Can someone explain to me how IMAP works?

Simon · Jul 19, 2010, 13:40:59

I was thinking along the lines of a separate IMAP account, syncing, as you say, with only the Sent folder, then move them from there, within the email client, to the Sent folder in the POP3 account. Would that work?

gizmo71 · Jul 19, 2010, 14:07:28

Hmm, I'm still not sure what the structure of the IMAP account is and how it relates the POP3 account.

In a traditional POP3 account, you have one mailbox; there's no concept of Sent Items or Inbox, it's just one big mush. Sent mail is almost never stored on the server unless CC'd to the sender.

With an IMAP account, the data is presented as a bunch of folders, and it's normally all stored on the server unless explicitly pulled off; how these folders are structured depends on the server, but typically they're either distinct folders (as in Exchange), in which case a POP3 login can normally only see a single one, or by tagging the items somehow, in which case POP3 will be able to see everything (and in fact cannot normally distinguish between them).

Without any information on how IDNet's IMAP server works and how the folders it presents relate to the conventional POP3 account, everything in this thread is guesswork (or "rampant speculation" as I like to call it

). Do we even know what server software IDNet are using?

Rik · Jul 19, 2010, 14:57:18

We don't, Giz.

Simon, could you BCC sent items to an address you don't pick up from your phone?

Simon · Jul 19, 2010, 16:40:01

I could, Rik, but it seems a bit of a long way round.

I will try my idea tonight, and see what happens. If I can copy the sent mail in the IMAP sent folder, to a local mail folder, I can then delete the IMAP mail, and it will remain in the local folder. In theory...

Rik · Jul 19, 2010, 16:54:10

Simon · Jul 19, 2010, 23:02:47

Well, believe it or not, my method, inspired by Lance, actually works! I created IMAP mail accounts on my PC mail client, for the accounts that I have on my phone, and have set to sync just the Sent and Trash folders. I have set Trash to empty on exit. I can now select all the messages in the IMAP account Sent folder, and move them to the Sent folder on my POP3 account, thus storing them on my computer, and removing them from the server at the same time. I have yet to see if they work, but I have also set up filters that might even do the job automatically. How cool is that!

Steve · Jul 19, 2010, 23:04:05

Yipee

Simon · Jul 19, 2010, 23:10:28

I was quite pleased, and surprised, too, Steve!

Oh, thanks to everyone who helped in the thread. Turned out quite interesting in the end!

Lance · Jul 20, 2010, 12:13:48

Glad it worked!

Simon · Jul 20, 2010, 12:35:39

The filters didn't work, as they only run on the Inbox, without manual intervention.

Rik · Jul 20, 2010, 12:43:51

It might be worth having a word with Martin to see if he can come up with a solution...

Simon · Jul 20, 2010, 12:53:02

The filters are mail client dependent. The default is to filter the Inbox, but the other folders can be filtered manually.

Rik · Jul 20, 2010, 12:56:47

Mmm. Any other mail clients you could try?

Simon · Jul 20, 2010, 13:30:00

Yes, but I don't want to. It works well enough, and it would be too much hassle to change mail clients, with 5 years worth of mail archived.

Gary · Jul 20, 2010, 13:37:36

Quote from: Simon on Jul 20, 2010, 13:30:00
Yes, but I don't want to. It works well enough, and it would be too much hassle to change mail clients, with 5 years worth of mail archived.

You have 5 years or archived mail? Wow, I delete most of mine even if its personal stuff, I hate clutter even in folders

Simon · Jul 20, 2010, 13:46:52

I keep all my emails, Gary, other than obvious junk, but especially order receipts, etc. They are all in folders, however, as I like to keep my inbox tidy.

Ray · Jul 20, 2010, 16:07:16

This might be of interest to you , Simon, if you keep most of your emails Mailstorehome free version. I've been using it for about 3 years now and it's much easier to search through to find any emails you may want to check.

Rik · Jul 20, 2010, 16:29:11

Highly recommended by me too, Simon. Ray introduced it to me and I've never looked back.

Glenn · Jul 20, 2010, 16:38:18

It does have a search function, Rik.

Rik · Jul 20, 2010, 16:38:54

Glenn · Jul 20, 2010, 16:41:01

Simon · Jul 20, 2010, 21:40:10

Thanks guys. I've installed it, but I'm not really sure what the benefits are. I'm not short of disc space, and already have backups of all my emails on a separate drive. Why do I need this? $:-\$

Steve · Jul 20, 2010, 21:46:06

I suppose its an organised central archive so searching,export and restoration are fairly straight forward. Its makes it all neat and tidy

Simon · Jul 20, 2010, 22:09:05

True.

Gary · Jul 20, 2010, 23:54:50

Quote from: Simon on Jul 20, 2010, 13:46:52
I keep all my emails, Gary, other than obvious junk, but especially order receipts, etc. They are all in folders, however, as I like to keep my inbox tidy.

I keep receipts but I print them out I like to have hard copies and I do keep some in a folder online for a while but I dont trust online enough to keep stuff with details of purchases I guess for any long period but I understand what you mean now.