HOWTO: Handling of emails with IMAP and Netscape Communicator

by Walter F.J. Müller

This document describes how to handle emails with the the Netscape Communicator using IMAP and LDAP

Latest version under: http://www-kp3.gsi.de/www/comp/HOWTO/HOWTO_netscape_imap.html

4. Convert old emails

Transfer from Netscape `Local Mail' to IMAP
Transfer VMSmail to IMAP

1. Introduction

GSI offers since November 29^th, 1999 an IMAP based mail service. The key advantage of this service compared to the conventional POP3 based system is that

the whole email context, including all folders, is stored on the central IMAP server.
this server can be connected to from various plattforms, e.g. Linux and WindowsNT.
the same context is seen from every plattform.

This allows for example

to do the general email handling on Linux with Netscape, but to handle emails with MS Word documents on WindowsNT with Outlook.
to access the GSI email context from at home. Just configure for example Netscape at home exactly as described below.
to handle all emails via GSI during a sabbatical leave. Again, just setup Netscape as described below on your personal account in the institute you are visiting.

Note, that for security reasons you need a personal account on the system you use to run Netscape. This is clearly available here at GSI, at home, and usually during a longer stay in an institute. During short term visits in institutes or during conferences it is simplest to use XWindows and start Netscape at GSI. This can be sluggish, but saves the trouble to set things up.

2. Getting started

To get started a few preparations have to be done

Contact Birgit Loos to get
- an account on the WindowsNT system.
- a mailbox on the IMAP server
You get (or have already) 3 WindowsNT accounts
```
      nnnn              used for IMAP
      nnnn_d            used on WNT 4.0 Systems; German version
      nnnn_e            used on WNT 4.0 Systems; US-English version
```
Make sure you know (or setup properly) the password for your WindowsNT account without trailing _d and _e !!
To change the password, logon to a WindowsNT PC (not on WinCenter) with your _d or _e account, depending on the system you use, type CRTL-ATL-DEL, select "Change Password" and explicitly specify the account name in the dialog box.
Redirect you email to the IMAP Server:
- On AIX enter the command
```
   forward nnnn@wntmailsv.gsi.de
   forward -query
```
- On VMS enter
```
   $ mail
     set forward
        nnnn@wntmailsv.gsi.de
```
- After all the reconfigurations have been done and tested don't forget to also update your mail alias. Send an email to Postmaster@gsi.de and request that your mail alias should now point to wntmailsv.

3. Configure Netscape

Please keep in mind, that Netscape can either access one POP3 server or IMAP servers, so after Netscape has been reconfigured you'll not be able to access a POP3 server without loosing all the IMAP configuration ! In case you use already Netscape with POP3 access it's best

to setup the forwards
start Netscape messenger and execute "GetMsg" to empty the Inbox on the POP3 server
reconfigure Netscape

