IMAP Mail Server

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is an alternative to POP (Post Office Protocol) and local workstation delivery for electronic mail delivery and reading.

CSL IMAP Service

The CSL is now offering the following IMAP email service:

• must be delivered on our dedicated IMAP server, not on Unix desktop
• You can not run any programs from a .forward file other than vacation and spamassassin(you cannot run procmail to filter your incoming
• the imap mail client must support SSL for secure access to the IMAP server. Currently known and tested imap/ssl clients are:
• Mozilla Thunderbird (all platforms)
• pine-4.56 on Solaris and Linux Redhat (/s/std/bin/pine or /s/pine/bin/pine)
• Outlook Express (Windows 2000)
• You will be able to use Mozilla Thunderbird or other IMAP/SSL clients to read your mail from outside the CS network.
• We have implemented SSL and SMTP Authentication as an option for sending mail. This option is required in order to send mail via a cs.wisc.edu SMTP server when outside the cs.wisc.edu network. See Authenticated SMTP Server for more information.
• imap.cs.wisc.edu is the imap server. It has a mirrored disk for the mail spool, and is being backed up according to the regular backup schedule.
• The IMAP server is configured to save your folders in ~/mail (in the same format as pine) and accessable via IMAP. Your mail spool can be left on the server, although that is discouraged (leaving your mail on the server limits your access to only via IMAP, and could fill the disk).
• The imap server supports hierarchical folders, but message may only be stored in "leaf" folders. You can not create f1 and then f1/f2. You have to create f1/f2, and then create f1/f3, etc.

See Also:

• Configuring PINE To Use The CSL IMAP Server
• Configuring Outlook Express To Use The CSL IMAP Server
• Comparing The CSL IMAP Service To Local Mail Delivery
• Using The Vacation Program With The CSL IMAP Server
• Authenticated SMTP Server

Switching To IMAP

To have your mail delivered to the IMAP server (or any other location), fill out the form on the authenticated web server. Your mail delivery will change overnight. You will need to check you mail at the old location after the switch in order to retrieve all of your old messages.

If you have an older account, you'll also need to download the server certificate. Follow the link and and instructions given to you by Mozilla Firefox or IE.

Configuring Mozilla Thunderbird To Use The CSL IMAP Server

Note: Mozilla Thunderbird, when run on supported workstations, should be configured to point at your IMAP mail account by default.

Note: Make sure to read the Switching to IMAP section above before changing your mailer configuration. It is a common mistake to skip that step.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird
2. If you have no mail or news accounts set up, the New Account Wizard will prompt you for information. Otherwise, select File | New | Account
   1. Select Email account
   2. Enter your full name and e-mail address on the Identity screen
   3. For server information, enter the following
      1. Server type: IMAP
      2. Incoming server: imap.cs.wisc.edu
      3. Outgoing server: smtp.cs.wisc.edu Note: You may need to use a different outgoing server when using computers outside the department Enter your login name when promped for User Name
      4. Both Incoming and Outgoing User Name should be your login name.
      5. Account Name is simply a label displayed in Thunderbird's mail reader; you can rename this to be whatever you like but keeping the default (your email address) is probably best.
      6. Click the finish button and thunderbird will probably try to connect to our imap server and FAIL. This is to be expected because we have not finished with our settings. Dismiss the error dialog (if any).
      7. In the left hand panel, click on the new mailbox account name you just created
      8. On the right, select View settings for this account
      9. In the Account Settings window, click on Server Settings under your new mail account
      10. Click the Use secure connection (SSL) box
      11. For the "When I delete a message:" setting, select Mark it as deleted. DO NOT select "Move it to the Trash folder" as this does not work correctly with our IMAP server.
      12. Click on the Advanced button. The option "Server supports folders that contain sub-folders and messages" should be unchecked. Click OK to close the Advanced Account Settings window.
      13. Click OK to close the Account Settings window.
      14. You should now be able to Get Messages to retrieve your email.

See Also:

• CSL IMAP Service
• Configuring Mozilla To Use The Authenticated SMTP Server

Configuring Mutt To Use The CSL IMAP Server

Note: Make sure to read the "Switching to IMAP" section above before changing your mailer configuration! It is a common mistake to skip that step!

Mutt uses a runtime configuration file named .muttrc that should be located in your home directory. Among other things, the information pertaining to the IMAP server should be put there.

