Configuring Netscape Mail Preferences

Background

• PINE
• Netscape Mail, version 4, in IMAP mode

This document contains miniature graphical screen shots of Netscape. To get an "actual size" picture of each screen, click on the graphic.

This document will use the system "hopi.dtcc.edu" throughout as an example. This system is currently the system where e-mail is stored if you are a student anywhere in the College, or most staff at Stanton/Wilmington. If you use another system, such as outland.dtcc.edu, substitute that value for all incidences of hopi.dtcc.edu throughout this page.

Requirements

• Netscape Communicator 4.0 or above installed on your computer.
• Direct Connection to Internet, or ISP account that uses SLIP or PPP. Note: Delaware Tech does not support SLIP or PPP accounts to staff or students.
• Must login to your shell account at least once to initialize file directories before running Netscape Mail
• Netscape Mail configured for IMAP, with IMAP mail directory set correctly
• If you are accessing via an ISP, you must specify your ISP's outgoing SMTP server and not a dtcc.edu address. More on this below.

Configuring Netscape Mail

Launch Netscape. You may be asked to fill out a user profile. If this happens, fill out with values you feel are correct. Incorrect answers can be easily corrected later, by following the below steps.

	After Netscape launches, click on the Edit Menu, and select Preferences. (For an example, click on screen shot to left). This will bring up a configuration screen that allows you to set quite a few settings that control the behavior of all asspects of Netscape Communicator.
	On the left pane of the preferences window is a series of headings and categories. Click on a + to expand a category. Click on the + sign next to Mail & Groups" as shown on the graphic to the left. This will expand your list of choices.
	Click on the Identity line. You should see a display similar to the screen shot on the left (click to load an actual size image). Fill in the correct values for your own name and e-mail address. Warning: Specifying false information is considered "mail forgery" and is not permitted on the Delaware Tech network. Violations will be referred to Student Services in the case of students, or to an employee's supervisor.
	Click on the Messages line to bring up the Messages preference window, as shown here. Check and specify values that match this screen shot. HTML mail refers to sending e-mail with "mark up" that will allow e-mail messages to contain fonts, links, tables, and graphics. Basically, you can create a web page within an e-mail message. However, these messages are only readable by other users that use a web browser enabled mail program. Some users, such as those who use Pine, may have difficulty reading your message if you send "HTML Mail." Hence, the default should be to NOT send HTML mail. "Automatically Copy" messages option should be unchecked unless the PC you are configuring is your own PC and only used by yours. Otherwise, copies of all of your messages will be saved to local hard disk and readable by other users. (If you are using an NT system that is a member of the DTCC domain, then it's fairly safe to check this, since the messages would be saved into your password protected account.) If you want copies of outgoing e-mail saved in a Pine "sent-mail" folder, then a "mail filter" can be set up to accomplish this. Read filter page for how to do this. If you do not want copies of outgoing mail saved in this manner, you should uncheck the "automatically e-mail copies..." boxes.

The next two sections are the most critical sections.

	Enter your own username in the Mail server user name box. This should be your login ID, not your complete e-mail address. Specify your Outgoing mail server. If you are connecting to Delaware Tech via an ISP, then you must NOT set this to a dtcc.edu address. If you do, your outgoing mail will probably be rejected. You need to specify the "SMTP" host that your ISP operates. Consult your ISP to get this value. If you are internal to dtcc.edu, then set this value to either hopi.dtcc.edu or outland.dtcc.edu as appropriate. The dtcc.edu SMTP servers reject "relaying" from outside hosts in an attempt to limit theft of service abuse by spammers. Incoming mail server should be set to hopi.dtcc.edu or outland.dtcc.edu as appropriate. Mail server type should be set to IMAP. While POP3 will work, be aware that it prevents you from being able to read your e-mail from multiple locations and you risk having your mail moved to the local PC and deleted from the server. It is strongly recommended you check "Server supports encrypted connections (SSL)" box for added security for your account. It is recommended that you uncheck "Move deleted messages into Trash." If you choose to leave this checked, do not forget to "Expunge" your trash, else you risk running out of disk space. To expunge your folder at any time, select "Compact Mail Folder" from the File menu. Don't hit OK yet. You still need to press the "More Options..." button.
	Click the "More Options..." button and set your IMAP mail folder settings. Enter the string "Mail" if on Hopi or "mail" if on Outland. Case matters here. If later you find that your mail folders do not work correctly, then double check this setting. You may also specify how often Netscape checks for new mail. To minimize the load on the systems, please do not set this to a value less than 10 minutes. It is highly recommended that you do not check "Remember mail password" unless you are certain your local PC is secured and only used by yourself. Check the "Use Netscape Messanger from MAPI-based applications" box if you want Netscape mail to send mail from other Windows applications.
	The next step in our mail configuration process is the Directory page. Click on Directory, as shown in the picture. You will get a screen similar to that shown, except it probably will not list "Delaware Tech Staff" or "Delaware Tech Students." Directory services are like a "White Pages" for the Internet. However, the commercial services like Four11 only contain a small subset of Internet users. If you do not post to a newsgroup or add your name to one of these services yourself, you probably will not appear in these lists. Netscape Mail uses Directory Servers to assist you in locating e-mail addresss that you do not know. Delaware Tech currently runs two separate directory servers, one for staff at ldap.dtcc.edu and one for students at student.dtcc.edu. By using this configuration screen, you can add one or both of these servers to your directory servers available. You may also store and maintain your own listing of e-mail addresses in your own "Personal Address Book." To configure a new service, click the "New" button.
	To configure the Delaware Tech student directory server, fill out the information box as shown in this picture. Description can be anything you wish, but "LDAP Server" must be set to student.dtcc.edu. Leave "Search Root" blank, and ensure that the "Port Number" is set to 389. The number of hits can be any value you want, but be aware that the server may have its own limit to how many it will return. Press OK when done. Your selection will be added to the bottom of the list For ease of access, you may want to press the up arrow button to bring it closer to the top of the list.
	Defining the Staff directory server is similar, except you will fill in "ldap.dtcc.edu" in the space for "LDAP server."

Netscape Mail should be usable now. If you wish, you may go on to the optional mail filter page to configure your mail filters.