Zimbra Mail Help

This guide is for the online version of Zimbra.  For all of these instructions, the steps are assuming that you have the Mail tab already selected.  If you are having a hard time finding icons or menu items listed in the instructions, please check to make sure you have the Mail tab selected.


Reading Your Mail
 Composing and Sending Messages
 Deleting Mail
 Creating and Using Signatures
 The Address Book
 Junkmail
 Attachments
 Folders, Filters, and Tags
 Auto-Reply (Vacation) Messages
 Forwarding Your Email
 Delayed Sending
Archiving Zimbra Email
Exporting Your Email to a .zip File
Saving your Exported Email to Your M:\MyDocuments Folder
Burning Your Exported Email to a New CD
Burning Your Exported Email to a CD That You've Already Burned Files Onto
Importing Email from CD Back Into Zimbra
Importing Email from M:\MyDocuments Back Into Zimbra
Installing Thunderbird and Storing Your GC Email Locally on Your Windows Computer
Exporting Just Email Attachments

Reading Your Mail

When you first log in to Zimbra you will see a split message screen.  On the top is you list of messages.  Clicking once on a message will display it in the bottom portion of the screen.  If you wish to open a message in a new window, click on it twice.

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Composing and Sending Messages

  1. Click on the compose button (envelope icon with a green plus sign next to it).
  2. Address and compose your message.  Click on the "To:" button to access your address book.
  3. When you are finished, click "Send."

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Deleting Mail

You can delete messages in a couple of ways.  One is by simply selecting the message, either by clicking on it or by placing a check mark in the box next to it, then clicking the "Delete" button.  You can also simply hit the "Delete" key. After doing this, you will see a notice at the top of your screen saying, "__ messages moved to trash." There will be a link next to this saying "Undo," which you can click to reverse the deletion. The undo option will only remain available until you click or perform some other action in Zimbra.

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Creating and Using Signatures

Using signatures in Zimbra is very easy since you create and store signatures right in the Zimbra application.

Creating a Signature

  1. Click on the Preferences tab.
  2. In the categories that are on the left, click the arrow that is to the left of Mail to expand its options.
  3. Click on Signatures
  4. Give the signature a name.
  5. Select whether you want your signature to be formatted as HTML or plain text.  Choose plain text if you don't want to do any special formatting, such as font colors and active URLs.
  6. Type your signature.
  7. Select whether you want your signature to display above or below included messages when you are replying to or forwarding a message.
  8. Click "Save".
  9. If you would like to make another signature, click "Add Signature".

 

Using Signatures

By default, Zimbra mail will use which ever signature you told it to use in the "Creating a Signature" instructions above. However, if you have multiple signatures, you can choose which signature to use while composing your message.

  1. In a window where you are composing a message, click the signature button and select the signature you wish to use.
  2. To change which signature is your default, go to Preferences.
  3. In the categories on the left side, click the arrow to the left of Mail to expand its options.
  4. Click on Accounts.
  5. Click on the drop-down list for Signature and select the the signature that you want to be the default. 

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The Address Book

Adding Contacts

  1. Click the "Address Book" tab.
  2. Click the "New" icon.
  3. Type in the contact information and click "Save".

Or...

  1. In the header of an email that you have received, right click on an address and choose Edit Contact to add it to your address book.

Creating a Group

  1. Select the "Address Book" tab.
  2. Click on the arrow next to "New", and then select "Contact Group".
  3. Type the name you want to call the group in the "Group Name" field.
  4. Using the "Find" field on the right, search for and select the individual(s) you wish to add to the group, and then click "Add".
  5. When you have added everyone you want into the group, click "Save" (upper left corner).

Adding an Address Book

  1. Click on the drop down menu next to New, and select Address Book.
  2. Enter the information for the new address book and click "OK".

Importing Address Books  

  1. Go to Preferences>Import/Export.
  2. Under the Import section, click on the Choose File button to find the address book file you wish to import.
  3. Click on the button next to "Destination" and select which address book you want your imported addresses to go in.  Or, create a new one.
  4. Click "Import".

