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damiensmunki · Jul 23, 2004, 01:05 AM

I don't want my email client to download all my emails from the server onto my HD. I like to keep them on the server. Does Mail download them, leave them on the server, or both (copy on HD and server)? I'm trying to figure this out before I configure it to work with my account. I don't want it to begin downloading them and erasing them from the server. Thanks for any help.
Rob

OptimusG4 · Jul 23, 2004, 01:08 AM

Depends. If it's POP3, the Mail by default will delete the message off the server, but there is an option to leave it there. If it's IMAP, then it will just stay on the server.

biscuit · Jul 23, 2004, 03:24 AM

There's something I've been wondering about. I've seen it said that IMAP is better than POP3, but to be honest I can't see the difference. I have POP3 set up to leave messages on the server for a week and I get a copy on my HD. I get too much mail to leave it all on the server, so IMAP seems pointless.

I guess my question is, why is IMAP supposed to be better?

biscuit

thePurpleGiant · Jul 23, 2004, 07:03 AM

Originally posted by biscuit:
I guess my question is, why is IMAP supposed to be better?

IMAP also synchronizes sent mail. I find my sent mail equally as important as my recieved mail, so this is useful.

cpac · Jul 23, 2004, 07:30 AM

Originally posted by biscuit:
I guess my question is, why is IMAP supposed to be better?

Essentially because your organization and access to the email in that account does not depend of where you are accessing the email from.

For a POP3 account - I can leave messages on the server, but if I put them into sub-folders in one client computer, other computers I use to access those messages won't have the benefit of that access. Drafts I make on one computer wont be accessible on another, and (as the previous poster pointed out) Sent (and also deleted) messages won't be available from other computers.

I know less about it, but IMAP accounts also have some sort of continuous connection with the server that give more immediate notice of incoming mail and is less error prone than the POP3 technique of logging in, checking, downloading and logging out every few minutes...

CatOne · Jul 23, 2004, 11:30 AM

Originally posted by biscuit:
There's something I've been wondering about. I've seen it said that IMAP is better than POP3, but to be honest I can't see the difference. I have POP3 set up to leave messages on the server for a week and I get a copy on my HD. I get too much mail to leave it all on the server, so IMAP seems pointless.

I guess my question is, why is IMAP supposed to be better?

biscuit

With POP, if it's "on the server" it's all in one directory on the server. Get 118,000 mails in the "inbox" and it can get a bit messy. Plus, get a client side "burp" where you forget the message count, and all the messages could get re-downloaded. This doesn't scale, and it gets SLOW.

With IMAP, you can create folders on the server, and move mail to them. Just like in your mail client.

And another REALLY nice thing... if you read mails in multiple locations, IMAP can keep track if which messages you've read. So you read something on your laptop, it gets marked as read. Later you go to a desktop machine and check email... all the messages you read are marked as read, so you don't have to re-download, etc. So you have total control.

IMAP is a lot more flexible, if you have a relatively high-speed connection. If all you do though is use IMAP to move messages from your "inbox" to folders "on my mac," though, you won't see a whole lot of difference between IMAP and POP.

biscuit · Jul 27, 2004, 07:30 AM

Thanks for the replies everyone (sorry I'm late, have been away from computer most of w/e). Just another v. quick question. When using IMAP, does your junk mail get moved off the server if Mail moves it locally? If it does that, I'll be tempted to give it a try.

biscuit

CatOne · Jul 27, 2004, 01:32 PM

Originally posted by biscuit:
Thanks for the replies everyone (sorry I'm late, have been away from computer most of w/e). Just another v. quick question. When using IMAP, does your junk mail get moved off the server if Mail moves it locally? If it does that, I'll be tempted to give it a try.

biscuit

This is configurable in Mail.app. You have two junk folders -- one local and one on the server. If you have "store junk mail on server" Mail will put it in the junk folder on the server. If you don't have this checked, it will move it to your local junk mail folder (i.e. remove it from the server).

biscuit · Jul 28, 2004, 05:23 AM

Thanks again! Just two more very quick enquires before I switch my account over to IMAP (since it sounds quite handy). I'm currently using POP to access an Exchange account and I know that the server allows IMAP connections, but would I be better off using the Exchange option in Mail? I can't really see a difference between Exchange and IMAP when using Mail and I have no idea what the text to enter in the Outlook Web Access Server field referred to in Mail Help would be. I know the server address, if that's what they mean.

Final question, I promise. When sending mail from home, I have to connect to a VPN so that the mail will be accepted, does this still apply to IMAP/Exchange accounts?

biscuit

CatOne · Jul 28, 2004, 02:56 PM

Originally posted by biscuit:
Thanks again! Just two more very quick enquires before I switch my account over to IMAP (since it sounds quite handy). I'm currently using POP to access an Exchange account and I know that the server allows IMAP connections, but would I be better off using the Exchange option in Mail? I can't really see a difference between Exchange and IMAP when using Mail and I have no idea what the text to enter in the Outlook Web Access Server field referred to in Mail Help would be. I know the server address, if that's what they mean.

Final question, I promise. When sending mail from home, I have to connect to a VPN so that the mail will be accepted, does this still apply to IMAP/Exchange accounts?

biscuit

The "Exchange" option in Mail actually uses IMAP. I don't think there are any differences between them at all, except for the ability to specify the Outlook Web Access server. The Exchange option is most certainly NOT using Exchange's proprietary MAPI protocol.

Also, regarding your VPN question, it's highly likely you must be on a particular IP subnet to access the SMTP server (which is what sends mail). These servers are pretty much ALWAYS restricted in which IP addresses can send -- otherwise spammers would send millions of messages per day through them (this is called an open relay). When you're not VPN'd in, you have an "external" IP address and thus the outbound email will be rejected. You have 2 options to send mail:

1) VPN in (as you've noted)
2) Select a different SMTP relay server (e.g. your ISP's mail server) -- in my case I use smtp.comcast.net as a relay server on my home machine, and can send work emails through that server.