Can I use Thunderbird/IMAP?

[pode]

Hi,

I've got an enhanced account with Fastmail and am currently using OE with POP3. I've set up OE so that when different users of the computer (WinXP) log in, they all access the same message store. I've considered switching to IMAP in the past, but when I tried it on OE it got confused between the different users, and was downloading the same messages every time for each user. Not very helpful, especially as I'm on dial-up. And then I discovered on the forums that IMAP and OE are a bad combination anyway.

But now I'm about to install Firefox and wondered if I should install Thunderbird at the same time. Here's my question:

a) With Thunderbird, can I share the same local message store between different users?

b) Will IMAP work OK, even with the local message store shared?

c) Also, if I upload all my existing message store to Fastmail (600Mb -- I'll have to use a friend's broadband connection!), will Thunderbird keep a copy of it locally? I want to retain the ability to search emails offline.

Thanks for your help. I'm hoping that there are lots of Thunderbird/IMAP evangelists out there who can persuade me!

[ezequielv]

Originally posted by pode
a) With Thunderbird, can I share the same local message store between different users?

I don't know. If I were you, I'd search in the mozilla website, forums, etc. Just start at the Thunderbird website, you should find plenty of Mozilla-oriented forums and mailing lists to post your question.

b) Will IMAP work OK, even with the local message store shared?

IMAP works great with Mozilla (I'm using Mozilla 1.6 at home and in my laptop), and I'd guess TB should work great, too.

c) Also, if I upload all my existing message store to Fastmail (600Mb -- I'll have to use a friend's broadband connection!), will Thunderbird keep a copy of it locally? I want to retain the ability to search emails offline.

It depends on your Thunderbird settings for the Fastmail account. You have to select the folders for which the mail should be downloaded to be read offline. First, you subscribe to the folders you're interested in viewing (right mouse button click -> "Subscribe...", then select the folders and press "ok"). Then you go to "Account Settings" (or something like that) and you go to "Server and Folder settings" (or something like that (sorry, I'm away from the Mozilla PCs at the moment)) and then open the dialog to select the subscribed folders whose messages you also want to keep a local copy. It's simple once you know how to do it. Whenever there's a new folder, you can subscribe to it first, and then -if interested in downloading messages for that folder- you also mark it as an "offline" folder doing what I've just described.

Sorry about the lack of precise menus and option names, but the idea is right

[ReuvenNY]

Originally posted by pode
Hi,

I've got an enhanced account with Fastmail and am currently using OE with POP3. I've set up OE so that when different users of the computer (WinXP) log in, they all access the same message store. I've considered switching to IMAP in the past, but when I tried it on OE it got confused between the different users, and was downloading the same messages every time for each user. Not very helpful, especially as I'm on dial-up. And then I discovered on the forums that IMAP and OE are a bad combination anyway.

But now I'm about to install Firefox and wondered if I should install Thunderbird at the same time. Here's my question:

a) With Thunderbird, can I share the same local message store between different users?

b) Will IMAP work OK, even with the local message store shared?

c) Also, if I upload all my existing message store to Fastmail (600Mb -- I'll have to use a friend's broadband connection!), will Thunderbird keep a copy of it locally? I want to retain the ability to search emails offline.

Thanks for your help. I'm hoping that there are lots of Thunderbird/IMAP evangelists out there who can persuade me!

Welcome to the forums! I am not an evengelist, but in general the answer to all you questions above is YES!
Anything you can do with POP you can emulate with IMAP. But IMAP keeps your message on the server, so not only can other users on your computer access the mail, but all users on all computers at the same time.

[pode]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to install Firefox first, and then I'll play around with Thunderbird.

Actually I'd been using rules to keep a backup of all my incoming e-mail on Fastmail anyway, so I could still read it when I was away from home. But it sure will be nice to be able to start using a properly synchronised IMAP setup instead.

[bitequator]

Beware of the Thunderbird IMAP "Draft" message bug though, which I'm surprised has not been fixed even with v1.0.

