IMAP4 Server

The IMAP4 server allows WinGate Mail users to access mail from their WinGate mailbox using the IMAP4 protocol. The IMAP4 protocol allows a WinGate user to access and manage their mailbox on the WinGate server itself using an appropriate IMAP4 email client program or a Web interface.

When using POP3, a WinGate mailbox client will download the mail to their computer when they connect to retrieve their mail. With IMAP4, all storage, viewing, and management of mail, folder structures etc. is performed on the WinGate server. This allows the WinGate IMAP4 user to access their mail from different locations and still have their mail and operations synchronized regardless of where or how they access the IMAP4 server.

The IMAP4 server in WinGate requires little user configuration to function, however there is a point to note concerning logging. Due to some intensive handling calls made by the IMAP4 protocol, changing the Log level setting found on the Logging tab of the IMAP4 Server properties to Debug will fill the WinGate server hard drive rather quickly. This option should be used with extreme caution, and only when absolutely necessary.

IMAP4 Service specific settings

Enable IDLE processing

Usually IMAP4 clients will accept updates (changes to their mailboxes, folders, new mail etc.) from the IMAP4 server while they are connected. However, some IMAP4 client applications will ignore these updates if they have not specifically issued the server an IDLE command. This value is set to true by default to support these clients so they will accept updates from the server rather then ignoring them.

This value may need to be set to false (disabled) when these types of IMAP client applications (especially Thunderbird) are attempting to upload a large amount of email to the IMAP4 Server.

Enable CONDSTORE

This setting is used to speed up the synchronization of mailbox flags if supported by the client.