Exporting Address Books From Zimbra

  1. Go to Preferences.
  2. From the list of Preferences on the left side of the screen, click on Import/Export.
  3. Under "Export" select "Contacts".
  4. Click the button next to "Source" and select which address book you would like to export.
  5. Click "Export".

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Junkmail

Zimbra automatically sends mail it believes to be junk to the "Junk" folder.  If you are missing mail you believe someone has sent you, the Junk folder is the first place you should check.  To move a message that has been marked as junk back to the Inbox, select the message and click on the "Not Spam" button. This action will move it to your Inbox.

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Attachments

Attachments in Zimbra stay on the mail server and attached to the message until you delete them. If you wish to edit an attachment that you received, you must first take the following steps to save your file in a specified location or you will lose any changes that you make.

  1. Click on the attachment and choose to open it with the appropriate program (ie. Word, Excel, etc.).
  2. Click File and choose Save As.
  3. Choose a location to save your file before doing any editing.  Remember, failure to save the attachment in a specified location first will result in losing any changes you make.

You can also save the attachment directly to your computer by clicking on the "download all attachments" link in your email message. 

Adding an attachment to an message

There are two ways to add an attachment to an email message. 

1. While composing the email, click on the Add Attachment button. If adding an attachment located on your computer, select the My Computer tab, click the Choose File button, and browse to where the file is located on your computer. You can add multiple attachments by repeating this step. When finished, click the Attach button to add the files to your message. 

You can also attach files from Briefcase, which is a Zimbra feature that allows you to create and edit documents that are stored on your Zimbra account. To do this, select the Briefcase tab. In the new window that opens, select the folder where the file is located on the left, then select the file. Click Attach.

2. The other way of attaching a file is by dragging it from its location on your computer or GCFile to the space in the Compose message screen between the Subject bar and the message body box.

 

 

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Folders, Filters, and Tags

Folders

To create a new folder, click on the "New Folder" button that is above the list of folders on the left. This button looks like a file folder with a plus sign on it. Give the folder a name, and then select where you would like the folder to be located. To create a new folder in the top level, click to select "Folders" and then click on OK. If you want the new folder to be a subfolder of an existing folder, click on the folder where you want the new folder to reside, and then click on OK.

Filters

Filters are used to direct an incoming mail message to a specific folder. To add filters:

  1. Click on the Preferences tab.
  2. In the categories on the left, click the arrow next to Mail to expand its options.
  3. Click on Filters.
  4. Click on "New Filter" to create a new filter.  Enter the information for that filter and then press "OK".

Tags

The tag feature is one way to help organize mail, tasks, and calendar events in Zimbra. To create a tag, right-click on the "Tags" label on the left sidebar and click on the "New Tag" icon. To tag an item (event, email, task, etc.), right-click on the item you wish to tag and select "Tag [item]". To sort by tag (Email, Calendar, Tasks, etc) double-click on the tag you want to see from the Tags list on the left.

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Auto-reply (Vacation) Messages

Auto-reply/Vacation messages are set up in Zimbra.

  1. Go to Preferences.
  2. In the categories on the left side, click on Mail.
  3. Scroll down to the "Receiving Messages" section, and put a check next to "Send auto-reply message".
  4. Enter the text of the message you want in the box, and select a starting and ending date.
  5. Click on "Save" when you are done.

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Forwarding Your Email to Another Email Account

  1. Click on the Preferences tab.
  2. In the categories that are on the left, click the arrow that is to the left of Mail to expand its options.
  3. Scroll down to the "Receiving Messages" section.
  4. In the "Forward A Copy To" field, type in the email address that you wish to forward to.
  5. Click to select the option that says, "Don't keep a local copy of messages."  If you do not select this option, email will accumulate in your GC email account and if you go over your quota on the mail server you will be prevented from receiving additional new email.
  6. Click on Save.

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Delayed Sending

You can delay the sending of an email message by setting a delivery date and time for the message.