[DrStrabismus]

Originally posted by ReuvenNY
Welcome to the forums! I am not an evengelist, but in general the answer to all you questions above is YES!
Anything you can do with POP you can emulate with IMAP. But IMAP keeps your message on the server, so not only can other users on your computer access the mail, but all users on all computers at the same time.

But as I read it that's not quite what he or she is trying to acheive.

It sounds to me as if the objective is to have three windows accounts, each with it's own TB configuration, using the same FM account, but without each message being downloaded three times.
In otherwords the windows accounts would need to share the same offline IMAP cache. That might be possible, for an experienced TB hacker, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I think the answers should be
a)No
b)No
c)Yes and NO (the XP account that uploads will have them, the other accounts wll need to sink with the server)

[pode]

Originally posted by DrStrabismus
It sounds to me as if the objective is to have three windows accounts, each with it's own TB configuration, using the same FM account, but without each message being downloaded three times.
In otherwords the windows accounts would need to share the same offline IMAP cache. That might be possible, for an experienced TB hacker, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I've done a bit of digging around on the Mozilla support forums, and it seems that it is not too hard to get different the mail store shared between different users, with each retaining their own 'profile'. It doesn't seem to be recommended if two copies of Thunderbird could be writing to the same mail store at the same time (though there is some file locking, so it might not be a problem). But in this case, since two Windows accounts can't be used at the same time, then it should be OK.

Anyway, I'm downloading it in the background now, so I'll experiment and find out what works (and what doesn't).

[DrStrabismus]

Unless the three people actually need to read the same mail, why don't you set rules to file the mail into three separate mailboxes.

If you refrain from using the Inbox, you can effectively turn the Fastmail account into three separate accounts. The mail downloaded into each TB profile is determined by the individual synchronization settings , so there is now reason why each message need be downloaded three times.

[pode]

Originally posted by DrStrabismus
Unless the three people actually need to read the same mail...

That's exactly what I need My wife and I use different windows accounts, but we like to be able to see each other's e-mail (as so often stuff is sent to one of us but really it is for us both).

I've installed Firefox now and it is fantastic . I'm able to browse so much faster than with IE. Am about to install Thunderbird... will let you know how I get on.

[pode]

I said I'd post back with how I got on. Here goes:

It's a bit off topic but I have to say that Firefox is wonderful. Over a dial-up connection pages display much faster. Basically this is because Firefox starts displaying the page as soon as it can, even if it hasn't really downloaded enough of it yet. So sometimes the page gets redrawn as you're using it, but that is not a problem. Whereas IE waits until it has sufficient information to get it right first time... which sounds good but means big delays in displaying pages built around tables (i.e. most of the pages I look at). So I've switched to Firefox and am unlikely to go back. Incidentally, Firefox works well with no-ads.pac and that speeds up browsing even more.

Thunderbird, on the other hand, has not impressed. It seems like it should be able to do what I was originally asking about -- simply use the Profile Manager to set different copies of Thunderbird to use the same Profile and Mail store settings. But there are some basic things missing that I use in OE all the time. Like, for example, being able to set one of the columns to display the size of each e-mail (important when you're on dial-up). Or being able to choose between multiple signatures for each e-mail account. Or being able to view and edit the HTML source of e-mails whilst composing them. Or being able to get it to send and receive e-mails and then hang-up automatically.

Don't get me wrong: Thunderbird is a good e-mail client. But I'll wait until these issues are sorted before I switch over.

Thank you everyone for your help!

James

[ezequielv]

Originally posted by pode
I said I'd post back with how I got on. Here goes:

It's a bit off topic but I have to say that Firefox is wonderful. Over a dial-up connection pages display much faster. Basically this is because Firefox starts displaying the page as soon as it can, even if it hasn't really downloaded enough of it yet. So sometimes the page gets redrawn as you're using it, but that is not a problem. Whereas IE waits until it has sufficient information to get it right first time... which sounds good but means big delays in displaying pages built around tables (i.e. most of the pages I look at). So I've switched to Firefox and am unlikely to go back. Incidentally, Firefox works well with no-ads.pac and that speeds up browsing even more.

