Configure Thunderbird

7 March 2007: We have received a report that Thunderbird 1.5.x enters a non-responsive state with LDAP queries on the VISTA operating system. The report indicates that upgrading to Thunderbird 2.x resolves the difficulty.
These instructions provide information about how to configure Thunderbird to access your Central Mail Service (CMS) account at U.Va. Also included is information about configuring Thunderbird for use with a unix.mail email account, with U.Va.'s directory services (called LDAP), with Rich Site Summary (RSS) and with Newsgroup readers. Although screen appearance will differ between Windows XP/2000 and Macintosh OS X, the configuration instructions are the same.

Requirements

  • This document was written for Thunderbird version 1.5. The information herein may (or may not) apply to other versions of Thunderbird.
  • A live Internet connection via the U.Va. network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
  • An account on the U.Va. Central Mail Service or another email server at U.Va. (Create a CMS email account)

Email Account Setup

To access your email account at U.Va. with Thunderbird, you will need to know some information. If your email account is on an email server at U.Va. other than the Central Mail Service (CMS) or unix.mail, you will need to contact the system administrator for that email server to obtain the needed information. Examples of the types of information needed for a Central Mail Service (CMS) account or a unix.mail account are:

Sample Values for Configuring a U.Va. CMS Account:

Real Name: M.S. Theatre
Email Address: mst3k@virginia.edu
Mail Server (Incoming): cms.mail.virginia.edu
User Name: mst3k
SMTP Server (Outgoing): cms.mail.virginia.edu

Sample Values for Configuring a U.Va. blue.unix Account:

Real Name: M.S. Theatre
Email Address: mst3k@virginia.edu
Mail Server (Incoming): unix.mail.virginia.edu
User Name: mst3k
SMTP Server (Outgoing): smtp.mail.virginia.edu

For the values that can change (Real Name, Email Address, User Name), be sure to use the values that are relevant for your account and not the values shown in the examples above.

If your email account is on another email server at U.Va. you will need to contact the system administrator of that server for the information needed.

After you have the information for your account, use the steps below to configure Thunderbird.

  1. Open the Thunderbird program.
    If this is the first time you have used Thunderbird, you may be prompted to import settings from another email application. Click Cancel.
  2. In the New Account Setup window, select Email account and click Next.
    To start the New Account Setup window, from the File menu, select New, then Account... from the drop-down menu.
  3. In the Identity window, type in your name and email address and click Next.
  4. In the Server Information window, select IMAP. Enter the incoming and outgoing server name for your account. Click Next.
  5. In the User Names window, enter your U.Va. Computing ID (example: mst3k) and click Next.
  6. In the Account Name window, enter the name you would like Thunderbird to use to identify this email account. Click Next.
    Entering an email address (example: mst3k@Virginia.edu) may help you distinguish between multiple email accounts.
  7. Verify the information is correct and click Finish.
  8. If Thunderbird will be your primary email application, click Yes when prompted to use Thunderbird as your default mail application.
    If another email application is to be the default application to send and receive email messages, click No for this prompt.
  9. When prompted, enter your email account password and click OK. Do not click on the box that allows Password Manager to remember your password.
  10. ITC recommends you configure Thunderbird to encrypt your password. From the Thunderbird Tools menu:
    • select Account Settings...
    • Under your account, select Server Settings
    • Change the following selections under the Security Settings section of the window:

      Use secure connection: should be Never

      Use secure authentication: should be checked

  11. Click OK when finished.
  12. View contents of Inbox. If Thunderbird is configured correctly, your email account Inbox will open.
  13. If all your email folders do not appear, right click on your account name and choose Subscribe.... Select the folders you would like to view and click OK.
  14. Configuration to access to your email account with Thunderbird is complete.

You can now test your email configuration, configure Directory Services (LDAP), configure Thunderbird's RSS or Newsgroup features.

Test your Thunderbird configuration by sending yourself an email message

  1. Start Thunderbird: double click the desktop Thunderbird icon or click the Thunderbird icon in the Programs menu.
  2. Open a new email message: click the Write icon from the Mail toolbar.
  3. Enter your own email address in the To: field and some text in the Subject: and Body Text area fields. Click the Send button when finished.
  4. Wait five minutes for the message to be delivered, then click the Get Mail button on the Mail toolbar to view your test message. If you do not receive the message within fifteen minutes, re-check your configuration of Thunderbird while reviewing this document.

Directory Services (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)) Setup

Configuring Thunderbird's Directory Services will help you use Thunderbird to search the U.Va. database of students, faculty, and staff to find email addresses and other contact information.

  1. From the Thunderbird Tools menu, select Account Settings.
  2. In the Account Settings window, select Composition & Addressing on the left side of the window.
  3. Under the Composition & Addressing section, choose Use a different LDAP Server: and click the Edit Directories button.
  4. When the LDAP Directory Servers window appears, click Add.
  5. Enter the following information in the Directory Server Properties window:
    Name: ldap.virginia.edu
    Hostname: ldap.virginia.edu
    Base DN: o=University of Virginia, c=US
    Click OK and then OK again to close the LDAP Directory Server screen.
  6. When you are returned to the Composition & Addressing window of the Account Settings window, use the drop-down menu beside Use a different LDAP server: and select ldap.virginia.edu. Click OK to finish the configuration.

Configure Thunderbird for Rich Site Summary (RSS)

Configuring Thunderbird's RSS reader feature will allow you to receive RSS feeds from news sources offering this service.

  1. From the Thunderbird Tools menu, select Account Settings.
  2. Click the Add Account button in the lower left section of window.
  3. From the New Account Setup Window, select RSS News & Blogs and click Next.
  4. Enter a name for the RSS Account and click Next, then Finish to close the Account Wizard.
  5. Back in the Account Settings window, select your RSS account and click Manage Subscriptions.
  6. In the RSS Subscriptions window, click the Add button.
  7. In the News Feed Properties window, enter the full site address (URL) of the RSS feed you want to receive in the box labeled Feed URL: and click OK.
    U.Va.'s RSS feed's URL is: http://www.uvatogo.net/uvatogo.rss.
  8. Click OK to complete configuration and add the RSS folder.
    You may click Add again to enter another URL or click the X in upper right corner to close the RSS Subscriptions window.
  9. Click OK to close the Account Settings Window.
  10. To download the RSS feed headlines: In the Thunderbird main window, select the RSS feed you wish to view from the Folders list. You will see the headlines for articles from the RSS feed and be able to read articles associated with the headlines.

    If you do not see the feed for which you are looking, you may need to click the plus sign beside your News & Blogs account to expand the folders below it.

    If the RSS feed headlines are not downloaded automatically, please re-check the RSS feed URL and your Thunderbird configuration while reviewing this document.

Questions

If you have questions regarding the configuration of Thunderbird, contact the ITC Help Desk. Please include your phone number so we will be able to reach you.

© 2008 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia.

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