When composing an email, rather than clicking the Send button, click the down arrow next to the Send button and choose Send Later. A small window allowing you to Specify Message Send Time will pop up. Set the parameters and click OK. You do NOT need to be logged in at the chosen time in order for the message to send.

 

Using Zimlets

Zimlets are little applications in Zimbra that can perform useful tasks.  To see what Zimlets are available to you, look at the list in the left.  Note that some Zimlets can only be used in certain parts of Zimbra (i.e. Contact Cleaner can only be run in the Address Book).  You can activate a Zimlet by clicking on it.

 

Mail Keyboard Shortcuts

For a list of key shortcuts, or to define your own, go to Preferences>Shortcuts.

 

Archiving Zimbra Email

There are several options for archiving your email off of the Goshen College mail server. These options are useful when you need to either free up space on the mail server, or take your email with you when leaving Goshen College.

 

Below are the instructions for:

  • Exporting email from Zimbra to a Zip file so it can be archived off the mail server.
  • Saving your exported email in your M:\MyDocuments folder on the network.
  • Burning the exported mail onto CD.
  • Importing mail from CD or the M: drive back into Zimbra.
  • Installing Thunderbird and storing your GC email locally on your personal Windows computer (useful when leaving GC).
  • Exporting just email attachments (useful for freeing up more space on the mail server).

EXPORTING YOUR EMAIL TO A ZIP FILE

  1. You will need to first create a new folder and move all the email messages you want to export into that new folder. To create a new folder, in Zimbra mail, on the left side of the screen, above your list of current mailboxes, click on the folder icon. Give the folder a name, and then in the list below click once to select "Folders" and then click on OK.
  2. Move all of the email messages that you want to export into this new folder that you just created.  To move a message, click once to select the message and then click and drag it over into the new folder. If you have several messages in a row you can click on the first message and then hold down the shift key and click on the bottom message. This will select all of those messages, and then you can click and drag them into the new folder.
  3. In Zimbra click on the PREFERENCES tab.
  4. In the column of options on the left side of the screen, click on Import/Export.
  5. Under EXPORT TYPE select ACCOUNT.
  6. Next to SOURCE click on the ALL FOLDERS button.
  7. Scroll down to FOLDERS. If the list of folders is not expanded, click on the arrow next to FOLDERS to expand its list. Note: You may have two FOLDERS listed. If the one you expand doesn't contain your email folders, expand the other one.
  8. Select the folder that you moved your messages into by clicking on it once, and then click on OK.
  9. Click on the EXPORT button on the far right side of the screen.
  10. You will receive a pop-up window. Click to choose to SAVE the file. This process will export your messages to a .TGZ file. Make note of the file name and then click on OK.  Your email has now been exported to a Tar file that you can burn to CD. The file should have been downloaded to your desktop.  If you cannot find the file on your desktop, go back to your Firefox browser and click on TOOLS, and then DOWNLOADS. You will see the .TGZ file in your list of downloads. You can right click it and choose OPEN CONTAINING FOLDER. This will take you to the location to where your file was downloaded.

SAVING YOUR EXPORTED MAIL TO YOUR M:\MyDocuments FOLDER

  1. Go to the location where the .TGZ file you just exported from Zimbra was placed.
  2. Right-click on the file, and choose COPY.
  3. Navigate to your M:\MyDocuments folder and go to FILE, PASTE.
  4. Your .TGZ file will be placed in your M:\MyDocuments folder. You can now delete the .TGZ file from the original location, if you would like.


BURNING YOUR EXPORTED EMAIL TO A NEW CD:

  1. Insert your CD into the computer's CD drive.  You should see a AutoPlay window appear. If this is the first time burning a file to this CD, choose BURN FILES TO DISK. If you've already burned files to this CD, skip this section and go down to the next section called "BURNING YOUR EXPORTED EMAIL TO A CD THAT YOU'VE ALREADY BURNED FILES ONTO."
  2. Give the disk a name (unless it has already been named.)
  3. Choose the option of WITH A CD/DVD PLAYER, and then click on NEXT.
  4. A window will appear. Go to the location where the .TGZ file was placed.
  5. Click once to select the .TGZ file, and then click on the BURN button located above.
  6. Click on the BURN TO DISC button located above.
  7. A Burn To Disk window will appear. Click on NEXT. 
  8. When the burn process has finished, click on FINISH.


