office email

[Coomkeen]

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place to post this...

I'm helping to install some new Macs in a small charity office.
Just the normal wireless router and local network.
The charity has several email addresses (I provide website hosting via a reseller account) but I've had a strange request from the new office manager, and I'm not sure if there's suitable software available, or even exactly what she means.
She said this:

Just checking as assumption of mine that with a new system - staff would be able to access and retain email from any office machine and if access email from webmail.

..... I can't see why it wouldn't - as it has been a standard facility offered on every other network I've been part of... ?

Now I'm not sure exactly what she means here, but I think she wants to be able to read everyone's email to check what's been replied to and what hasn't.

I must say I've never come across this, ever. And I've worked for some big corporations.

Anyone any ideas about this?
Is she talking about some function of 'Mail' that I don't know about?
Do Apple do an 'office' mail server with these facilities?

All and any advice very welcome.

Ron.
(Acting, unpaid, IT consultant ;-))

 

[edesignuk]

Sounds like she just wants anyone to be able to sit at any computer and pick up their mail.

IMAP rather than POP should do the job.

 

[Coomkeen]

Thanks for that.
Hope you're right.
But still, just using IMAP means emails would end up on whichever machine was used to retrieve them, wouldn't it?
And if all email addresses were set up on every machine, then anynoe could read anyone elses email.
Or have I got this all wrong.
Probably.

 

[pdjudd]

Thanks for that.
Hope you're right.
But still, just using IMAP means emails would end up on whichever machine was used to retrieve them, wouldn't it?
And if all email addresses were set up on every machine, then anynoe could read anyone elses email.
Or have I got this all wrong.
Probably.

No. With IMAP, email messages are retained on the server. You are thinking about POP3

 

[Coomkeen]

Oops, sorry, yes I was.

OK, so it's not actually downloaded at all then?
So if an email was 'deleted' in Apple's Mail from one computer, then the mailbox is synchronized, that message gets deleted from the server and presumably from the other computer as well?

If so, doesn't say much for retaining mail.

Ron

 

[RandomKamikaze]

IMAP will work, as said above. But you haven't said what sort of mail server they are getting the mail from.

If it is something like Exchange, then you've got OWA (Outlook Web Access) which would allow a web client to be used to send and receive emails from all accounts.

If it is an ISP mail server, then yes, IMAP is easiest, or POP3 with the "leave the messages on the server" tick box ticked.

 

[Coomkeen]

Yes it's an ISP - Linux server.
So I guess it will have to be IMAP, although I'll suggest using the POP 'leave on the server for ages' option.

Thanks for all the help, and for putting up with my silly questions

Ron