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Thunderbird for Mac on Exchange

Guide for installing and configuring Thunderbird to access SF State E-mail on Microsoft Exchange.

 

Prerequisites
     Obtain software
      Obtain account details
Configure Thunderbird
Switch Thunderbird to Exchange
Using Thunderbird with Exchange
     Server-based e-mail
   
 

Prerequisites

  • A Macintosh computer running OS X
  • A connection to the Internet
  • Mozilla Thunderbird software
  • Account details for your SF State e-mail account on the Exchange server

Obtain Software

Thunderbird is an open-source e-mail program and newsreader developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It is freely available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux and can be downloaded from Mozilla's Thunderbird Website.

Obtain account details

  1. Login to SF State E-mail Account Services. (If you do not know your password, use the SF State password service.)
  2. Under Accounts (section 1) click your e-mail address.
  3. On the Account Details page note the following:   Account name, Forwards to, and Mail server.
  4. If you are currently forwarding your e-mail and would like to access it using Thunderbird, remove your e-mail forwarding address.
  5. If your Mail server is not exchange.sfsu.edu, you should first switch to Exchange.

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WARNING: Messages deleted in Thunderbird can not be retrieved from server backups.  

 

Install Thunderbird

  1. Download the Setup File from the link in the Prerequisites section. Run the setup file once it is downloaded.
  2. At the Mozilla Thunderbird Welcome screen, select Next.
  3. Select I Accept the terms of the License Agreement, then select Next.
  4. Select Standard, then select Next.
  5. Leave the Launch Mozilla Thunderbird Now box selected. Select Finish.
  6. If the Import Wizard appears, make sure that Don't import anything is selected then select Next. Thunderbird will open with the Account Wizard screen. Continue to step 2 of the Configure Thunderbird section to finish setting up your e-mail.

Configure Thunderbird

  1. Open Thunderbird. If the Account Wizard is not already displayed, open it as follows: on the File menu, click New, then click Account.
    File menu items, New submenu; Account selection
  2. Select Email account then select Continue.
    New Account Setup...Select the type of account you would like to set up: (radio button options:) Email account, .Mac, RSS News & Blogs, Gmail, Newsgroup account. Action buttons: Cancel, Go Back (disabled), Continue (default)
  3. Identity
    1. Enter your Name (e.g., Juana Doe). This name will appear in the From field of messages you send.
    2. Enter your e-mail address (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu).
    3. Click Continue.
      Identity - Each account has an identity, which is the information that identifies you to others when they receive your messages...Your Name...Email Address
  4. Server Information
    1. Select IMAP.
    2. Enter imaps.sfsu.edu for Incoming Server. 
    3. If an Outgoing Server is requested, enter smtps.sfsu.edu. If you have previously set up an e-mail account in Thunderbird, your existing outgoing server settings will be used by default. This can be updated in a later step.
    4. Click Continue.
      Server Information - Select the type of incoming server you are using. Radio button options: POP, IMAP(selected)...Incoming Server. Your existing outgoing server (SMTP), smtps.sfsu.edu will be used.
  5. Enter your full e-mail address for Incoming User Name (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu), then click Continue.

    User Names - Enter the incoming user name given to you by your email provider...Incoming User Name:
  6. Enter an account name for your reference (e.g., jdoe), then click Continue.
    Account Name - Enter the name by which you would like to refer to this account...Account Name:
  7. Click Done on the congratulations screen, but continue with the following steps to complete your e-mail setup.
    Congratulations! Please verify that the informaiton below is correct...Account Name: jdoe; Email Address: jdoe@sfsu.edu; Incoming User Name: jdoe@sfsu.edu; Incoming Server Name: imaps.sfsu.edu; Incoming Server type: IMAP; Outgoing User Name: jdoe@sfsu.edu; Outgoing Server Name (SMTP): smtps.sfsu.edu
  8. If the Mail Server Password Required screen opens, select Cancel.
  9. On the Tools menu bar, select Account Settings.
    Tools menu, Account Settings... selection
  10. Server Settings
    1. Select Server Settings in the left column under your account name
    2. Verify Server Name is imaps.sfsu.edu
    3. Verify Port number is 993
    4. Verify User Name is your full e-mail address (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu)
    5. Under Security Settings, select SSL.
      jdoe Server Settings
  11. Outgoing Server Settings         
    1. Select Outgoing Server (SMTP) at the bottom of the left sidebar. 
    2. Select the default SMTP account (e.g., jdoe - smtps.sfsu.edu), then click Edit.
      jdoe Server Settings
  12. SMTP Settings
    1. Verify the Server Name is smtps.sfsu.edu
    2. Verify the Port number is 587
    3. Verify that Use name and password is checked
    4. Enter your full e-mail address for User Name (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu)
    5. Check TLS.
    6. Select OK to close the SMTP Server window.
    7. Select OK to close the Account Settings window.
      Settings - Description: SMTP; Server Name: smtps.sfsu.edu; Port: 587; Default: 25; Security and Authentication - User name and password: checked; User Name: jdoe@sfsu.edu; User secure connection: radio button options: No, TLS, if available, TLS (selected), SSL
  13. To retrieve your mail
    1. Select your account (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu) from the folders list on the left.
    2. Select Get Mail
    3. Enter your password and click OK.
  14. On the File menu, select Subscribe to retrieve your mail folders.
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Switch Thunderbird to Exchange

To switch an existing mailbox to connect to the Exchange server follow steps 9 - 12 in the configure Thunderbird section above.

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Using Thunderbird with Exchange

Server-based e-mail

The mailboxes and folders you see under your new account (e.g., jdoe@sfsu.edu Exchange) reside on the e-mail server, not on your computer.  As a result:

  • If you move a message from one of these folders to Trash on one computer, it will be in Trash on all computers you use to check e-mail.
  • Items are automatically deleted from Trash and the Exchange server two weeks after being moved to trash.
  • Once a message is deleted from the server it is very difficult to have it restored.  It is impossible after thirty days.
  • If you want to delete specific messages from the server, but keep them locally on your computer, copy them to a subfolder under the Local Folders account before deleting them from your Exchange account. 
  • The time it takes to refresh a folder on the server increases with the number of messages in the folder.  To minimize refresh time, try to keep the number of messages in any folder below 400. The Inbox on the server is refreshed every time your e-mail program checks for new messages, so it is especially important to keep the number of messages in the Inbox low.
  • NOTE: Messages deleted in Thunderbird are NOT recoverable.

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