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Email remains the killer dominant app. Whether using Linux, Mac, or Windows — and whether communicating for business or personal reasons — email persists as a critical application. Where POP3 previously met users’ needs, and IMAP improved synchronization capabilities, droves have adopted Microsoft Exchange services to power back-end email, contact, and calendar operations.
Apple\r\nOS X Internet Accounts preferences supports the configuration of numerous different email\r\naccounts. In addition to supporting iCloud mailboxes, OS X makes it easy for\r\nusers to connect to Microsoft Exchange, Gmail, POP3, and IMAP accounts.
An OS X Apple wizard simplifies Exchange account configuration.\r\nWhen connecting to a Microsoft Exchange email account, users begin by providing\r\ntheir name, email address, and password.
When configuring an Exchange mailbox using OS X, users must\r\nprovide their Windows account user name and the email server’s\r\naddress.
One email client option available to Mac users is Microsoft\r\nOutlook for Mac. The Outlook email client requires that users enter their name,\r\nemail address, authentication method, domain user name and password, and other information. Clicking the Advanced button at the bottom right provides\r\naccess to the account’s Server tab, where server ports and SSL settings are\r\nconfigured.
iOS users leverage the Mail, Contacts, Calendars entry within the\r\nSettings menu to add and configure email accounts.
When configuring Exchange accounts, iOS users can customize\r\nExchange elements that synchronize with the device, including Mail, Contacts,\r\nCalendars, Reminders, and Notes. Users can also specify the number of days of\r\nmail that should synchronize with the device.
When adding iCloud email accounts to an iOS device, users can\r\nspecify additional synchronization parameters, including for Safari, Keychain,\r\nPhotos, Documents & Data, and the Find My iPad feature.
iOS users must enter an email address, server address, Windows\r\ndomain, Windows user name and password to connect to an Exchange server.
Numerous customization features exist within the OS X Mail\r\nprogram. Users can specify a default email reader, new message check intervals, and new message notification sounds, among other options.
The OS X Mail application supports connecting to multiple email\r\naccounts. A sidebar provides account and folder navigation, while a second column\r\nprovides access to individual email messages. The lion share of display space,\r\nof course, is typically configured to display mail messages themselves.
The OS X compose email message window is spartan but utilitarian.\r\nUnlike Outlook, which possesses and displays myriad buttons, icons, features, and options, Mail designers simplified the interface and offer ready access to\r\nthe most commonly required features.
One classic email problem is spam, or unsolicited mail. The Junk\r\nMail preference within OS X enables enabling filters to help manage unwanted\r\nmessages.
Many OS X business users have become dependent upon rules to\r\nprocess incoming mail. Rules help automate message sorting.
OS X Mail offers infinitely customizable rules.
Signatures make it easy for users to standardize signature\r\ninformation to be added to every outgoing email message. The Signature options\r\nshow here are reached from within OS X Mail by clicking Mail, selecting\r\nPreferences, and clicking Signatures.
A\r\nMail folder superimposes within a left-hand navigational pane on iPads.
Users can select individual email messages on an iPad and display\r\nthem using the tablet’s entire screen, as shown here.
Mail folder navigation consumes the entire screen on smaller\r\niPhones.
Just as with iPads, when users select an email message, the\r\nmessage can be displayed using the iOS device’s entire screen.
OS X users are not limited to using Apple’s Mail application,\r\nof course. Microsoft Outlook for Mac is another option. Here you can see the\r\ntoolbars, sidebar, mail folder, and message display window within Outlook for\r\nMac 2011.
Outlook for Mac 2011’s compose mail window possesses more\r\nicons, buttons, and formatting options (by default) than the OS X Mail\r\ncompose mail view.
Mac Outlook users can also leverage Rules to help manage\r\noverflowing inboxes and help ensure critical messages aren’t\r\noverlooked and receive the attention they require.
Just as is true with OS X Mail, Outlook for Mac 2011 Rules are\r\ninfinitely customizable.
Signature creation and editing is straightforward for Outlook for\r\nMac users.
Outlook for Mac also possesses Junk Mail filters. Users can\r\nselect no protections, a low protection setting, a higher level filter, or even\r\nan Exclusive option in which only messages from Address Book contacts, Safe\r\nDomains, and Mailing List Manager entries (a user-friendly rules manager, often\r\nknown as MLM) are accepted.
Outlook for Mac users can specify individual safe domains, from\r\nwhich email should always be accepted, using the Safe Domains feature.
Using Outlook for Mac, users can also specify specific email\r\ndomains that should be automatically blocked and treated as junk mail.
As with most email clients, double-clicking an email message\r\nwithin Outlook for Mac 2011 opens the email within an independent window, as\r\nshown here.
One often needed feature is automatic out-of-office replies. Such\r\nmessages are configured within Outlook on OS X by clicking Tools and selecting\r\nOut of Office.
Many businesses extend additional user access to other staff\r\nmembers’\r\nmailboxes. Once appropriate server-side permissions are set, users can\r\nconfigure the Outlook OS X client for corresponding Delegates access by\r\nclicking Tools, choosing Accounts, clicking Advanced, and choosing Delegates.
Advanced security options can be configured using Outlook for Mac\r\nby clicking the Security tab, which appears immediately after the Delegates tab.\r\nDigital signing certificates, signing algorithms, and encryption settings can\r\nall be set from the Security tab. (Apple Mail leverages the OS X Keychain to\r\nstore and manage encryption keys and digital certificates.)
OS X Mail also possesses advanced settings. Message storage\r\nsettings — including specifying whether draft, sent, junk, and trash email items\r\nshould be stored on the email server — are configured from within an email\r\naccount’s\r\nMailbox Behaviors tab.
Selecting the OS X Mail Advanced tab provides users the ability\r\nto customize email server paths and ports.
Erik Eckel is a managing partner at Louisville Geek and president of Eckel Media Corp. He previously served as Executive Editor at TechRepublic. He received Microsoft Engineer accreditation from Sullivan University and earned his Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Louisville. He's earned Network+, Windows NT 4.0 MCP+I and MCSE, and Windows 2000 Professional MCP accreditations.