• Create or open (if you already have the file) ~/.muttrc with your favorite text editor
• Add the following lines to the file:

        set from = "your_login@cs.wisc.edu"
        set folder=imaps://your_login@imap.cs.wisc.edu
        set spoolfile=imaps://your_login@imap.cs.wisc.edu/INBOX
        set record="imaps://your_login@imap.cs.wisc.edu/sent-mail"

• Replace your_login with your actual CS login.

Mutt is a very configurable email client, and the four lines listed above would constitute just a basic .muttrc. The official Mutt web site, www.mutt.org , contains many useful links and manuals for customizing the program to your needs. There are even many other people's .muttrc files that you can copy and edit for your own use.

See Also:

• CSL IMAP Service
• Switching To IMAP

Configuring Outlook Express To Use The CSL IMAP Server

Outlook Express is installed automatically on all Windows 2000 workstations, and can be started from the Programs menu, or from the Outlook Express icon often found on the Task Bar, just to the right of the Start button.

Note: The instructions here apply only to Outlook Express, not Outlook 2000 or Outlook XP. Those applications are part of the Office suite, and are very different from Outlook Express.

For CSL supported workstations

Note we recommend you do NOT use Outlook or Outlook Express. Mozilla Thunderbird is our recommended mail reader.

Outlook Express maintains mail settings in "Identities" stored in the user's profile. These settings will follow you to any CSL Windows 2000 workstation. When logging in, a default identity with the correct settings to access our IMAP server will be added to your profile if you do not currently have any identity (i.e. you've never used Outlook Express). If you already have one or more identities, you can click on the "Create new Outlook Identity" shortcut in the Programs menu under the CSL group. This will add a new identity with all the correct settings. You can then use File - Identities - Manage Identities to remove any unwanted identities.

For non-CSL workstations

To configure access to our IMAP server:

1. Start the accounts dialog from Tools - Accounts
2. Select the Mail tab.
3. Click on Add - Mail
4. Type in your full name, click Next
5. Select I already have an e-mail address..., type in your CS e-mail address.
6. Change POP to IMAP, set the incoming server to imap.cs.wisc.edu, the outgoing server to smtp.cs.wisc.edu, or sabe.cs.wisc.edu for a secure outgoing server (recommended for use outside of the CSL). Click Next.
7. Enter your account name, leave the password field blank, and uncheck the "Remember Password" checkbox. We recommend that you do not save passwords.
8. Click Finish to close the new account wizard.
9. Make sure the new account is highlighted, then click Properties.
10. Select the Advanced tab.
11. Check the server requires a secure connection checkbox for the incoming server. The port number will automatically change to 993. Do the same for the outgoing server if you chose sabe as your outgoing server. This is not needed for the smtp.cs.wisc.edu server. Click OK, and you're ready to read mail.
12. Click on Set as Default if you want to make this account the default one when you start Outlook Express.

Important: We strongly recommend that you operate Outlook Express within the Restricted sites zone. This will prevent many viruses and worms that target Outlook Express from affecting you. This is the default setting on CSL workstations. To change the setting, go into the Tools - Options dialog, select the Security tab, and select Restricted sites zone.

See Also:

• CSL IMAP Service
• Switching To IMAP
• Configuring Outlook To Use The Authenticated SMTP Server

Configuring PINE To Use The CSL IMAP Server

Note: Make sure to read the "Switching to IMAP" section above before changing your mailer configuration! It is a common mistake to skip that step!

• edit your ~/.pinerc to set the inbox-path to:

inbox-path={imap.cs.wisc.edu/ssl}INBOX

Note: There must NOT be a space after INBOX in the .pinerc file.

• if you have a file ~/mail/INBOX, you will have to remove or rename it. INBOX is a special name for your unread mail.

After your email alias has changed to the IMAP server, you should be able to read mail from imap.cs.wisc.edu. The first time, you may have to accept the server certificate.

Note: These instructions only apply to the version of pine installed on CSL Unix workstations. To use PINE at other sites, check the documentation for that version of PINE.

See Also:

• CSL IMAP Service
• Switching to IMAP

Comparing The CSL IMAP Service To Local Mail Delivery

IMAP is not the only choice for email delivery supported by the CSL. This table attempts to compare the features of the IMAP server, POP server, and local (unix) deliver options. Note that the POP server has been phased out.

