Using POP or IMAP with GroupWise

Get Help with POP or IMAP Connections...

Details

If you don't wish to use the GroupWise desktop client or GroupWise WebAccess client to read your GroupWise e-mail, you can configure other e-mail clients to view your mail.

To do so, your client must support the IMAP or POP protocols and it must support configurable SSL (Secure Socket Layer) connections.

Popular examples of such e-mail clients are Thunderbird, OS X Mail, Outlook Express, and Entourage.

Please note the Help Desk can provide you with basic information for connecting and configuring these programs to send and receive GroupWise e-mail, but we may not be able to answer functional questions regarding how to use the programs.

IMAP or POP?

Two protocols, POP and IMAP, exist for configuring e-mail software to connect to your GroupWise account, and to send/receive messages through that account. When configuring your e-mail software, you'll need to choose one of these protocols.

About POP

The POP protocol copies mail messages from your GroupWise account to your computer. Depending on the options you set up in the e-mail software, your messages can be removed from the GroupWise server once you read them, or kept on the server until you deliberately delete them.

POP's chief disadvantage is that you have to keep track of where you read your mail. If you log into your computer at home and read your mail via a POP e-mail client that is configured to remove mail from the mail server upon reading the messages, you'll no longer be able to read those messages from any other computer.

About IMAP

The IMAP protocol only downloads e-mail message headers to your computer; the actual messages themselves stay on the GroupWise server, and the copies of the messages are downloaded to your computer only after you select the message header of the e-mail you want view. Thus, IMAP can be much faster to use than POP. Another advantage with IMAP is that any mail folders you set up are stored on the mail server, so if you use multiple computers to check your e-mail, your folders and folder contents will not be lost.

We recommend you use the IMAP protocol because of speed and organizational advantages over the POP protocol. If you choose IMAP, don't forget that you need to make sure you don't store any messages on the GroupWise server that are more than 120 days old, or they will be deleted. To configure your GroupWise account to automatically archive items, please see our information on Managing and Configuring GroupWise Archives.

Installing Security Certificates

When your e-mail client connects to the GroupWise server, it verifies the authenticity of the server's security certificate. Many e-mail programs handle certificates in different ways. Most Windows-based e-mail software will prompt you to accept the security certificate; if you have any questions about whether it's safe to proceed with a certificate installation, please contact the Help Desk.

Special Instructions for Apple Macs

Two Macintosh e-mail programs, however, need a bit of work on your part in order to install GroupWise security certificates. If you use OS X Mail or Microsoft Entourage, you'll need to follow some additional configuration instructions to import the necessary certificates to connect to the GroupWise mail server.

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Configure the Client

Supported IMAP and POP e-mail clients require the same basic configuration information to connect to GroupWise e-mail accounts:

Incoming Mail Server Address:

Outgoing Mail Server

Your outgoing (SMTP) mail server address is smtp.boisestate.edu. You must authenticate to the server with your GroupWise username and password in order to send mail through smtp.boisestate.edu.

Please note some internet service providers (ISPs), such as CableOne, may not allow you to send mail through Boise State's server; in such cases, you'll need to use your ISP's outgoing (SMTP) mail server address to send mail. Please contact your ISP for this address if necessary.

Authentication

Turn on authentication options for receiving mail and sending mail. However, do not turn on any authentication options for "SPA," "Secure Password Authentication" or "Secure Authentication."

Port Number

If you're using a POP configuration, your incoming mail server should be set to the default 995 SSL port. If you're using an IMAP configuration, you must specify a port number corresponding to the name of the Post Office (server) where your GroupWise account resides. If you don't know the name of your GroupWise Post Office, please contact the Help Desk.

GroupWise Post Office Ports for IMAP Incoming Server:

Please note that OS X Mail requires GroupWise accounts on the PODC server; if you wish to use OS X Mail and your account is not currently on PODC, contact the Help Desk for information about moving your account.

Password Encryption

When your e-mail client connects to the GroupWise server, your password is sent over the Internet to the server for authentication. In order to encrypt your password to ensure security, you need to activate password encryption in your e-mail client. Encryption is required to access the GroupWise server; to enable encryption, configure the option for SSL or TLS in your client.

Get Help

Many e-mail clients use different terminologies for common protocols, and configuration options are spread throughout different locations. If you have questions about configuring an e-mail client for use with GroupWise, please contact us for assistance.

For further assistance, please contact the OIT Help Desk by phone at 426-4357, via e-mail at helpdesk@boisestate.edu, or online at Help Desk Self Service.