Thunderbird, on the other hand, has not impressed. It seems like it should be able to do what I was originally asking about -- simply use the Profile Manager to set different copies of Thunderbird to use the same Profile and Mail store settings.

Even though these things are not necessarily possible and/or 'safe' using OE

But there are some basic things missing that I use in OE all the time. Like, for example, being able to set one of the columns to display the size of each e-mail (important when you're on dial-up).

I'm not sure about TB, but Mozilla *can*. You can have different settings (different columns) for each folder you have. All you have to do is click on the right hand side square icon in the list view. That brings up the list of available fields.

Or being able to choose between multiple signatures for each e-mail account. Or being able to view and edit the HTML source of e-mails whilst composing them. Or being able to get it to send and receive e-mails and then hang-up automatically.

Are you sure you can do that in OE? (the editing of the HTML part).

For the signatures part, I agree. However, I'd be surprised if there are no "extensions" that allow you to do that. Have you checked the available extensions for TB?

[pode]

Originally posted by ezequielv
I'm not sure about TB, but Mozilla *can*. You can have different settings (different columns) for each folder you have. All you have to do is click on the right hand side square icon in the list view. That brings up the list of available fields.

OK, I take that back. But that just hightlights another current issue with Thunderbird: no help files, so I didn't know what features were available. You can get some help online (and in the forum). I read somewhere that help files are being worked on, but this is a big difference from the Firefox project. There they made sure that things like that were fixed before they hit v1.0.

Are you sure you can do that in OE? (the editing of the HTML part).

For the signatures part, I agree. However, I'd be surprised if there are no "extensions" that allow you to do that. Have you checked the available extensions for TB?

HTML editing is easy in OE. On the message you're composing choose 'View' then 'Source Edit'. I use it for an occasional newsletter I send round.

There are some extensions that allow more flexibility with signatures, but it all looked a bit fiddly to me. It wasn't clear to me how well beta tested some of the extensions are. I need my e-mail to be rock-solid reliable (which is why I use FastMail ). I'm happy to wait until they sort it out on a future version.

[Javier]

Originally posted by ezequielv For the signatures part, I agree. However, I'd be surprised if there are no "extensions" that allow you to do that. Have you checked the available extensions for TB? [/b]

Yes, there is an extension available for this purpose. Its name is Tagzilla and it is documented at Mozillazine Thunderbird FAQs (http://kb.mozillazine.org/Thunderbir...s_:_Signatures) and its own webpage (http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/more-info/tagzilla).

It is true that OE allows to edit HTML code ... but the problem is that if you don't edit HTML code options available for editing your messages are really few. For example, OE allows displaying of tables in messages (and typing in tables if they exist), but don't allow to create them. TB does not provide an access to HTML source but, in my experienca, I have never needed it.

And there are other advantages in TB that does not exist at OE. One of the most interesting to me is the option to create several identities for every mail account (in OE, if you want to send a message with an email address different than the one of the account used to send it, the only option is modify account configuration and change the "From" or "Reply to" fields).

[ezequielv]

Originally posted by Javier
...
And there are other advantages in TB that does not exist at OE. One of the most interesting to me is the option to create several identities for every mail account (in OE, if you want to send a message with an email address different than the one of the account used to send it, the only option is modify account configuration and change the "From" or "Reply to" fields).

Thank you for the information, Javier.

I did not know TB handled multiple "identities" per email account. I always expected that "killer feature" for domain owners. I guess the time has come

I'll deffinitively have to check TB someday. Maybe when I'm a little less busy

[Javier]

Originally posted by ezequielv
I did not know TB handled multiple "identities" per email account. I always expected that "killer feature" for domain owners. I guess the time has come

Just have to look at account configuration. Select the name of the account and, in the right pane, press on "Identities management" (I ignore if it is this same name in the english version, because I use the spanish one, but it is a button at the end of the right pane).

It is a really useful feature. In my case, my main account (the account I use its SMTP server because of its reliability) have more than 10 identities that I select as needed.