Manage Email with IMAP

Journey of an Email Message

Install and Configure an
IMAP Email Client

Getting Started with Thunderbird

Manage SquirrelMail Folders

Clean Your Server Inbox

Check Your Server Inbox Size

Email Tools

Manage Email with IMAP

In August 2008, the Computing Center initiated support for the IMAP protocol. This protocol allows users to check email from multiple locations, because each email client will see the same IMAP folders.

For those who are used to Eudora with POP, IMAP will require you to manage your email more actively. However, this management effort will pay off, because you will have much improved access to your email.

Folder Organization, the key to Good IMAP Mail Management

It is important to keep IMAP folders organized. In addition to helping you locate and track your messages, a good organization system will minimize technical problems. If you allow too many messages to accumulate in your inbox, it could grow too large and interfere with your ability to collect your mail. You may even reach the storage limit.

Follow these tips for the best IMAP experience:

• Create a few logically named IMAP folders and file new messages appropriately. You can create these folders with SquirrelMail, Thunderbird, or another properly configured IMAP mail client.

• If even after filing messages into folders, your server/IMAP inbox is still quite large, create one or more archive folders and move old inbox messages into the archive folder(s). For example, you might create a folder called "archive 2008" to store all the otherwise unfiled inbox messages from 2008. If the archived mailboxes take a long time to open, try splitting them up further. Monthly archives, such as "archive 2008-01" for January 2008, may work better for those who get large volumes of email.

• If you won't need to reference a message from multiple systems, consider filing it in a local folder in a desktop IMAP mail client, such as Thunderbird. Local folders are only accessible from that one computer and are a good way to archive messages you only need from one location.

• Keep your sent items folder small. Move messages into other folders as described above, or delete those items you no longer need.

• Keep your trash folder empty. In SquirrelMail, click the purge link next to your trash folder. In Thunderbird, right-click on the IMAP trash folder and select "Empty Trash." Even if your server inbox is a reasonable size, it's a good idea to routinely empty your trash folder to keep your mail system more efficient. Please note: we reserve the right to delete messages in your Trash folder that are more than two weeks old.