BURNING YOUR EXPORTED EMAIL TO A CD THAT YOU'VE ALREADY BURNED FILES ONTO:

  1. Insert your CD into the computer's CD drive. You should see an AutoPlay window appear. Click on OPEN FOLDER TO VIEW FILES.
  2. A window will appear. Go to the location where the .TGZ file was placed.
  3. Click once to select the .TGZ file, and then click on the BURN button located above.
  4. Under FILES READY TO BE WRITTEN TO THE DISK, click once on the .TGZ file to select it and then click on BURN TO DISK.
  5. A Burn To Disk window will appear. Click on NEXT.
  6. When the burn process has finished, click on FINISH.


IMPORTING EMAIL FROM CD BACK INTO ZIMBRA:
If you need to read email that you have exported from Zimbra to CD, you will need to import the messages back into Zimbra to read them.

  1. In Zimbra, create a new folder, calling it Import. To create a new folder, in Zimbra mail, on the left side of the screen, above your list of current mailboxes, click on the folder icon. Give the folder a name, and then in the list below click once to select "Folders" and then click on OK.
  2. In Zimbra click on the PREFERENCES tab.
  3. In the column of options on the left side of the screen, click on Import/Export.
  4. Put your CD in the computer's CD drive. The AutoPlay window will appear. You can close this window.
  5. Back in Zimbra, under the Import section, click on the BROWSE button.
  6. Select the DVD (or CD) drive by clicking once on it. Your files will display. Click once to select the .TGZ file you wish to import back into Zimbra mail.
  7. Click on OPEN.
  8. Next to Destination, click on the ALL FOLDERS button. A Choose Folder window will open.
  9. Scroll down to Folders. If the list of folders is not expanded, click on the arrow next to FOLDERS to expand its list. Note: You may have two FOLDERS listed. If the one you expand doesn't contain your email folders, expand the other one. Select the IMPORT folder and then click on OK.
  10. Click on the IMPORT button on the far right of the screen.
  11. You should see a pop-up window stating that the import succeeded. Click on OK.
  12. In Zimbra, click on the Mail tab and then go into the IMPORT folder to view your imported email messages.

If you need to read email that you have exported from Zimbra to the M: drive, you will need to import the messages back into Zimbra to read them.

IMPORTING EMAIL FROM M:\MyDocuments BACK INTO ZIMBRA

  1. In Zimbra, create a new folder, calling it Import. To create a new folder, in Zimbra mail, on the left side of the screen, above your list of current mailboxes, click on the folder icon. Give the folder a name, and then in the list below, click once to select “Folders” and then click OK.
  2. In Zimbra, click on the PREFERENCES tab.
  3. In the column of options on the left side of the screen, click on Import/Export.
  4. Click on the BROWSE button.
  5. Select your M:\MyDocuments folder by clicking on your M:\ drive, then selecting My Documents. Select the .TGZ file you wish to import back into Zimbra mail.
  6. Click on OPEN.
  7. Next to Destination, click on the ALL FOLDERS button. A CHOOSE FOLDER window will open.
  8. Scroll down to Folders. If the list of folders is not expanded, click on the arrow next to FOLDERS to expand its list. Note: You may have two FOLDERS listed. If the one you expand doesn’t contain your email folders, expand the other one. Select the IMPORT folder and click OK.
  9. Click on the IMPORT button on the far right side of the screen.

10.  You should see a popu-up window stating that he import succeeded. Click OK.

11.  In Zimbra, click on the MAIL tab, then go into the IMPORT folder to view your imported email messages.

 

INSTALLING THUNDERBIRD AND STORING YOUR GC EMAIL LOCALLY ON YOUR COMPUTER

Note:  You must do this while your Goshen College email account is still active.

