Configure Thunderbird Mail Client on your Workstation

FIU-CIS' Mail system can be accessed in two ways:

• Using SquirrelMail via an Internet Browser (ie: FireFox)
• Using a Mail Client such as ThunderBird from your Workstation

NOTE: The ThunderBird Mail Client is installed by default on most FIU-CIS Faculty/Staff workstations. To verify its presence check the 'Programs' section in the 'Start Menu' from a Windows machine or try to launch 'thunderbird' from a terminal session if you're using a Linux machine. Not all Windows workstations are equipped with Thunderbird however. If your Windows machine is not equipped with it, click here for instructions on how to install it.

• When you launch ThunderBird for the first time, you'll be greeted by a short configuration wizard. In the first screen, choose "Email Account" and click "Next":

  



• In the following screen, enter your full name as you'd like it to appear in your outgoing emails in the first textbox and your full CIS email address in the second textbox. As shown in the example below, if your name is 'John Smith' and your username 'jsmith017', your correct CIS email address would be 'jsmith017@cis.fiu.edu'. Click "Next":

  



• Select the "IMAP" radio button and enter the following server addresses in the appropriate boxes, then click "Next":

  • Incoming Server:

    imap.cs.fiu.edu

  • Outgoing Server:

    smtp.cs.fiu.edu

  NOTE: Ensure that you type the address exactly as shown above, since the "CIS" domain change has not affected the IMAP and SMTP server addresses as of yet (ie: 'imap.cis.fiu.edu' would be incorrect):

  



• Ensure that the usernames are spelled correctly (your correct username is the first portion of your email address - preceding '@cis.fiu.edu'). Click "Next":

  



• In this screen you can choose how to name the account you are creating. You can leave the default name (your email address) or type something else (ie: "Jsmith017 CIS EMail Account"). Note that whatever you choose to type in this box is purely for convenience purposes and will not affect your mail settings. Click "Next":

  



• It's time to double-check all the information collected. If you'd like to change something, click on the "Back" button, otherwise click "Finish":

  



• The configuration wizard closed and ThunderBird just launched. If a small window like the one below appears and asks you to type your password to log into the account, please refrain from entering it and hit cancel! We need to make a few more security settings before giving our password to ThunderBird:

  



• Right click on your account name on the left pane and select "Properties" from the menu that appears:

  



• Select "Server Settings" from the left list and perform the following steps:

  • Ensure that "imap.cs.fiu.edu" as well as your correct username are in the textboxes on the top
  • Ensure that '993' is in the small text box on the right, indicating the mail port
  • Place a checkmark next to the "Use secure connection (SSL)" option
  • Click on "Advanced":
  
  



• In the "Advanced Account Settings" window, click on the "IMAP" tab and perform the following steps:

  • Type "mail" in the "IMAP Server Directory" textbox
  • Remove the checkmark next to the "Server supports folders that contain sub-folders and messages" option
  • Enter '4' in the "Maximum number of server connections to cache" textbox
  
  


• Click "Ok" to leave the "Advanced Account Settings" window and click "Ok" again to leave the "Account Settings" page.

Congratulations! You have configured your workstation with a powerful, stable and secure email client! Its features and options are very intuitive and similar to other clients you may be familiar with, however in the unlikely event you may have any issue or question regarding ThunderBird's use, visit Mozilla's Help pages for numerous resources and step-by-step tutorials!

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