•   01/12/2011 5:17 PM
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  • Mail Services

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Applicable Plans - All Cloud Hosting Plans

Managing E-mail in ISPmanager 4

Overview

This user guide is specific to creating and managing E-mail using ISPmanager 4. Information on how to create and manage e-mail using ISPmanager 5 is located here - Managing E-mail in ISPmanager 5. How to determine which version of ISPmanager you are using can be found here - ISPmanager versions

Using ISPmanager 4, you can configure and manage e-mail accounts on your Virtual Server. You can add e-mail addresses, set up mail forwarding and auto-responders, and also make changes to existing mail users. You can also set up your Virtual Server to listen for incoming mail on alternate ports.

With ISPmanager 4 the individual e-mail users can log in to the system and access a limited set of features so that they can set up mail forwarding, auto-responders, and mail filters, as well as change their e-mail passwords.

The Virtual Server uses the Sendmail mail server to send and receive e-mail. Most estimates show that almost 30% of the mail servers on the Internet run Sendmail. The Virtual Server also includes the Dovecot POP and IMAP server, a popular and secure open source e-mail server for UNIX and Linux systems. The mailboxes are kept in Maildir format.

Creating a User and an E-mail domain
    Creating the E-mail domain User
    Adding an E-mail domain

Creating Mailboxes (E-mail addresses)
    Creating mailboxes (e-mail addresses) as the root user
    Creating mailboxes (e-mail addresses) as the E-mail domain owner
    Creating Mailboxes
    Other mailbox options

Mail Forwarding (Redirects)
    Setting up a redirect for an existing mailbox as the root user and the E-mail domain owner
    Setting up a redirect for a non-existent mailbox as the root user and the E-mail domain owner
    Setting up E-mail redirects (Mail Forwarding) as the Mailbox owner

Setting up an Auto-responder
    Setting up an Auto-responder as the root user
    Setting up an Auto-responder as the E-mail domain owner
    Setting up an Auto-responder as the Mailbox owner
    Auto-responder

E-Mail Groups
    Creating an E-Mail group

Mail Filters
    Setting up a Mail Filter as the root user
    Setting up a Mail Filter as an E-mail domain owner
    Setting up a Mail Filter as a Mailbox owner
    Add mail filter

Additional Mailbox Configuration
    Changing the mailbox password

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Creating a User and an E-mail domain

Before you can create a mailbox, you have to create a User. This user is the "owner" of the E-mail domain. This user does not have to have an e-mail address, or be used for any other purpose. Often, this user is the same User that was created as the owner of the WWW domain of the same name. However, this User Guide will only deal with E-mail configuration, and assumes no user currently exists.

After you create the user, you can add the E-mail domain. This is the domain that will be the @example.com part of the e-mail address.

If you already have a user for the WWW domain that will be used as an E-mail domain, you can go directly to Adding an E-mail domain

Creating the E-mail domain User

To create the User for the E-mail domain, log in to ISPmanager 4 as "root". Then go to Accounts Managment > Users. Click on New in the upper right corner. This opens the Add User screen.

Most of the menu options in Add User have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

• Username - this must be a unique user name on the system, in all lowercase letters.

• Password - enter a password, or click on the button at the right of the text box to have one auto generated for you.

• Re-enter password - re-enter your password. If you had a password auto generated for you, it will automatically be filled in.

• IP-address - this can be left at the default.

• Domain - this can be left blank.

• Preset - leave at the default, unless you have created your own Preset.

You do not need to make any changes to the Permissions or Limits tabs in the Add User screen.

Once you have created the user, click OK. This takes you back to the User management screen, where the user is listed.

Make sure to understand that if you delete the E-Mail domain user, you also delete everything associated with that user. This means that every e-mail address associated with the E-Mail domain will be removed. If the E-Mail domain owner is also the same user for any WWW domains (websites) or databases, those will also be removed. Proceed with caution!

Adding an E-mail domain

Once you have a user, go to Domains > E-mail domains. Click on New in the upper right corner of the screen. This opens the Add e-mail domain screen.

