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Prerequisites
     Obtain Software
     Obtain Account Details
Install Mac Mail
Configure Mac Mail
Switching Mac Mail from POP to IMAP
     Backup your User Data File
     Delete your POP e-mail account
     Restore mail
     Adjusting to using IMAP

Prerequisites

• A Macintosh with OS X
• An SFSU Internet account
• A connection to the Internet.

Obtain Software

Mac Mail comes installed on all Macintosh computers with OS X.

Obtain Account Details

You will need:

1. Your account details by logging into SFSU E-mail Account Services. Note the text under Account, Forwarding to..., and Your Mail Server. If you do not already have an account sign up for one.
2. If you are currently forwarding your e-mail and would like to access it using this e-mail program you should remove e-mail forwarding.
3. Your Account (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu) will be your IMAP e-mail account address.
4. Your Mail Server (e.g., mail01a) will be your incoming and outgoing mail server in the account setup.
5. If you do not already know your password, select Change Password. This will be the password you use in your Account setup.

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Install Mac Mail

1. Mac Mail is installed with Macintosh OS X. Navigate to where you have Mac Mail installed (e.g., Macintosh HD > Applications > Mail) then select and open Mail.
2. The first time you open Mac Mail you may see the Message Import screen with the title Welcome to Mail in Tiger. If this screen opens, select Continue. If you do not see this screen then skip to step 4.

    


3. The Message Import window opens. Select Done.
   
       
   
4. Select Continue.
   
       
   
5. Continue to the Configure Mac Mail section.

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Configure Mac Mail

Upon initial setup of Mac Mail, use the following steps to configure properly. If you already have an account on Mac Mail skip to the Switching Mac Mail from POP to IMAP section.

1. Open Mac Mail. On the Menu bar, select File > Add Account
1. Select "IMAP" for Account Type. Verify that "IMAP" is selected.
2. Enter an Account Description (e.g., IMAP Account).
3. Enter your Full Name (e.g., Juana Doe).
4. Enter your Email Address (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu).
5. Select Continue.

    


2. Enter your Incoming Mail Server (e.g., mail01a.sfsu.edu). This is your mail server. Refer to the Prerequisites section if you do not know your mail server. Leave the Use Authentication box unchecked and the User name and Password fields blank. Select Continue.

    


3. Enter your Outgoing Mail Server (e.g., mail01a.sfsu.edu). This is your mail server. Refer to the Prerequisites section if you do not know your mail server. Leave the Use Authentication box unchecked and the User Name and Password fields blank. Select Continue.

    


4. Verify your settings then select Continue.

    


5. The Conclusion screen appears. Select Done.

    


6. If the Welcome screen appears asking if you would like to see what's new, select No.

    


7. On the Menu bar, select Mail > Preferences.
8. Select Accounts. Verify that the Incoming Mail Server and Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) match your e-mail server (e.g., mail01a.sfsu.edu). If not, select them and change them to your e-mail server.

    


9. Select Server Settings located below Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP).
1. Change the Server port to 465.
2. Check the Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) checkbox.
3. Select Password from the Authentication drop-down box.
4. Enter your User Name.
5. Enter your Password.
6. Select OK.

    


10. Close the Accounts window.
11. You will be asked if you would like to save changes. Select Save.

    


12. Verify that your e-mail is working by sending a test e-mail to yourself.
13. Congratulations! Your e-mail is configured and ready to be used.
14. If you backed up your user data file, continue to the Restore Mail section to finish setting up your account.

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Switching Mac Mail from POP to IMAP

Backup your User Data files

1. To backup the Mail folder do the following:
1. Launch the Finder by selecting the icon on the dock. Select the Home button. Select and open the Library folder.
2. Copy the entire Mail folder to your back up media (such as a blank cdr, zip drive, etc).
3. When you are ready to restore the Mail folder, choose File > Import Mailboxes. Select Mail for Mac OS X, and locate the Mail folder that you backed up.
2. To back up your Mail preferences do the following:
1. Launch the Finder by selecting the icon on the dock. Select the Home button. Select and open the Library folder.
2. Select and open the Preferences folder.
3. Copy the com.apple.mail.plist file to your back up media.
3. For more information, visit the Backing up E-mail on a Macintosh Web page.

Delete your POP e-mail account

1. On the Menu bar, select Mail > Preferences
1. Select your SFSU e-mail account name.
2. Select the - (minus sign) in the lower left hand corner.

    


2. Select OK to verify that you want to delete the selected e-mail account.

    


3. Continue with the Configure Mac Mail Section.

After creating an IMAP account, you will need to restore your e-mail and address book onto the newly created account.

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Restore Mail

To restore the Mail folder, on the Menu Bar select File > Import Mailboxes . Select Mail for Mac OS X, and locate the Mail folder that you backed up.

Restoring the Address Book

This will re-populate the Address Book with all the data from your backup file and overwrite all data currently in your address book.

1. Open the Address Book application. It can be found on your Macintosh HD, in the Applications Folder.
2. On the Menu Bar select File > Revert to Address Book Backup and locate the backup file.

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Adjusting to using IMAP

• Critical Information: The mailboxes and folders you see under your new account (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu) reside on the mail server, not on your computer.  As a result:
• If you delete a message from one of these folders on one computer it will be gone from every computer you check mail from.
• Once a message is deleted from the server it is not easy to have it restored.  It is impossible after thirty days.
• If you want specific messages saved locally on a computer, you can make local folders then copy or move the messages from the server into the local folders.
• The time taken to refresh a folder on the server increases with the number of messages in the folder.  To keep refresh time down, try to keep the number of messages in any folder below 1000.  The inbox on the server is refreshed every time your mail client checks for new messages, so it is especially important to keep the number of messages in the inbox low.
• Also included with your new IMAP account will be the Archive, Junk E-mail, Sent, Sent Items, and Trash folders.
• The Trash folder under your new account (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu). will contain any messages deleted from your new inbox.
• The Sent folder under your new account (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu) will contain any new messages sent from your account.
• To permanently remove messages marked as deleted, select Mailbox > Erase Deleted Messages > IMAP Account.
• Keep your inbox to less than 1000 messages.

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Last Modified: 03 March 2008
doit@sfsu.edu