Configure IMAP

To handle emails with the Netscape Communicator

Start configuration editor: "Edit -> Perferences"
Open the "Mail & Newgroups" option list
Select "Identity" dialog.
- Setup "Your name" like "Max Meier".
- Setup "Email address" as your logical GSI email address, like "M.Meier@gsi.de".
- Setup "Organization" as "GSI - Division KP3".
Select "Mail Servers" dialog.
- In case you use already Netscape as a POP3 client, select the entry in "Incoming Mail Servers" and click "Delete". Note, that Netscape supports either one POP3 connection or multiple IMAP connections.
- In "Incoming Mail Servers" frame click "Add...".
  - In the "General" tab setup
    - Set "Server Name" to "wntmailsv.gsi.de"
    - Set "Server Type" to "IMAP"
    - Set "User Name" to your WindowsNT account name without trailing "_d" or "_e".
    - Disable "Remember password".
    - Disable "Check for mail every ...". (see Bugs...)
    - Disable "Automatically download ...".
  - In the "IMAP" tab setup
    - Disable "Use secure connection".
    - Select "Mark it as deleted".
    - Enable "Clean up Inbox on Exit".
  - In the "Advanced" tab setup
    - Leave "IMAP server directory" empty.
    - Disable "Show only subscribed folders".
    - Enable "Server supports folders that contain ...".
    - Enable "Allow server to override these namespaces".
  - Hit the "OK" button.
- In "Outgoing Mail Servers" frame
  There are two choices for the SMTP server
  - via wntmailsv.gsi.de
    - Set "Outgoing mail (SMTP) server" to "wntmailsv.gsi.de"
    - Leave"Outgoing mail server user name" to your WindowsNT account name.
    - Select under "Use Secure Socket Layer.." the option "Never"
  - via rzserv1.gsi.de
    - Set "Outgoing mail (SMTP) server" to "rzserv1.gsi.de"
    - Leave"Outgoing mail server user name" empty
    - Select under "Use Secure Socket Layer.." the option "Never"
Select "Messages" dialog.
- In "Forwarding and Replying..." frame
  - Set "Forward messages" to "inline". (see Bugs...)
- In "Message Wrapping" frame
  - Deselect "Wrap incomming..."
  - Set "Wrap outgoing ..." to 132 characters.
Start Messenger with "Communicator -> Messenger"
You should see an entry `wntmailsv.gsi.de' and a prompt asking for your mail password. Keep in mind that your mail password is your WindowsNT password for you account without a trailing _d or _e !!
Create special folders.
Netscape offers the option to save a copy of mail messages or newsgroup postings and manages `Drafts' and `Templates' in dedicated folders.
The easiest way to create the special folders is to copy the existing ones from `Local Mail' to the IMAP server. Simply select the folder `Sent' in `Local Mail' and drag and drop it over `wntmailsv.gsi.de'.
Repeat this for the `Templates' folder. There will be a dialog like

Just hit 'OK', the folder is copies and not moved anyway. Don't move `Drafts' (see Bugs...).
Reenter Edit -> Perferences, select "Copies and Folders" dialog.
- In "When sending a mail message..." frame
  - Select "Place a copy in folder..."
  - Click "Choose Folder"
    - Select "Folder `Sent'..."
    - Select "wntmailsv.gsi.de"
- In "When sending a newsgroup message..." frame
  Same procedure like above for
  - In "Keep templates in:..." choose folder like above
  - Note: Use `Drafts' from `Local Mail' (see Bugs...).
Note: This setup puts `Sent' and `Templates' on the IMAP server while keeping `Drafts' on `Local Mail'. This not only works around a bug in Netscape 4.7 (see Bugs...) but it also allows to enter and `save as draft' emails without a connection to the IMAP server.

Configure LDAP

There is a central GSI directory server which among other things contains the email addresses and phone numbers of all persons working at GSI. This directory server can be accessed with the LDAP protocol, and this is nicely integrated into the Netscape Communicator.
To set this up

Start Address Book Editor: "Communicator -> Address Book"
Select in "Directories" the entry InfoSpace Directory, do a right click, and choose "Delete".
Same with "Verisign Directory".
Put the cursor over any entry in the "Directories" frame, right click, and select "New Directory...".
- Set "Description" to "GSI".
- Set "LDAP Server" to "wntmailsv.gsi.de".
- Leave "Server Root" blank
- Set "Port Number" to "389".
- Set "Max. Number of Hits" to "100".
- Disable "Secure".
- Disable "Login with name and password".
- Click "OK".
The "Directories" frame should now have an entry "GSI". Select it and enter for example "Trautmann" into the "Show names containg" field. The server should respond with a list of matches.
Start configuration editor: "Edit -> Perferences"
Select "Addressing" dialog.
- In "Pinpoint Addressing" frame
  - Enable "Address books"
  - Enable "Directory Server"
  - Select "GSI" in the option box
  - Select option "Show me a list of choices"
- In "When displaying full names" frame
  - Select "Show names using last name, first name". Note: do NOT change this option when you have already entries in your address book.

4. Convert old emails

Transfer from Netscape `Local Mail' to IMAP

In case you used Netscape with POP3 access before you'll have your old emails in tbe `Local Mail' folders. The old emails stay there even after the POP3 mail server connection have been deconfigured.
To transfer those emails into the IMAP server simply

select one of your subfolder of `Local Mail'
drag and drop it over `wntmailsv.gsi.de' to create a new to level folder or over one of the existing folders of `wntmailsv.gsi.de' to create a new subfolder.

