Linux email and Microsoft Exchange
EVOLUTION
Configuring the Evolution email client to connect to a Microsoft Exchange server is reasonably straightforward. The following notes are based information found in a blog posting by David Rowe as well as my own hands-on experience.
Installation
Install the required components
yum install evolution evolution-connector mail-notification-evolution-plugin
Account configuration
Start the Evolution email client (Applications --> Office --> Evolution Mail and Calendar).
On the initial Welcome screen, click on "Forward".
* On the Restore from Backup screen, leave the settings alone and
click on "Forward".
On the Identify screen, enter the prompted information:
Full Name: the name you want to be embedded in your emails
Email Address: <your_domain_username>@<your_domain>.com
Organization: <Your organization's name>
Also, check the checkbox for "Make this my default account".
Click on "Forward".
On the "Receiving Email" screen, do the following:
For Server Type, select "Exchange Web Services".
For Username, enter "<your_domain_username>".
For Host URL, enter "https://webmail.<your_domain>.com/owa/" and then click on "Fetch URL". The Host URL should then be updated, and the OAB URL should be filled in.
Leave Authentication Type selected as NTLM.
Check the checkbox for "Remember password".
Click on "Forward".
On the Receiving Options" screen, do the following:
Check the checkbox for "Check for new messages every ___ minutes", and set the interval to an appropriate interval (10).
Check the checkbox for "Cache offline address book", then click on "Fetch list".
Check the checkbox for "Check for new messages in all folders".
If you have (or will) set up filters, check the checkbox for "Apply filters to new messages in Inbox on this server".
Check the checkbox for "Check new messages for junk contents".
Check the checkbox for "Automatically synchronize remote mail locally".
Check the checkbox for "Connection timeout (in seconds), and set the interval to an appropriate time (120).\
Click on "Forward".
On the Account Management screen, set the account name (or use the provided default name) and click on "Forward".
On the Done screen, click on "Apply".
Wait for your email to be synchronized with the Exchange server.
Application configuration
Make some account configuration adjustments by selecting Edit -> Preferences:
In the "Evolution Preferences" screen, select "Mail Accounts", highlight your newly created account and click on "Edit":
Under the Defaults tab:
Change "Send message receipts" from "Never" to "Ask for each message".
(Optional) Check the checkbox for "Always blind carbon-copy (cc) to:", and add a home destination email address.
Under the Security tab:
Verify that the checkbox for "Do not sign meeting requests (for Outlook compatibility)" is checked.
In the "Evolution Preferences" screen, select "Contacts":
Check the checkbox for "Always show address of the autocompleted contact".
Check the checkbox for your email address book (Global Address List).
In the "Evolution Preferences" screen, select "Mail Preferences":
Under the Automatic Contacts" tab, check the checkbox for "Create address book entries when sending mails" and then select the address book to store Automatic Contacts.
Under the Calendar and Tasks tab, check the checkbox for your account so that it will be searched for calendar conflicts.
In the "Evolution Preferences" screen, select "Composer Preferences":
Check the checkbox for "Format messages in HTML".
Check the checkbox for "Encode file names in an Outlook/GMail way".
Change Forward style from "Attachment" to "Inline".
Change Reply style from "Quoted" to "Inline (Outlook style)".
In the "Evolution Preferences" screen, select "Calendar and Tasks":
Check the checkbox for "Show a reminder ____ _______ before every appointment", and set the time appropriately (1 hour).
(Optional) Check the checkbox for "Show a reminder ___ _______ before every anniversary/birthday", and set the time appropriately (7 days).
In the "Evolution Preferences" screen, click on "Close".
MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD
While Thunderbird doesn't integrate quite as nicely as Evolution, it does an adequate job for accessing email.
Installation
Application configuration
Install Thunderbird addons from the "Tools --> Addons" menu option:
ExQuilla (provides connectivity to Microsoft Exchange servers)
* Lightning (provides calendar that works with Microsoft Exchange servers)
Account configuration
Select Tools -> ExQuilla for Microsoft Exchange -> Add Microsoft Exchange Account
On the Identity screen:
Enter your email address: <your_domain_user>@<your_domain>.com
Enter your email password: <your_domain_password>
Check the checkbox for "Remember password"
Click on "Next".
On the Microsoft Exchange Server screen:
Select the "Manual" radio button and enter the following as the URL:
https://webmail.<your_domain>.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx
Enter Your Name
Verify that the checkboxes for "Use Microsoft Exchange Mail" and "Use Microsoft Exchange Address Book" are checked.
Click on "Next".
On the Congratulations! screen, review and verify the information and then click on "Finish".