Pop3 Or Imap?

[PattayaDavid]

I use several different computers and Outlook as my primary email client.  I've setup several Gmail POP3 accounts within Outlook.  The problem I have is that when I download email from one computer, I can't download it again with the second computer.  I've tried all kinds of settings, but nothing seems to work.

Today, I went to the Gmail website and under settings, I saw the option to use IMAP and did some reading on it.  I decided to try he IMAP setup because it appeared that it would be better to use with multiple computers accessing Gmail accounts.  I followed the instructions as to setup IMAP in Outlook and it downloaded all of the message headers and placed them in an IMAP folder similar looking to the Gmail website page.  I've tried everything thus far, but for some reason I am unable to send messages written in Outlook.

Anyway, I was curious as to your comments on using IMAP especially those who have tried it or regularly use it.

Thanks,

Pattayadavid

[Veazer]

I use several different computers and Outlook as my primary email client.  I've setup several Gmail POP3 accounts within Outlook.  The problem I have is that when I download email from one computer, I can't download it again with the second computer.  I've tried all kinds of settings, but nothing seems to work.

Today, I went to the Gmail website and under settings, I saw the option to use IMAP and did some reading on it.  I decided to try he IMAP setup because it appeared that it would be better to use with multiple computers accessing Gmail accounts.  I followed the instructions as to setup IMAP in Outlook and it downloaded all of the message headers and placed them in an IMAP folder similar looking to the Gmail website page.  I've tried everything thus far, but for some reason I am unable to send messages written in Outlook.

Anyway, I was curious as to your comments on using IMAP especially those who have tried it or regularly use it.

Thanks,

Pattayadavid

IMAP itself is great, the problem is that all versions of Outlook are pretty lousy IMAP clients. Outlook will totally freeze while accessing the IMAP folders, and thus the usability of Outlook will require a reliable and speedy internet connection.

As for POP3, you can also instruct outlook to leave a copy of the messages on the server. The problem is that occasionally 'forgets' which have been downloaded and you end up with a load of duplicates.

[Rice_King]

At the beginning of June I switched all of my POP3 settings in Outlook 2007 to use IMAP instead. I use Outlook (and Windows Live Mail) to interface with 1 HotMail account, 2 GMail accounts, 1 private domain account, and one "other" professional email account. I have been fairly satisfied so far. I can send and receive perfectly well enough from all accounts.

I also did a trial with Thunderbird and was happy with its performance too. The issue I had with Thunderbird is that I could only connect to my HotMail via POP3 via a the T-Bird HotMail plugin. No IMAP support for HotMAil in T-Bird.

My (small) issue is that I cannot seem to figure out how to do away completely with the Outlook pst file containing the "outbox" as none of the other IMAP mail accounts has an outbox. (I tried several searches of the internet for an answer and came up with everything else EXCEPT the answer I was looking for.) Is it possible that Outlook requires a pst with an Outbox? Could this be why you cannot send?

Edited July 6, 2008 by Rice_King

[niller74]

IMAP is the only way to go. POP3 is an outdated protocol and easily replaced by IMAP is all modern clients.

POP3 will always download messages to the client. You can however 'leave a copy on the server' and then redownload them on another client/computer.

IMAP however only download a list of the headers and the mail itself stay on the server. By using this you can read your mail on multiple computer and or clients. It saves space on your client computer and most importantly it will keep your mails safe in case you get your computer stolen, which is a big risk with so many users habing notebooks today.

Furthermore you wont have to worry about backing up your emails, which we all know is an annoying and time consuming task.

The IMAP protocol is a mature alternative and I cannot give any reason why not to use it over POP3 if your provider support it.

[webfact]

IMAP is the only way to go. POP3 is an outdated protocol and easily replaced by IMAP is all modern clients.

POP3 will always download messages to the client. You can however 'leave a copy on the server' and then redownload them on another client/computer.

IMAP however only download a list of the headers and the mail itself stay on the server. By using this you can read your mail on multiple computer and or clients. It saves space on your client computer and most importantly it will keep your mails safe in case you get your computer stolen, which is a big risk with so many users habing notebooks today.