This will create a new folder on the IMAP server and copy all emails of the selected folder. You have to explicitely delete the emails in `Local Mail' after you checked that the copy was successful.

Transfer VMSmail to IMAP

Using MFU

This program simply forwards your emails, by default to the forwarding address you setup for VMSmail. Unfortunately the program has some flaws:

The emails are simply forwarded and go into your Inbox. Thus they mixup with emails which arrive while your are forwarding... In addition, mail filters may do unwanted things in this context, so it's best to disable mail filters while using MFU.
The mails are sometimes not properly sorted according to the displayed creation date.
Under some circumstances, e.g. when the mail contains an empty CC: header, mails are messed up (subject is lost, only part of the message body survives).
Under some circumstances, the original Date is lost and replaced by the current time.

Under some circumstances MFU simply refuses to work when it detects mails with broken header, e.g.

   %mfu-f-fatal, failed to receive expected SMTP status
   -smtp_receive returned
   /501 Syntax error in reverse-path
   @rzri6a.gsi.de,@Csa.LBL.Gov>
   /

Under some circumstances MFU replaces the To: address with your forwarding address. So effectively the information as to where the email was sent is lost and you get something like
```
    From: <MUELLER@AXP607>
    To:   <MUELLER@WNTMAILSV.GSI.DE>
```

In addition, there are some side effects which aren't strictly a fault of MFU but are highly annoying:

Mails with attachments are not properly readable in Netscape. This is because VMSmail messes up attachments and MFU can't repair this.
If the original sender requested a `return receipt', e.g. with a
```
    Return-receipt-to: ...
```
header, the IMAP server will send a delivery receipt when it receives the mail from MFU and Netscape will later prompt your again. This can be quite confusing for the original sender, especially when the mail is many month old. Note, that VMSmail completely ignored return receipts.

You are warned. If you want to use it anyway, do

Logon to AXP635 (it works only on this node)
Execute PUBLICLOGIN (unless it's done already by login.com)
Setup a VMS mail forward to the IMAP server:
- start MAIL
- enter SET FORWARD
- enter "nnnn@wntmailsv.gsi.de" where nnnn is your mailbox name (usually your WindowsNT account name without _d or _e.)
For each VMSmail folder
- Make sure that your IMAP Inbox is empty, if in doubt do a "Get Msg" and move the stuff elsewhere.
- On VMS enter the command
```
   mfu -v "-fnnnn"
```
  where nnnn is the name of the VMSmail folder you want to process. Note that you have to enter it with proper capitalization, that is usually in uppercase.
- wait a few seconds. It takes some considerable time to process a larger number of messages. If you proceed too early you'll see only part of the messages in the next step.
- in Netscape do "Get Msg", in case a lot of message come it, wait and retry to no more show up, and move the stuff to it's final destination, than "Compact" Inbox.
- If all worked, you may delete the VMSmail folder.

5. Known Problems

Sending original mail as attachment in Forwards fails
When forwarding an email Netscape allows to send the original mail as attachment. In version 4.6 and 4.7 this can produce illformatted mails (attachment is BASE64 encoded, but not properly marked). To prevent this select "inline" in "Messages" -> "Forwarding and Replying..." -> "By default, forward messages" setup.
Netscape sometime hangs after automatic mail check.
Doing periodic automatic mail checking over a longer time, e.g. over a night, sometimes causes Netscape to hang. To prevent this disable "Check for mail every ..." in "Incoming Mail Servers" -> "General" setup.
Netscape sometime produces a spurious error after an LDAP query.
An explicit or implicit LDAP query sometime produces a dialog like

A retry almost always works.
The `Drafts' folder doesn't work properly when on IMAP server.
Netscape can be configured such that the `Drafts' folder resides on an IMAP server rather than in `Local Mail'. However, Netscape doesn't work properly when the `Drafts' folder is on an IMAP server. A draft can be stored, but an update either produces a second draft or an error. Furthermore, the draft isn't deleted when the message is sent. One should keep the `Drafts' folder on `Local Mail'.

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Walter F.J. Müller

Last modified: Wed Jul 19 17:31:18 CEST 2000

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