The menu options in Add e-mail domain have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

• Domain name - enter the E-mail domain here. This domain must exist in DNS, and the MX records for the domain must be set up correctly. See the User Guide: DNS Manager for more information if needed.

• Default action - if a user from this domain sends an e-mail to an address that doesn't exist, the receiving server will normally send a reply back telling the sender that the receiver doesn't exist. This is usually called a "bounce". From the drop down list, you can choose what happens to the bounce e-mail:

  • reply error - this will deliver a message to the sender that the recipient does not exit. This is the recommended default.

  • ignore and drop - the bounce message will be ignored and dropped by the mail server.

  • redirect to e-mail address - this forwards the bounce message to another e-mail address.

  • redirect to domain - if the recipient does not exist, the sender will be prompted for another domain to sent it to.

• Owner - select the user who will "own" the E-mail domain from the drop down list. This will

Once you have added the E-mail domain, click OK. This takes you back to the E-mail domains screen, and the new E-mail domain will be listed.

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Creating Mailboxes (E-mail addresses)

After the user and E-mail domain have been created, you can add the e-mail addresses to the system.

The e-mail addresses can be added in two ways: they can be added by the system administrator (the root user), or by the owner of the E-mail domain - the user created in the Add User screen. The E-mail domain owner only has access to a limited set of ISPmanager 4 functions, all of which are related directly to their specific domain. They have no access to the system administrator functions for the entire Virtual Server.

For either method, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the correct user (root or the domain owner). How you log in determines where you will need to navigate to in ISPmanager 4.

Creating mailboxes (e-mail addresses) as the root user

To create an e-mail address as the root user, log in to ISPmanager 4 as root, and go to Domains > E-mail domains.

Click on the E-mail domain name where you want to add e-mail addresses, and then click on Boxes in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

This takes you to the Mailboxes page. Click on New in the upper right corner. This opens the Add mailbox screen.

Creating mailboxes (e-mail addresses) as the E-mail domain owner

With ISPmanager 4, the owner of the E-mail domain can create mailboxes for the users of that domain. Log in to ISPmanager 4 with the username and password for the owner of the E-mail domain.

Once logged in, go to E-Mail > Mailboxes. This goes to the Mailboxes page. Click on New in the upper right corner. This opens the Add mailbox screen.

Creating Mailboxes

Once you have logged in and navigated to the section where you can create a mailbox, you will need to fill in the Add mailbox form.

The menu options in Add mailbox have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

• Name - this is the part of the e-mail address before the @example.com, called the local-part. This must be in lowercase letters, and the numbers 0 - 9 are allowed.

• Domain - select the domain for the e-mail address from the drop down list.

• Alias(es) - enter any other names for this mailbox here.

• Password - enter a password, or click on the button to the right of the text box to have one auto generated for you.

• Re-enter password - re-enter the password. If you had a password auto generated for you, it will automatically be filled in.

• Size - enter a mailbox size here. The size will be in Megabytes. The default of 0 (zero) actually means unlimited in this context.

• Send a copy to - you can forward the e-mails sent to this mailbox to the users you list in the text box.

• Don't save incoming e-mails - this is only valid if you are forwarding the e-mails from this mailbox via the Send a copy to option.

Once you have added the mailbox, click OK. This takes you to the Mailboxes page, and the new mailbox is listed.

Other mailbox options

The Mailboxes page has other options available to create and manage mailboxes. These are located in the upper right corner of the page. These options are available to both the root user and the E-mail domain owner.

• New - click here to create a new mailbox

• Edit - click on the mailbox you wish to edit, and click here. This allows you to change the Aliases, Password, Size, and forwarding options.

• Responder - this sets the Auto-responder for the mailbox. This is covered in the Setting up an Auto-responder section.

• Filter - this allows you to set filters for the mailbox, such as spam filters. This is covered in the Mail Filters section.

• Delete - this will delete a mailbox. You will need to confirm the deletion.

• Empty - this will allow you to remove all the contents of the mailbox. You will need to confirm this action.