Furthermore you wont have to worry about backing up your emails, which we all know is an annoying and time consuming task.

The IMAP protocol is a mature alternative and I cannot give any reason why not to use it over POP3 if your provider support it.

I am working with IMAP and my mail client is Thunderbird. Guess I will never work with POP again... maybe in case of an emergency.

I even have a portable Thunderbird version on my USB stick and can access my entire mail wherever I am.

Could not stay without IMAP

Edited July 6, 2008 by webfact

[yeti]

Agree with previous posters, IMAP is the way to go. Your mail accounts are always the same, wether you check from one of your computers or webmail.

I'm using Thunderbird as I thought Outlook was pretty bad at handling IMAP.

IMAP has 2 drawbacks:

- when you send a message with a client and you want to keep a copy of this message in your sent folder then the message has to be uploaded twice: once to the smtp server to send it and once to your email account to save it. With big attachments and not so great internet connection it can be a pain

- if the mail server crashes when your client tries to connect it will try to get the headers and you will lose the messages you downloaded on your computer, so no local backup. This is not a problem if you use a big provider (Gmail, hotmail...) but it can be a problem if the mail server of a smaller organization

[PattayaDavid]

Sorry for the late reply, but my fantastic (lol) TOT ADSL connection has been out for the past 2 days or so. I initially went to the Gmail website and made sure that IMAP was enabled then downloaded the instructions for setting up IMSP in Outlook. I opened Outlook and established two new accounts in IMAP for my two Gmail accounts. During testing while setting up the accounts, neither would pass the send portion of the test. I opened the Outlook folder in Windows and noted that there was two new outbox (out(account name).pst folders for my IMAP accounts along with the original Outlook.pst folder. It took a long time to initially download all of the headers stored on Google Gmail.

The single most problem I had with IMAP and Outlook 2007 is that I could not send messages using Outlook from either of my Gmail accounts. I spent an entire day trying to troubleshoot this problem. I finally gave up and did a system restore to return to an earlier time before I had setup the IMAP accounts because I had also deleted my POP3 accounts; everything is as it was previously. Has anyone had any problems or success sending email messages from Outlook 2007 using IMAP accounts and Gmail? I may give it another try if I receive some encouraging input from others who have had success with IMAP and Outlook 2007. Of those who can send messages with Outlook 2007 using Gmail accounts, did you do something different that following the settings recommended by the Google Gmail site?

I have tried leaving a copy of messages on the Gmail server, but still, once I download messages from one computer under Outlook 2007, say 10 messages, then try to do the same on my Notebook computer, the messages won't download a second time. I can go to the Gmail website and the messages will be in the Inbox, but I guess that Gmail thinks that they have already been downloaded and won't let me do if for a second time. I never had this problem with previous Pop3 or hotmail accounts, just my Gmail accounts. I'm open to try anything.

Gmail did not list "The Bat" as one of it's IMAP clients. Has anyone tried to setup Gmail IMAP accounts in "The Bat". Speaking of "The Bat"; it appears to be a good email client, but I found one glaring omission after importing all of my data from Outlook. I have a lot of individual folders setup in Outlook to store my messages. I use the Rules and Alerts feature extensively to direct my mail to the appropriate folder when it arrives in the Inbox. I can't find this feature in "The Bat" nor can I import my rules from Outlook.

Thanks,

Pattayadavid

[yeti]

I don't use Outlook nor Gmail, but normally the sending of emails is done via the smtp server, and is not related to wether you chose IMAP or POP to read your emails.

Can you send emails from your Gmail accounts when you use POP3?

[PattayaDavid]

I don't use Outlook nor Gmail, but normally the sending of emails is done via the smtp server, and is not related to wether you chose IMAP or POP to read your emails.

Can you send emails from your Gmail accounts when you use POP3?

You're correct, outbound email uses smtp.gmail.com whether using PoP3 or IMAC, but for some reason, I still couldn't send email using an IMAC account whereas my PoP3 accounts worked fine.  When setting up the IMAC accounts, I performed the test and each time it failed. 

