Configuring Desktop Systems for Email at Rutgers

This web page tells you how to configure a PC or other system to read mail from a Rutgers mail server.

Before you set up email, you will need to have the basic network working. If you are using a modem with Windows or the Macintosh, see Windows or Mac areas of the New Brunswick help desk web page. (Camden users may prefer to look at the home access section of the Camden help system.) For other situations, see Getting connected.

(If you are running a server, please see Dealing with Spam being forwarded by your system for advice on setting up mail servers at Rutgers.)

Web Mail

The easiest way to read and send mail is to use a web interface. See the mail Rutgers webmail page for pointers to web interfaces for all of the major Rutgers mail services.

Web mail is the best approach for users who don't get a lot of mail, or who don't want to bother installing and setting up a separate mail program. Even those who use a mail program will find web mail convenient when they are in a public lab or other location where their preferred program isn't available.

Choosing a Mail Program

You should consider using a mail program if you get lots of mail, or if you need to see new messages immediately when they arrive.

There are two major mail programs we currently recommend for Windows:

A third program – Microsoft Outlook Express – is no longer being developed by Microsoft, although we still support it.

Summary: You will want to use Microsoft Outlook if you are using a Microsoft Exchange server. Otherwise, you have a choice of Outlook or Netscape/Mozilla. While some people think Outlook has more features, Netscape/Mozilla probably fits in with our servers somewhat better.

[NOTE: This document uses the term "Netscape/Mozilla," because they are essentially the same thing. Netscape has announced that they are going out of the browser business, so Netscape users should become accustomed to the Mozilla name.]

Calendaring: If you use Netscape/Mozilla for mail, the obvious choice for calendaring is the RULink web-based calendar system. RULink can also be used with Outlook using the RULink Outlook Support.

Non-Windows Systems: Mozilla is also available for most non-Windows systems. It is our primary supported option for those systems, although Mac OS X users may prefer to use Apple's mail program. (The instructions below should work for it.)

Mozilla Thunderbird: The current release of Netscape/Mozilla mail comes as part of the Netscape/Mozilla browser. For future releases, they are separating the mail and browser programs. A prerelease of the separate mail program – Mozilla Thunderbird – is now available. While classed as a beta, Thunderbird is stable enough for real use. The Mozilla browser and Thunderbird are available from the Mozilla web site.

Other mail programs: In addition to these programs, there are several separate mail programs. These include:

While we think most users will be happy with Mozilla or Microsoft Outlook, Mulberry provides more complete support for the current mail standards than other mail programs.

Of course if other people you are working with are already using one of these programs, you'll probably be better off to use the same one they are. Then you'll be able to get help from your friends, and you'll be sure that more advanced features such as attachments work in exactly the same way.

Setting Up Netscape/Mozilla and Microsoft Outlook

OIT has a detailed document for Netscape/Mozilla mail and Microsoft Outlook. See the Windows and Macintosh sections of the New Brunswick help desk web page. (Camden users may prefer to look at the Windows section of the Camden help system.)

If you are using Linux or Unix, please use the Windows documentation for Netscape and Mozilla. Note that Netscape 7 is a Netscape branded version of Mozilla, so you can use the Netscape 7 documentation for Mozilla. Thunderbird is also close enough to the mail component of Netscape 7 that you can use the Netscape 7 documentation.

If you are using Netscape/Mozilla or Outlook, you may wish to look at the last section of this document, Your email address. It tells you how to create a mail address such as john.smith@rutgers.edu.

The next section of this document applies to mail programs other than Netscape/Mozilla and Microsoft, i.e. to programs for which we don't have specific documentation.

Setting up Other Mail Programs:
What is your Rutgers Mail Server?

In order to use one of the Rutgers mail servers, you need to have a OIT computer account. If you don't, see Creating an Account.

Once you have a computer account, you can use one of our mail servers. Please look at the following list, and find your email server and email address. The email address is just an example. You should use your own NetID rather than "smith".

Campus/user type	Email Server	Email Address
Camden students	email.clam.rutgers.edu	smith@camden.rutgers.edu
Camden faculty/staff	email.crab.rutgers.edu	smith@camden.rutgers.edu
Newark students	pegasus.rutgers.edu	smith@pegasus.rutgers.edu
Newark faculty/staff	andromeda.rutgers.edu	smith@andromeda.rutgers.edu
NB students	email.eden.rutgers.edu	smith@eden.rutgers.edu
NB faculty/staff	email.rci.rutgers.edu	smith@rci.rutgers.edu
RULink	rulink.rutgers.edu	smith@rutgers.edu

(RULink is a central mail and calendar system, available to all users.)

Setting up your Mail Program

There are three things you need to tell your mail program:

Computer to get mail from (Incoming mail server / IMAP Server)

Mail programs use either "IMAP" or "POP" to get mail from the Rutgers mail servers. Programs will often ask you to choose which you want to use. Although both will work, we strongly recommend using IMAP where possible.

When using IMAP you will be able to define folders on the server that may be accessed by all IMAP mail readers any place, any time. With POP you may only create folders on the desktop system (i.e., PC, MAC) where you are reading your email.

The computer you get mail from will always be your Rutgers mail server, e.g. email.rci.rutgers.edu. Most programs will ask you for your user name and password on this computer. That will be your NetID and the corresponding password.

NOTE: In addition to giving the program your NetID and password, you will need to tell it to "use SSL". SSL is an option that causes communications to be encrypted. We use this so that other people can't steal your password. Often there will be a checkbox labelled "use SSL" next to the computer name or username. However sometimes you will need to choose "Advanced Options" or something like that.

Computer to send mail to (Outgoing mail server / SMTP Server)

If you are using a computer at Rutgers (or via a Rutgers modem) the computer you send mail to will be your Rutgers mail server, e.g. email.rci.rutgers.edu. Within Rutgers, you just need the name of the server. You do not need a username or password.

If you are outside Rutgers (e.g. at home), and are not using a Rutgers modem, you have two options. The easiest is to use the Rutgers mail server, e.g. email.rci.rutgers.edu. However if you are outside Rutgers, will need to tell the program that your mail server requires a login. There's usually a checkbox for that. Then you will need to supply your NetID and password, and check "Use SSL", just as you did for the computer to get mail from.

Sometimes there is a checkbox for "use same username and password as for incoming server." That would be appropriate. However if you use that, make sure you check "Use SSL".

An alternative approach is to use your Internet provider's mail server for outgoing mail. Note that you will still be reading mail at Rutgers, and your email address will still be at Rutgers. This simply affects the way your mail is sent. You will need to contact your provider and ask them for the hostname of their mail server. (If they want to know which kind of server you need, tell them you are looking for the system that is doing "SMTP forwarding".)

Note that AOL will not tell you the name of their SMTP server, i.e. the computer to send mail to. Last time we tried, things worked using the Rutgers mail server for this. AOL trapped connections to other outgoing mail servers and redirected them to an appropriate AOL-provided server.

Your email address

The email address you use will be of the form "smith@rci.rutgers.edu". The specific address is listed in the table above. But remember to use your NetID in place of "smith".

Rutgers users may prefer to use a name of the form "smith@rutgers.edu", i.e. omit the name of the specific system by using @rutgers.edu rather than @SYSTEM.rutgers.edu. Addresses @rutgers.edu go to the RULink mail system. If you aren't using RULink as your primary mail system, it will automatically forward mail to the email address you have registered in the Rutgers Online Directory (a.k.a. People Database).

RULink also permits you to choose a "long name" such as "john.smith@rutgers.edu". As with NetID@rutgers.edu, this long name will forward to whatever address is set for you in the Rutgers Online Directory.