IMAP mail for HEP
						J.M. Bishop, 10/24/00

IMAP mail is available from the University's IMAP mail servers.  Imap mail 
allows access to all mail from any connection, unlike Eudora (in its
normal mode), that downloads the mail to the reading system, and leaves it 
there, thus making it unavailable from any other system.  Imap does download 
a copy for display, but keeps the mail on the server, unless explicitly told 
to move it to a local folder.  Imap mail supports folders and subfolders, 
unlike Eudora, but more like VAXmail.  Using Netscape Messenger or WebMail
as the mail client allows ready access to attached documents.

IMAP mail can be configured in a straight-forward way using the documents 
available from OIT:
W1620	Email with Netscape Messenger 4.5 (Windows version)
M1620	Email with Netscape Messenger 4.5 (Mac version)
G1611	Introduction to WebMail
I have several copies of these documents available, and they are available 
outside the OIT Helpdesk (115 CCMB).  The Netscape Messenger documents are
also available in pdf format thru the OIT Documentation page.

The 2 documents on using Messenger differ only by the minor differences
between Netscape on a pc and on a Mac.  One can also set up Messenger
on a Unix system to read one's Imap mail, following the same instructions
as for a pc or Mac.  Netscape on VAX is too old to use for mail.
Configuring Messenger is sufficiently complicated that you will not
want to try to configure it on a system at some other site, but you
really should do it at least once somewhere to get the folders set up
correctly.

The first step to using Imap mail is to remove any forwarding from the
university mail servers.  Do this by going to the ND OIT email web
page, and make the change there.  OIT is under Technology on the ND
home page.

Netscape Messenger supports folders on the server and on the client.
It is wise to plan to move mail off the server occasionally, since there
is a limit to how much mail the server will keep.  One may check how
much mail quota is used from the ND OIT email web page.  One can move
messages individually between folders, including between server and
local folders, or one may select a range of messages and move the
whole set at once.  Netscape sometimes fails to make the Local Mail folder 
on the client system.  If this happens, one must set Messenger to POP mail; 
then in Messenger, make a subfolder of Local Mail.  One may then switch 
Messenger back to Imap mail and the Local Mail folder will be available.  
Having Messenger active on multiple systems at the same time does not 
seem to cause any problems.

Webmail provides access to your mail from any system with a network 
connection and a web browser.  To get it, go to the OIT email page and
select Webmail, then enter your afs id and password.  Webmail uses secure 
access for login and optionally for reading your mail.  Webmail does have
a couple of minor quirks: Webmail sees all mail as being within the Inbox 
folder as well as in the subfolders, which can be a little confusing.  
OIT does not recommend that you use Webmail on one system while you have 
Messenger open on another.  However, I have used Webmail while Messenger 
was open and had no problems.  I would not recommend actively reading
mail thru both Webmail and Messenger at the same time.  Also, although 
Webmail recognizes attachments, it does not automatically know what 
application to open them with, and will usually prompt for saving the 
attachment or for selecting an application.  When the correct 
application is found, it properly opens the attachment in it.

One can also read Imap mail with the Pine mail program on Unix.  Pine
also understands folders, and when configured with an Imap server, keeps
the mail on the server.  Pine is, however, a character screen program,
and does not understand attachments.  However, since the mail is kept
on the server, one can readily come back to any message with an
attachment from Messenger or Webmail and take care of the attachment.
Pine is somewhat arcane to configure; reading the .pinerc file helps.

Once you have Imap mail set up satisfactorily, you may want to forward
all your mail to Imap.  Do this by editing the .forward file in your
HEP Unix home space to point to your university mail id, and by
setting the forward in VAXmail to your university mail id.  In VAX
mail, the syntax is a bit clumsy:
Mail> set forward "smtp%""username@nd.edu"""
All quotes must be included, or the forward will fail.

Within the 2 Messenger documents are instructions on how to move email
from Eudora into Imap mail.  However, this only moves the body of the mail
message and not the attachments, and the links are then no longer correct.  
The attachments still exist in a Eudora folder and can be explicitly 
accessed (in \internet\Eudora\attach).  When moving Eudora mail, you
can put it either in Local Mail or on the server, by selecting the
destination.  If you get it the wrong place, you can easily move it
elsewhere.

There is no easy way to move mail from VAX or Unix to Imap.  Each desired
message must be individually forwarded to your university id.  Any email
that includes an attachment that has been received on a VAX (not including 
a passthru forward) is not properly understood when explicitly forwarded 
to Imap.  These may still be explicitly converted using Mpack on either
Mac or pc.

My recommendation is to set up your primary system for using Netscape 
Messenger, and use WebMail for access from other locations.