Install Thunderbird on your Windows Computer:

  1. Go to the Thunderbird webpage and download a copy of the program by clicking the 'Download' button.
  2. Double-click on the Thunderbird installation icon called 'Thunderbird-setup to run the setup wizard. This will either be located on your desktop, or the location where your computer downloads files.
  3. The default options during the install are fine. Agree to the licensing statement and then click next until the setup is complete. The final step of the setup will automatically start Thunderbird.
  4. After Thunderbird starts up, follow these instructions:
    • Type in your name and email address and click 'Continue'. The specifics of your mail account will be entered for you.
    • Click "Create Account."

After you click 'Finish', the Account Setup wizard will close and Thunderbird will prompt you to enter your password. After you have entered your password, follow these instructions to continue setting up your account:

  1. In the 'Tools' menu click on 'Run Junk Mail Controls in folder'. Click OK on the message that pops up. As you use Thunderbird regularly, make sure to mark Emails you want considered junk. This will help Thunderbird determine which emails you consider junk. You can delete your junk mail at any time by clicking on 'delete mail marked as junk in folder' in the 'Tools' menu.
  2. In the 'Tools' menu click on 'Account Settings'.
  3. Click on the option at the left called 'Composition & Addressing'.
  4. Under the section 'Composition' select 'Start my reply above the quote' from the drop-down menu.
  5. Click 'OK' to apply these settings.
  6. In the 'Tools' menu click 'Options'.
  7. Click on the icon 'Composition' along the top of the window.
  8. Where it says 'Forward messages:' select 'Inline' from the dropdown menu.
  9. Click on the button that says 'Send options'.
  10. Under 'Text Format' select 'Send in both plain text and HTML' from the dropdown menu.
  11. Click 'OK', then when the 'Send' window closes click 'OK' again to apply these settings.

Storing your GC Email in Thunderbird
These instructions will guide you on how to store your email messages locally on your computer in Thunderbird's "Local Folders" area.

  • Thunderbird will have both IMAP folders and Local Folders. Your email that is on the Goshen College email server is located in the IMAP folders area. Anything that you place in the Local Folders area will be located on your computer's hard drive. To archive your email off of the Goshen College server you will need to "move" those messages from IMAP to Local Folders. Note that folders that contain email messages cannot be moved. Only individual messages within folders can be moved. If you wish to file the messages into folders in the Local Folders area, you will need to first create new folders under Local Folders, and then move the messages.
EXPORTING JUST EMAIL ATTACHMENTS
  1. In Zimbra, click on Briefcase. Then click the arrow next to NEW and select BRIEFCASE. Name the new Briefcase “Email Attachments,” choose a color for the new briefcase (if you wish) and select where you wish your new briefcase to be placed.
  2. Then go back to the Mail tab. Click on LARGEEMAIL under Searches in the left-hand column of your screen. This will display all of your largest email messages. Most of these will contain attachments.
  3. Select one of the large email messages, and then, next to the attachments, click on Briefcase.
  4. In the box that pops up, select the EMAIL ATTACHMENTS folder you created earlier. Then, next to the attachment on the email, click Remove. The attachment is now located in your Briefcase instead of on the email message.




  5. You will need to repeat steps 3 and 4 for each email that appears in the LARGEEMAIL folder that has an attachment. Once you have done this with all of your LARGE EMAILS, click on the BRIEFCASE tab.
  6. Click on the EMAIL ATTACHMENTS briefcase you created earlier (you will find it in the left column, under FOLDERS.
  7. Select all the documents in the folder by pressing Ctrl + A, or by clicking the top checkbox above the list of documents.
  8. When all the documents have been selected, click the Download button. If a box pops up asking what you would like to do with the file, select Save.
  9. In the Downloads window, right-click on the .zip file that just downloaded and choose OPEN. Unless you have specified otherwise, the file will have been saved to your Downloads folder. To move the file, navigate to the Downloads folder in Windows Explorer, then either Click and Drag or Cut and Paste the file to the desired location.
  10. Once you have downloaded all of the email attachment files from the Briefcase, you will need to go back into the Briefcase and delete all of the files that you just downloaded so that they will no longer be located on the Mail server, taking up space.
 

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