Information Technology Services

E-mail Information

Configuring E-mail Software

General Information

Mozilla Thunderbird Mail Client

This document will guide you through the configuration of common e-mail software so they can be used with the e-mail server. If you have your own computer and a network connection from your residence hall or an Internet connection from home, you can have fully graphical access to your e-mail account.

Features

The SUNY Brockport academic e-mail system has many features not found on the old Prime e-mail server. Instead of being limited to text terminals or telnet sessions, the new server allows you to choose from many e-mail programs with graphical user interfaces (GUI), in addition to a traditional menu-based text interface. Files can now be attached to messages, and attachments can be made directly from your computer with drag-and-drop ease. All GUI-based e-mail programs will allow you to save attachments to disk, and some even allow you to view them in their native application (for example, the e-mail program starts Microsoft Word if the attachment is a Word document) by double-clicking on them.

How it Works

ITS is able to provide such a flexible e-mail system through the use of widely implemented Internet standards. Access to the e-mail server is through a protocol called IMAP, or Internet Message Access Protocol. Any e-mail software that is IMAP-compliant can be used to connect to the e-mail server and access your e-mail. Examples of such IMAP compliant programs are Mozilla Thunderbird, and Microsoft Outlook (part of Microsoft Office).

The remainder of this document will focus on the configuration of the Mozilla Thunderbird mail client.

Necessary Information

The following information is necessary for configuring any IMAP-compatible e-mail software:

Typical IMAP-related Information:

SMTP Server: po.brockport.edu
IMAP Server: po.brockport.edu
IMAP Account: <Your NetID>
IMAP Password: <Your Password>
E-mail Address: <Your NetID>@brockport.edu

Configuring Mozilla Thunderbird E-mail Client

Before you can use Mozilla Thunderbird, you must set up a user account for yourself.

Select New Account under File>New.. then press Next >.
Fill in Your name: and Email address: in the appropriate fields.
In the Server Settings area, fill in Incoming Server: with po.brockport.edu, and click Next >.
Fill in Incoming User Name: with your NetID. Proceed to the next step.
For the Account Name: enter Brockport (or whatever you deem appropriate.) And press Next > and then press Finish.

If you have previously set up an IMAP account, here is how to modify it so you can access your e-mail through the ITSS server:

Start Mozilla Thunderbird by clicking on the envelope icon that was installed with Mozilla. Then go to Tools> Account Settings…
The first category on the left will correspond to your Account Settings. Select Account Name and type in your e-mail address. Select Identity below this and fill in at least the Your name: and e-mail address: fields. The Reply-to address field should be the same as the e-mail address: field. Organization: should be " SUNY College at Brockport". If you have a signature file created, check the Attach this signature box and then click the Choose button to browse to where this file is stored. Please note, the signature file you create must be saved in .txt format.
In the Server Settings area, fill in Server Name: with po.brockport.edu. Fill in User Name: with your NetID. There are checkboxes to enable Check for new messages at startup, as well as a checkbox to Check for new messages ever X minutes where X is the number of minutes filled in under the text edit box. There is also another checkbox to Empty Trash on Exit. Do not enable Use secure connection (SSL).
In the Copies & Folders area, check the checkbox for Place a copy in: and make sure the "Sent" Folder on: radio button is enabled with your account name as the enabled value for the drop down menu besides it. Repeat this process for the Drafts and Templates section accordingly.
Select the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) category and fill in Server Name: with po.brockport.edu.
Click on OK to save the settings. You will need to restart Mozilla Thunderbird for the changes to take effect.