IMAP Quick Reference

• What is IMAP?
• How do I switch to IMAP?
• What's the difference between inspool and folder space?
• Are IMAP folders stored on NUIT e-mail servers backed up?
• How can I backup my IMAP messages?

What is IMAP?

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) allows you to store your e-mail on the mail server and access your messages from virtually any computer location with Internet access. It allows you to create and manipulate folders, search for messages or keywords, or delete messages on the server.

How do I switch to IMAP?

If you are certain you want to switch to IMAP, first you will need to Set up IMAP Access. If you switch to IMAP form POP (or vice versa), you must configure all your e-mail clients to the same protocol to avoid e-mail corruption. For example, if you have IMAP configured for WebMail, the same protocol configuration must be used by your other e-mail clients.

Please note: If you switch to POP from IMAP, you will not be able to access any messages stored in folders other than the Inbox. All messages in the Inbox are backed up at 2:00 a.m. each morning to protect against server failure. Please visit the restoration of archived or lost/deleted e-mail Web page for information on how to restore mail from these backups.

A special note for faculty: Faculty can purchase an additional 50MB of server folder space for $3.00 per month. For more details, please visit "Additional IMAP Folder Space for Faculty."

NUIT does not back up IMAP folders that you create on the University mail servers. It is your responsibility to manage and back up these mail folders. If you use IMAP, make sure you have other copies of your mail for safekeeping.

About leaving mail on the server: Your IMAP inbox space and folder space are both limited. NUIT has established quotas for e-mail saved on servers. We do not recommend leaving read and unread mail on the server indefinitely, since you could easily exceed your mail quota. We suggest that you download mail that you want to keep on your own computer, and delete the unwanted mail.

What's the difference between inspool and folder space?

E-mail sent to your (server) mailbox resides in the server's inspool folder and stays there until you remove it. With POP, you use e-mail client to connect to the server and download mail to your computer.

POP Example

With IMAP, you use e-mail client to connect to the server and view mail in your inbox. You can then download mail to your computer, or to mailboxes on the server. The server mailboxes are located in your folder space, which is separate from the inspool space.

IMAP Example

Are IMAP folders stored on NUIT e-mail servers backed up?

IMAP folders stored on the central e-mail servers (casbah, hecky, lulu, and merle) are not backed up by NUIT. It is the responsibility of IMAP users to back up messages and folders to their own local storage. This can be accomplished by copying individual messages, or folder contents, from IMAP folders located on the server to folders or mailboxes located on a user's personal computer.

How can I backup my IMAP messages?

It is recommended that you periodically backup your messages in your IMAP account. This will allow you to have a local copy of your messages, as well as freeing up folder space to hold additional messages without going over quota.

Users can either move messages (which removes the messages from your IMAP account), or copy messages (which allows the user to view messages without having to sign into their account).

Hint: You can select multiple messages that are in sequence by holding down the Shift key. In Windows, you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Control key. On a Macintosh, you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Command key.

Below are instructions for the e-mail clients that we support:

Outlook and Outlook Express for Windows:

1. Create a destination mailbox on your local computer.
2. Select the messages you wish to copy and/or move. Hint: you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Control key.
   • If you wish to move the messages, drag the selected messages to the local mailbox that you created.

     Note: Select Edit > Purge Deleted Messages after you move your messages to free up space in your IMAP mailbox.

   • If you wish to copy/move the messages, be sure to hold down the Control or Shift key when you drag the messages over the local mailbox.

Entourage for Macintosh:

1. Create a destination mailbox on your local computer.
2. Select the messages you wish to copy, and/or move. Hint: you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Command key.
   • If you wish to move the messages, drag the selected messages over your local mailbox that you created.

     Note: Select Edit > Purge Deleted Messages after you move your messages to free up space in your IMAP mailbox.

   • If you wish to copy the messages, be sure to hold down the Option key when you drag the messages over the local mailbox.

Mail for Macintosh:

1. Create a destination mailbox on your local computer.
2. Select the messages you wish to copy, and/or move. Hint: you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Command key.
   • If you wish to move the messages, drag the selected messages over your local mailbox that you created.
   • If you wish to copy the messages, be sure to hold down the Option key when you drag the messages over the local mailbox.

Eudora for Windows:

1. Create a destination mailbox on your local computer.
2. Select the messages you wish to copy, and/or move. Hint: you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Control key.
   • If you wish to move the messages, drag the selected messages over your local mailbox that you created.
   • If you wish to copy the messages, be sure to hold down the Control key when you drag the messages over the local mailbox.

Eudora for Macintosh:

1. Create a destination mailbox on your local computer.
2. Select the messages you wish to copy, and/or move. Hint: you can select multiple messages that are not in sequence by holding down the Command key.
   • If you wish to move the messages, drag the selected messages over your local mailbox that you created.
   • If you wish to copy the messages, be sure to hold down the Option key when you drag the messages over the local mailbox.