[niller74]

I don't use Outlook nor Gmail, but normally the sending of emails is done via the smtp server, and is not related to wether you chose IMAP or POP to read your emails.

Can you send emails from your Gmail accounts when you use POP3?

You're correct, outbound email uses smtp.gmail.com whether using PoP3 or IMAC, but for some reason, I still couldn't send email using an IMAC account whereas my PoP3 accounts worked fine. When setting up the IMAC accounts, I performed the test and each time it failed.

I believe IMAC (iMac) is something else look at www.apple.com

[Rice_King]

The single most problem I had with IMAP and Outlook 2007 is that I could not send messages using Outlook from either of my Gmail accounts.

Can you verify that your setup was / is like this? (Pay particular attention to the Outgoing Server Settings.)

I have tried leaving a copy of messages on the Gmail server, but still, once I download messages from one computer under Outlook 2007, say 10 messages, then try to do the same on my Notebook computer, the messages won't download a second time. I can go to the Gmail website and the messages will be in the Inbox, but I guess that Gmail thinks that they have already been downloaded and won't let me do if for a second time. I never had this problem with previous Pop3 or hotmail accounts, just my Gmail accounts. I'm open to try anything.

This is odd. Both PCs should show the exact same messages using IMAP. Were BOTH PCs setup using IMAP?

[wpcoe]

This is odd. Both PCs should show the exact same messages using IMAP. Were BOTH PCs setup using IMAP?

Unless he subsequently moved them from the Outlook Inbox for the gmail account to another local folder. My understanding (and experience using the Windows Live Mail client) is that when I move messages from the Live Mail inbox to a different local folder, it deletes the messages from the mail host (i.e. synchronizes the mail host inbox with my local client inbox), so that if I go online again (either with same computer or a different one), the original messages have been deleted from the host.

[yeti]

I have tried leaving a copy of messages on the Gmail server, but still, once I download messages from one computer under Outlook 2007, say 10 messages, then try to do the same on my Notebook computer, the messages won't download a second time. I can go to the Gmail website and the messages will be in the Inbox, but I guess that Gmail thinks that they have already been downloaded and won't let me do if for a second time. I never had this problem with previous Pop3 or hotmail accounts, just my Gmail accounts. I'm open to try anything.

This is odd. Both PCs should show the exact same messages using IMAP. Were BOTH PCs setup using IMAP?

This part of the OP message was referring to using POP and is the reason why he wants to move to IMAP.

[yeti]

The single most problem I had with IMAP and Outlook 2007 is that I could not send messages using Outlook from either of my Gmail accounts.

Can you verify that your setup was / is like this? (Pay particular attention to the Outgoing Server Settings.)

Yes particular attention to the SMTP settings, as the port used (587) is not the default one.

[PattayaDavid]

The single most problem I had with IMAP and Outlook 2007 is that I could not send messages using Outlook from either of my Gmail accounts.

Can you verify that your setup was / is like this? (Pay particular attention to the Outgoing Server Settings.)

I have tried leaving a copy of messages on the Gmail server, but still, once I download messages from one computer under Outlook 2007, say 10 messages, then try to do the same on my Notebook computer, the messages won't download a second time. I can go to the Gmail website and the messages will be in the Inbox, but I guess that Gmail thinks that they have already been downloaded and won't let me do if for a second time. I never had this problem with previous Pop3 or hotmail accounts, just my Gmail accounts. I'm open to try anything.

This is odd. Both PCs should show the exact same messages using IMAP. Were BOTH PCs setup using IMAP?

The above problem is when I use Gmail with POP3 on multiple computers, not IMAP.  This is why I considered changing over from POP3 to IMAP.

Pattayadavid

[Brew]

IMAP itself is great, the problem is that all versions of Outlook are pretty lousy IMAP clients. Outlook will totally freeze while accessing the IMAP folders, and thus the usability of Outlook will require a reliable and speedy internet connection.

As for POP3, you can also instruct outlook to leave a copy of the messages on the server. The problem is that occasionally 'forgets' which have been downloaded and you end up with a load of duplicates.

Try to increase the TCPLimit: http://www.lvllord.de/