Thunderbird: accessing a shared mailbox without Exchange

NOTE

You must have set up your shared mailbox before accessing it with Thunderbird.

These instructions will help you create a shared mailbox for Thunderbird. Follow the instructions to install Thunderbird for the first time if you haven't installed Thunderbird before. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Thunderbird, or if your account isn't working, verify your account settings.

I'm installing Thunderbird for the first time

Follow these steps to set up an shared mailbox if you have NOT installed Thunderbird before.

  1. Start Thunderbird. You will see the Mail Account Setup window.

    NOTE

    If the Mail Account Setup wizard doesn't automatically open, go to the Tools menu and click Account Settings. Under the left panel,click Account Actions, and then choose Add Mail Account.

    1. In the Your Name field, type the name of the department using the shared mailbox (e.g., Office of the Registrar).
    2. In the Email Address field, type the email address that clients use to send mail to this shared mailbox (e.g., abcd-req@udel.edu).
    3. Do not type a password.
    4. Click Continue.
  2. Thunderbird will try to automatically detect the settings for your account. Wait for the auto detection to complete, and then click Edit.
    1. Change the Username to your UDelNet ID (i.e., the part of your email address before the @udel.edu—e.g., maryqq).
    2. Change the Incoming field to copland.udel.edu.
    3. Verify that the Incoming server is set to: IMAP, port 993, and SSL/TLS.
    4. Change the Outgoing field to mail.udel.edu.
    5. To the right of SMTP, verify that the port is set to 25, and then choose NONE. Your screen should now look similar to the following:

      IncomingCorrect
       
    6. Click Re-test Configuration. When the auto detection completes, you should see two green buttons indicating a successful setup.
  3. Click Manual Setup to modify the settings.
    1. Under the email address for your shared mailbox in the left panel, click Server Settings. If you don't see Server Settings listed under the account, click the plus sign to the left of the email address for your shared mailbox.
    2. Use the following recommended settings, or change them according to your preferences:
      1. In the When I delete a message section, choose the Just mark it as deleted radio button.
      2. Check the Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit and Empty Trash on Exit check boxes.
  4. Click Advanced to change the advanced server preferences.
    1. In the IMAP server directory field, type mail/.
    2. Uncheck the Show only subscribed folders check box.
    3. Click OK.
  5. On the left panel, click Outgoing Server (SMTP) to change the outgoing mail server settings.
    1. If there is more than one outgoing mail server that has "mail.udel.edu" as part of the name, choose it, and then click Remove.

      NOTE

      You cannot delete the default outgoing mail server. You can use the Set Default button to reset your default server.

    2. In the Outgoing mail server list box, choose mail.udel.edu (this may be prefaced with your UDelNet ID or shared mailbox name). Click Edit.
    3. Verify that the Port is set to 25 and that the Connection security is set to NONE.
    4. From the Authentication method drop-down list, choose No authentication.
    5. Click OK.
    6. Click OK again.

I'm upgrading from a previous version of Thunderbird, or I'm having problems with the instructions above

Follow these steps to verify your settings if you've upgraded from Thunderbird 2, or if your settings from the steps above don't work.

  1. From the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
  2. In the left panel, click the email address of your shared mailbox. Verify the following settings:
    Field Value
    Your Name Your department name (e.g., Office of the Registrar)
    Email Address Shared mailbox email address (e.g., abcd-req@udel.edu)
    Organization Name (Optional) University of Delaware
    Your screen should look similar to the following:

    ServerAccountVerify.jpg
     
  3. In the left panel, click Server Settings. Verify the following settings:
    Field Value
    Server Type IMAP Mail Server
    Server Name copland.udel.edu
    Port 993
    User Name Your UDelNet ID (e.g., maryqq)
    Connection security SSL/TLS
    Authentication method Normal password
    When I delete a message Choose Just mark it as deleted (recommended)
    Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit check box Checked (recommended)
    Empty Trash on Exit check box Checked (recommended)
    Your screen should look similar to the following:

    ServerSettingsVerify.jpg
     
  4. Click the Advanced button to verify your advanced incoming server preferences:
    Field Value
    IMAP server directory mail/
    Show only subscribed folders Unchecked
    Server supports folders that contain sub-folders and messages Checked
    Use IDLE command if the server supports it Checked
    Allow server to override these namespaces Checked
    Your screen should look similar to the following:

    AdvancedVerify.jpg
     
    Click OK.
  5. On the left panel, click Outgoing Server (SMTP). From the window on the right, choose outgoing mail server, and click the Edit. Verify the following settings:
    Field Value
    Server Name mail.udel.edu
    Port 25
    Authentication method No authentication
    Connection security drop-down list    None
    Your screen should look similar to the following:

    OutgoingVerify.jpg
     
    Click OK.
    Click OK again.
  6. When you first log in, you may be prompted to add a security exception.
    1. Check the permanently store this exception check box.
    2. Click Confirm Security Exception.