• Enable - if the mailbox is disabled, you can enable it here.

• Disable - this allows you to keep the mailbox, but keep it from sending or receiving any e-mail.

• Outlook - this allows you to download settings for Outlook Express as a Windows registry file. This is only valid for Outlook Express. Other mail clients can use the Manual configuration.

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Mail Forwarding (Redirects)

Mail forwarding allows you to forward or redirect all the e-mail for one e-mail address to another e-mail address, or to multiple e-mail addresses. Mail forwarding can be set up as either the root user, the E-mail domain owner, or as the mailbox owner.

There are two kinds of redirects that can be configured as the root user or as the E-mail domain owner: one is for an existing mailbox that you want to forward to another e-mail address or addresses, and the other is for a non-existent mailbox that needs to be forwarded to another existing e-mail address or addresses.

As an example of the second type of redirect, imagine that you have a group of sales people who all need to see any e-mail that goes to a sales@your_company.com mailbox. Rather than creating that mailbox and having it take up space on your Virtual Server, you would set up a redirect for it as either the root user or E-mail domain owner, and all the mail sent to that mailbox would be forwarded to the sales staff.

For a mailbox owner, the only type of redirect available is from that e-mail address to another e-mail address or addresses.

To set up mail forwarding, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the correct user (root, E-mail domain owner, Mailbox owner). How you log in determines where you will need to navigate to in ISPmanager 4. The configuration options for the root user and the E-mail domain owner are the same, the configuration options for the mailbox owner are slightly different.

Setting up a redirect for an existing mailbox as the root user and the E-mail domain owner

Setting up Redirects as the root user

To create a redirect for an existing mailbox as the root user, log in to ISPmanager 4 as root, and go to Accounts Management > Mailboxes. Click on the mailbox you want to set up the redirect for, and click on Edit in the upper right hand corner of the page.

This opens the Edit mailbox screen.

Setting up Redirects as the E-mail domain owner

To create a redirect for an existing mailbox as the E-mail domain owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the E-mail domain owner, and go to E-Mail > Mailboxes. Click on the mailbox you want to set up the redirect for, and click on Edit in the upper right hand corner of the page.

This opens the Edit mailbox screen.

Edit mailbox

Once you have logged in and navigated to the section where you can create a redirect, you will need to fill in the Edit mailbox form.

Assuming you are only setting up a redirect, the only options that are relevant are the last two: Send a copy to and Don't save incoming e-mails. The other options can be left blank.

• Alias(es) - leave blank.

• Password - leave blank.

• Re-enter password - leave blank.

• Size - leave blank.

• Send a copy to - enter the e-mail address or addresses to forward all incoming e-mail to.

• Don't save incoming e-mails - by default, all e-mails for the mailbox are retained as well as forwarded. This is useful if the e-mail is being forwarded because the mailbox owner is on vacation or on leave. If you want no e-mails retained in the original mailbox, click this box.

Once you have entered the information, click OK. This adds the redirect to ISPmanager 4.

The menu options in Edit mailbox have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

Setting up a redirect for a non-existent mailbox as the root user and the E-mail domain owner

Setting up Redirects as the root user

To create a redirect for a non-existent mailbox as the root user, log in to ISPmanager 4 as root, and go to Domains > E-mail domains. Click on the Domain name for the mailbox where you need to set up a redirect, and then click on Redirects in the upper right corner of the page.

This takes you to the E-mail redirects page. Click on New in the upper right corner. This opens the Add e-mail redirect screen.

Setting up Redirects as the E-mail domain owner

To create a redirect for a non-existent mailbox as the E-mail domain owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 as that user, and go to E-mail > E-mail redirects. This takes you to the E-mail redirects page. Click on New at the top right hand side of the page. This opens the Add e-mail redirect screen.

Add e-mail redirect

• Name - this is the part of the e-mail address before the @ sign, also called the local-part. This mailbox must not exist in ISPmanager 4.

• E-mail domain - select the e-mail domain from the drop down list.

