Configuring an Email Client
Once you have a mailbox configured on your Sympl server, you can access via either a typical Email Client, or via WebMail.
Email Client
Email clients can be used on a phone, tablet or desktop/laptop, and any client which supports the standard protocols can be used.
There are two methods of accessing mail:
- IMAP, which leaves the mail on the server, and synchronises the local copy of the mail with the server, and can be accessed from multiple clients.
- POP3, which is typically used to download all the mail from the server to the client and store it locally and can only be used by a single client.
As it supports multiple connections, mail folders and other more modern features, we strongly suggest using IMAP over POP3.
Most systems have email clients built in which work fine with Sympl, but if you're looking for a third party one we usually suggest Thunderbird, as it's Free, fully featured and Open Source.
When configuring IMAP or POP3, you may be asked a number of questions depending on the client and its defaults. In the below we'll set up the email account email@example.com
on a server which is also hosting the website at example.com
.
In both cases, if you don't have the website above also being hosted by your server, you should use any domain which is working with HTTPS which points directly at your server. If you don't want to specify a specific one, then you can also use the servers hostname, such as example.vs.mythic-beasts.com
but you may want to adjust the SSL configuration of the domain to pick up a certificate for it. Any domain pointed to the server should work, but you may be presented with warning about the SSL certificate not matching.
Incoming Mail
IMAP (recommended)
- Protocol: IMAP
- 'Server' or 'Hostname':
example.com
- Port: 993
- 'SSL', 'Security' or 'Encryption': SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Normal Password
- Username:
email@example.com
- Password: As set in the mailbox folder
POP3
- Protocol: POP3
- 'Server' or 'Hostname':
example.com
- Port: 995
- 'SSL', 'Security' or 'Encryption': SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Normal Password
- Username:
email@example.com
- Password: As set in the mailbox folder
Outgoing Mail
- Protocol: SMTP
- 'SSL', 'Security' or 'Encryption':
example.com
- Port: 587
- SSL: SSL/TLS
- Authentication: Normal Password
- Username:
email@example.com
- Password: As set in the mailbox folder
Testing Mail Client Configurations
If you're experiencing problems getting a mail client configuration to work (rejected passwords or similar), you can always try using webmail - everything is already configured there, and if that works, then you know the problem is with the mail client, not the server.
WebMail
Webmail is installed by default in Sympl, and is accessible via any website pointed at the server. This uses the IMAP protocol, and as such works the same as most other webmail, with folders, rules, and so on.
To access webmail, simply visit any website pointed at the server, with '/webmail' added to the end, such as https://example.com/webmail
.
You will be prompted for the username and password - use the full email address, such as email@example.com
and the password as set in the mailbox folder.
Once logged in the user will be presented with a fairly normal web-based mail client, and can create folders, send and read mail as normal.
Advanced Options for End Users
Changing a Mailbox Password
A normal mail user can change their password via webmail without interaction from the Sympl admin by logging into webmail and going to Settings -> Password
where they will be prompted for their current password and the new password.
The normal care should be taken to ensure the password is long, complex and unique to avoid the mailbox being compromised.
Vacation Messages
A 'Vacation Message' or automatic reply can be configured on a Sympl mailbox by a normal user by logging into webmail and going to Settings -> Vacation
.
There are a range of options there including the start and end times/dates, as well as advanced options such as changing the reply sender address, reply interval (how often the same sender will be told about the 'vacation', and what to do with the mail: keep it, discard it, forward it or send a copy to another address.
Care should be taken not to over-use this feature as it can be annoying for the mail sender.
Server-side Mailbox Rules
Sympl supports 'ManageSieve', which is a protocol to update mailbox filters (moving mail to a folder, making it as read, automatic replies, etc) on the server directly by a normal user. This is build into webmail on Sympl, and can be accessed via Settings -> Filters
.
Some mail clients also support this protocol, or have plugins or extensions which add support for it, and it can be added then.