probably better off with POP accounts.

[thebeard]

IMAP account in Mail

I use both Mail and Entourage, but all of my email accounts are POP, not IMAP. Unless you must have IMAP, I'd suggest POP. Be sure to use the @ and not the +.

Mac's Mail will not clear the mailserver, entourage will. So if you have the same account on two different machines with using the two client based mail programs you may run into multiple emails.

[breakingball]

So if you have the same account on two different machines with using the two client based mail programs you may run into multiple emails.

Whether you have the same account on two different machines using the same client or multiple clients, or the same account on one machine using multiple clients, all unread mail on the server will be treated as new by each of those clients on launch. Fortunately, Mail.app allows you to include or preclude a given account from checking for new mail automatically.


Mac's Mail will not clear the mailserver, entourage will.In Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Advanced, there is the option to 'Remove copy from server after retrieving a message' Right away; After one day; After one week; After one month, or manually.

[thebeard]

I stand corrected.

[Jaems]

How I got Mail to run IMAP folders:

I found the answer to the most common problem by reading the online docs posted at the link above!

Bluehost chat was very friendly, but not very helpful :(

Configure your IMAP account (follow the normal directions don't be creative). The port is 143, get the proper SMTP address from Bluehost info. You can find many many documents about basic default IMAP config in Mail.app by searching online or using Mail.app's Help menu. But here's where it gets hairy, i'll tell you what I did but I may be a bit fuzzy as to the order so be flexible. Go into Mailbox behaviour and don't check any of the "save on server" boxes. This will make all your IMAP boxes move to under the main IMAP heading that is listed first in your mail index. Now you can deal with those mailboxes below.

Select the submailbox you want to use. Let's say "drafts". Make sure you select the one that is located under the IMAP mailbox heading.

LAST IMPORTANT STEP AND THE ONE THAT STUMPED ME FOR A WEEK: Go to the menu item Mailboxes>Use This Mailbox For> and select "drafts" there. See below:

http://www.jnote.org/linked/menu.png

That should do it. Note that the boxes have moved back to the individual headings as seen in the picture below, and if you look in your box preferences now, the "save to server" items are checked. But for some odd reason, if you select "save to server" manually it doesn't seem to work so do it by the menu item shown above instead, and in the order I outlined.

Now repeat for Saved, Sent, and Trash. For custom boxes, you will have to manually drag your messages to the custom folder that you have created either locally or on the server and the new folder should be located under the Mailbox heading. You can move messages between these folders on the server or on your local computer and the changes will be reflected globally.

http://www.jnote.org/linked/ImapMac.jpg