• Forward to - enter the full e-mail address or addresses to forward the e-mails to. You can enter multiple addresses, space separated.

Once you have entered the information, click OK. This adds the redirect to the system.

The menu options in Add e-mail redirect have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

Setting up E-mail redirects (Mail Forwarding) as the Mailbox owner

In ISPmanager 4, individual mailbox owners can manage their own e-mail redirects. Log in to ISPmanager 4 as the correct mailbox owner, and go to E-Mail > E-mail redirects. When you click on E-mail redirects, this opens the E-mail forwarding screen.

• Main mailbox - this will be pre-populated with the mailbox owners e-mail address

• Forward mail to - enter the full e-mail address or addresses to forward the e-mails to. You can enter multiple addresses, space separated.

Once you have enter the information, click OK. This creates the redirect.

To cancel the redirect, click on E-mail redirect again, and in the E-mail forwarding screen, clear the text box for Forwarded mail to, and click OK.

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Setting up an Auto-responder

An auto-responder lets you set up a message to be sent to everyone who sends an e-mail to a mailbox. For example, an auto-responder can be used as an out of office message if someone is away, or as a way to reply to every customer so that they know you got their e-mail.

Auto-responders can be set up as either the root user, the E-mail domain owner, or as the mailbox owner. To set up an auto-responder, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the correct user (root, E-mail domain owner, Mailbox owner). How you log in determines where you will need to navigate to in ISPmanager 4. The configuration options for the root user, the E-mail domain owner and the mailbox owner are same.

Setting up an Auto-responder as the root user

To create an auto-responder as the root user, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the root user, and go to Accounts Management > Mailboxes, and select the mailbox where you want to add the auto-responder. Then click on Responder in the upper right corner of the page. This opens the Auto-responder screen.

Setting up an Auto-responder as the E-mail domain owner

To create an auto-responder as the E-mail domain owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 as that user, and go to E-Mail > Mailboxes, and select the mailbox where you want to add the auto-responder. Then click on Responder in the upper right corner of the page. This opens the Auto-responder screen.

Setting up an Auto-responder as the Mailbox owner

To create an auto-responder as a mailbox owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 as that user, and go to E-Mail > Auto-responder. This opens the E-mail auto-responder screen, which has slightly different wording than the screens for the root user and E-mail domain owner, but has the exact same functionality.

Auto-responder

Once you have logged in and navigated to the section where you can create an auto-responder, you will need to fill in the Auto-responder form. Remember that the form for the mailbox owner has slightly different wording, but functions the same way.

• From - this is who the auto-responder e-mail will show as coming from.

• Subject - this is the subject of the e-mail. You can edit this to your needs.

• Message - the message that is sent as the auto-responder.

• Enable autoresponder - click this box to enable the auto-responder.

Once you have entered the information, click OK. This adds the auto-responder to ISPmanager 4.

The menu options in Auto-responder have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

When the auto-responder is enabled, a small icon for this shows in the Status section of the e-mail address.

 

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E-Mail Groups

An E-Mail group is very similar to a mailing list. Any e-mail sent to the group is forwarded to all the members of the group, who can all reply to the group e-mail address.

Only the E-mail domain owner can set up an E-Mail group. There is no option for this as the root user or as a mailbox owner.

If you want a fully featured mailing list package, install Mailing lists manager from Server Settings > Applications. This installs Mailman, a free and open source mailing lists manager.

Creating an E-Mail group

To create an E-Mail group, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the E-mail domain owner. Go to E-Mail > E-Mail groups, and click on New in the upper right corner of the page. This opens the Add e-mail group screen.

• Name - enter the name of the e-mail group, in lowercase letters. This must be a unique name on your VS.

• Domain - choose the e-mail domain from the drop down list.

• Members - enter the members of the E-Mail group, separated by spaces or on a new line.

Once you have entered the information, click OK. This adds the E-Mail group to ISPmanager 4. Now the members of the group can send an e-mail to developers@eapps-example.com (using this example), and it will be forwarded to every member of the group.