Feature	IMAP	local (unix) delivery
Password Security	Encrypted	Secure
Remote Access to new mail	YES: With an IMAP/SSL client	NO (Requires remote login to Unix account)
Remote Access to folders	YES	NO (Requires remote login to Unix account)
CSL Supported Clients	Mozilla Thunderbird pine-4.21	mail pine 4.21 exmh mh Emacs rmail
vacation program	YES	YES
Programs from ~/.forward (procmail, etc)	NO	YES

See Also:

• CSL IMAP Service
• Using The Vacation Program With The CSL IMAP Server

Using Spamassassin With The CSL IMAP Server

The Spamassassin software has been setup for users of the CSL IMAP server for mail filtering. Please see the Email Management Tool and Spam Filtering Preferences webforms at https://www-auth.cs.wisc.edu.

Using The Vacation Program With The CSL IMAP Server

Configuration and use of the vacation program with the CSL IMAP server is now handled via a secure webform. Please use the Email Management Tool webform at https://www-auth.cs.wisc.edu.

Using The CSL IMAP Server With Other Mail Clients

The CSL IMAP server can be used with other IMAP clients if the client can use SSL. The CSL does not support any other IMAP clients, and other than the information provided here, can not provide any assistance using other clients. The server name is imap.cs.wisc.edu.

See Also:

• CSL IMAP Service

Webmail Interface To Your CS IMAP Mail

Note: The web interface is intended for casual use only, such as when checking mail from out of town in an internet cafe. For regular, everyday use, we strongly recommend using a standalone mail client, such as pine or thunderbird.

In addition to pine and mozilla thunderbird, the CSL also offers a web-based interface to access your imap mail. The URL is http://webmail.cs.wisc.edu. There may be more than one client offered. The interface itself should be fairly self-explanatory, especially if you have used a web-based mail interface before. You will be required to log in, using your normal CS login and password. While the CSL does support this tool as a means for checking your email remotely, it is not recommended for everyday use.

Mail From MH To IMAP

You can convert your mail from MH to IMAP folders; the more MH folders you have, the more complex the process will be.

Note: IMAP will not deal with folders containing both folders and messages. You can have nested folders, but folders can not contain both folders and messages.

The lab has provided a program mh2imap to aid conversion from MH to IMAP message formats. This program will do the following:

1. Verify your MH and IMAP mail folder paths; you will be prompted if your root IMAP mail folder does not exist or be asked to verify its creation.
2. Scan through your MH folders searching for folders containing both messages and additional folders.
3. If folders containing both messages and folders are found, the program will terminate with a list of folders needing attention. If no problems are found, the program will prompt you whether or not to continue. You may need to create new folders and refile messages to prepare your NMH mail folders for conversion.
4. Upon confirmation, folder conversion will begin; this will take a few minutes.

Note: Folders will be labeled as problematic if there are ANY files in the folder not conforming to the NMH file convention:

• Files may be a number (corresponding to individual messages)
• Files may start with a # followed by a number (deleted messages)
• Files may start with a period (.) (system files used by NMH and other mail readers)

Some NMH programs will leave other files sitting in these mail folders; such files must be removed before successful conversion with mh2imap. Typically these files start with "mh", "rcv", or "anno", but there may be others. Contact lab@cs.wisc.edu for assistance if you have trouble determining why a folder can not be converted.

Suggested conversion method

1. Run mh2imap to verify your MH folders
2. When prompted to start actual conversion, quit the program. If the program reports problem folders, go fix those folder, then run mh2imap to verify all conversion issues are fixed.
3. Change your e-mail delivery to IMAP delivery using the Secure web forms provided by the CSL.
4. The next day, use your NMH mail program(s) to incorporate any mail from the local mail spool on your workstation into your NMH .
5. Run mh2imap; this time, confirm you want to go ahead with the conversion.
6. After conversion is finished, run your IMAP mail client of choice. DO NOT continue to read mail with MH mail readers; this may generate changes not reflected in your IMAP mail tree.

Overview of conversion process

An overview of the conversion process, for those who may want to do the conversion themselves without the mh2imap.

• Create your IMAP mail folder

        ~/mail

if it doesn't exist yet; this is the default IMAP mail path for the CS department IMAP server.

• Create any mail folders containing mail folders by creating directories under ~/mail; these directories correspond to each level of nested mail folders as accessed via IMAP.
• For each folder containing messages, run the command

        packf +folder -file mailfile 

where folder is the folder to be packed and mailfile is the mbox-format mailbox file generated in your IMAP mail folder.