The menu options in Add e-mail group have tool tips that are available if you hover your cursor over the menu item. You can also click on the built-in Help in the upper right hand corner.

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Mail Filters

A Mail Filter is a customized ruleset that can be created to process incoming e-mails, and perform a specific action on those e-mails. A common use for a mail filter is to block spam.

Mail filters exist at the individual mailbox level, and can be added and managed by the root user, the E-mail domain owner, or the mailbox owner.

To set up an mail filter, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the correct user (root, E-mail domain owner, Mailbox owner). How you log in determines where you will need to navigate to in ISPmanager 4. The configuration options for the root user, the E-mail domain owner and the mailbox owner are same.

Setting up a Mail Filter as the root user

To set up a Mail Filter as the root user, log in to ISPmanager 4 and go to Accounts Management > Mailboxes. Select the mailbox where you want to add the mail filter, and click on Filter in the upper right corner of the page. This takes you to the Mail filters page. Click on New in the upper right corner of the page. This opens the Add mail filter screen.

Setting up a Mail Filter as an E-mail domain owner

To set up a Mail Filter as the E-mail domain owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 and go to E-Mail > Mailboxes. Select the mailbox where you want to add the mail filter, and click on Filter in the upper right corner of the page. This takes you to the Mail filters page. Click on New in the upper right corner of the page. This opens the Add mail filter screen.

Setting up a Mail Filter as a Mailbox owner

To set up a Mail Filter as a Mailbox owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 and to to E-Mail > E-mail filtering. This takes you to the Mail filters page. Click on New in the upper right corner of the page. This opens the Add mail filter screen.

Add mail filter

The Add mail filter screen is where you create your mail filters.

There are over 120 options available for creating a Mail Filter. If you have any questions on mail filters, please see the available Help in the upper right hand corner of the page, and use the tool tips that are available over the menu options.

The official ISPmanager 4 Help for Mail Filters is located here - http://en.ispdoc.com/index.php/Ispmgr-email.filter

For example, when you click on Condition parameter, and choose one of the 10 available conditions, you will now have other options available to you, such as Condition type, Condition value, and Supported action. Both Condition type and Supported action have four options each.

Once you have created your mail filter, click OK. You can always go back and edit or delete your mail filters.

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Additional Mailbox Configuration

Depending on the user, there are other mailbox configurations available. The root and E-mail domain owner have full control over all mailboxes, and can Add, Delete, Edit, and Enable/Disable them. There is also a function that can completely Empty a mailbox. Auto-responders and Filters can also be set up as either the root or E-mail domain owner.

You can also set up SMTP Authentication, also called SMTP AUTH. This will require a password in order to send e-mails, and can be used as an extra measure of security.

Changing the mailbox password

The mailbox password can be changed by the root user, E-mail domain owner, and the mailbox owner. To change the mailbox password, log in to ISPmanager 4 as the correct user (root, E-mail domain owner, Mailbox owner). How you log in determines where you will need to navigate to in ISPmanager 4.

To change the mailbox password as the root user, log in to ISPmanager 4 and go to Accounts Management > Mailboxes, and click on the mailbox you wish to change the password for. Then click on Edit in the upper right corner of the page, and change the Password, and then Re-enter password to confirm. You can also click on the button to the right of the Password text box to have the system auto-generate a password for you. Once you have changed the password, be sure to inform the mailbox owner.

To change the mailbox password as the E-mail domain owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 and go to E-Mail > Mailboxes, and click on the mailbox you wish to change the password for. Then click on Edit in the upper right corner of the page, and change the Password, and then Re-enter password to confirm. You can also click on the button to the right of the Password text box to have the system auto-generate a password for you. Once you have changed the password, be sure to inform the mailbox owner.

To change the mailbox password as the Mailbox owner, log in to ISPmanager 4 and go to Other Settings > General settings. Here you can change the Password, and then Re-enter password to confirm. You can also click on the button to the right of the Password text box to have the system auto-generate a password for you. Once you have changed the password, be sure to update your e-mail client. This also changes the password you use to log in to ISPmanager 4 with.

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