General Settings
Incoming Mail Settings
Outgoing Mail Settings
Retrieve Settings
Messages Settings
Cleanup Settings
News Settings
PGP Settings
This notebook is accessed via the toolbar
button by the same name, the General submenu option of the Settings
option on the program's main window Tools
menu, or the OK-Goto General button in the
Advanced
Settings notebook. These two settings notebooks hold most of the program's
settings, but some of the settings are accessible from the location where you
use them. For example, the main window's
Message
menu remembers things such as your Word wrap,
Decode attachments, Headers,
and font settings; the compose window remembers
your word wrap and font settings; etc.
The Incoming Mail Page
-
Server List
-
Mail for this account is retrieved
from one or more incoming mail servers that are configured on this page.
The order in which the server connections are attempted is from top to
bottom. Polarbar always attempts to retreive from each server in the
listed order, with the exception of servers that are disabled.
- Add Button
- Use the Add button to add a new incoming mail server entry. Polarbar
pops up a "New Server" dialog that lets you choose which type of server
to configure:
- POP3
A standard Post Office Protocol 3 server that
requires you to log in with your user ID and password.
- IMAP4
A standard Internet M ail Access Protocol 4 server
that requires you to log in with your user ID and password.
- PPO
A type of server that deposits your mail into a specific
directory when new mail is available.
- news:
A public Usenet news server or a private news server.
The new server entry is added to the bottom of the list and is listed as
"undefined".
- Change Button
- Use the Change button to edit the settings for the highlighted server
entry. You can also double-click on a server entry to enter edit mode.
- Delete Button
- Use the Delete button to delete the highlighted entry.
- Up Button
- Use the Up button to move the highlighted entry up one slot in the
list.
- Down Button
- Use the Down button to move the highlighted entry down one slot in
the list.
For all server types other than PPO, the "Edit connection settings"
dialog uses the same basic dialog with minor differences between
the types, as described below:
- The Server Settings Tab (all servers other than PPO):
-
Mail Server
-
The address for the mail server (e.g., mail@myisp.com).
-
Port
- Usually 110 for a POP3 server, 143 for an IMAP4 server, and
119 for a news server.
-
Test Connection Button
-
When you activate this button, Polarbar tests the connection to this
server and reports the results by changing the button text. If the
connection attempt fails, you can adjust the server settings and test
the connection again.
-
Connection Timeout
-
How many seconds the program should wait for a connection. It will stop
waiting sooner than this if TCP/IP returns an error or if the connection
is made.
-
Attempts
-
How many attempts Polarbar should make to connect to this server before
moving on to the next server in the list.
-
Userid
-
For POP3 and IMAP4 servers only. Your user ID for this mail server.
This field is optional. If it is blank, then Polarbar will prompt you
for your user ID the first time it attempts to retrieve mail using
this server (after you start Polarbar or switch to this account).
-
Password
-
For POP3 and IMAP4 servers only. Your password for this mail server.
This field is optional. If it is blank, then Polarbar will prompt you
for your password the first time it attempts to retrieve mail using
this server (after you start Polarbar or switch to this account).
-
Maximum message size
-
For POP3 and IMAP4 servers only. The maximum message size to download.
If set to any value other than zero (0), then any messages larger than
this number of bytes will not be downloaded. Instead, only their headers
will be retreived. In place of the actual message, Polarbar will insert
an explanation of why the message was not downloaded. You can then use
the Preview Mail feature to look at the
first 50 lines of the message and decide if you want to retrieve the
entire message (from the Mail Preview window) or just delete it.
-
Prompt before preview
-
For POP3 and IMAP4 servers only. If this checkbox is enabled, then
Polarbar will prompt you for your user ID and password when you choose
this server for use with Preview Mail
feature, even if neither the user ID nor the password is missing.
-
Disable
-
For all servers other than PPO. If this checkbox is enabled, then Polarbar
will not attempt to retrieve mail from this incoming mail server.
- The Options Tab (POP3 servers only):
-
Retrieve new mail only
-
If this checkbox is enabled, then Polarbar will only retrieve new mail
(i.e., mail that Polarbar has not previously retrieved). This option
is most commonly enabled if you intend to leave you mail on the server.
-
Mail server supports the UIDL command
-
If this checkbox is enabled, then Polarbar retrieves
the UIDL codes for all messages that are on this mail server and compares
them with its saved list of UIDLs of previously retrieved mail in order to
determine which mail messages are new. If this checkbox is disabled,
then Polarbar uses a "high water mark" to indicate how many of the mail
messages that are on the server have already been retrieved. The "high
water mark" method is prone to failure and the use of UIDL is strongly
encouraged.
-
Download POP3 mail in reverse order
-
If this checkbox is enabled, then Polarbar will retrieve mail from this
server in reverse order (i.e., from highest to lowest, instead of from
lowest to highest).
-
Delete retrieved messages from server
-
If this checkbox is enabled, then after Polarbar has successfuly downloaded
a mail message, it tells the server to mark the message for deletion. The
server won't actually delete the marked messages until after Polarbar logs
off from the server. This means that if the server connection drops, none
of the messages that were marked for deletion will be deleted.
- The Mailbox Mapping Tab (POP3 and IMAP4 servers only):
-
Mailbox Mapping
-
A comma-separated list of email address to use with the mailbox mapping
feature, as controlled by the radio buttons. If this field is blank,
then the mailbox mapping feature is disabled.
-
Retrieve mail for only these addresses
-
If this radio button is enabled, then Polarbar will only retrieve mail
messages that have one or more of the indicated email addresses in their
"To:", "Cc:", or "Bcc:" headers.
-
Retrieve mail excluding these addresses
-
If this radio button is enabled, then Polarbar will only retrieve mail
messages that don't have any of the indicated email addresses in their
"To:", "Cc:", or "Bcc:" headers.
- The PPO Settings Tab (PPO servers only):
-
Directory
-
The absolute path for the directory that the PPO server places new
mail messages into.
-
Supported PPO Message Extensions
-
A comma-separated list of case-sensitive file name extensions that
Polarbar will look for in the PPO server's directory.
-
Activate PPO Inbox
-
If this checkbox is enabled, then Polarbar will to retrieve mail from this
PPO mail server. This checkbox is disabled and cleared if the Directory
field does not hold the absolute path for an existing and accessible
directory.
- The Newsgroup Tab (news servers only):
-
Newsgroup
-
The name of the newsgroup to read for this server entry.
-
Last article read
-
The higest article number that has been retreived from the server.
When Polarbar retrieves articles from the newsgroup, it will only
download those articles that have an article number that is larger
than this value.
-
Catchup
-
If you activate this button, then the Last article read field
gets set to the highest article number that the server reports for
this newsgroup.
The Outgoing Mail Page
-
Server List
-
Mail sent using this account is sent
via one or more outgoing mail servers that are configured on this page.
The order in which the server connections are attempted is from top to
bottom. Polarbar does not memorize which server it used previously and
always starts with the first listed server. You can configure each
server to only be used if your computer's IP address is in one (or more)
specific IP address range(s) and you can disable a server from being
used without having to delete it from the list.
- Add Button
- Use the Add button to add a new outgoing mail server entry. Polarbar
pops up a "New Server" dialog that lets you choose which type of server
to configure:
- SMTP
A standard Simple Mail Transfer Protocol server.
- Auth SMTP
An SMTP server that supports the AUTH LOGIN
authentication protocol that requires you to log in with your
user ID and password. If you are not sure if your ISP uses
a plain SMTP server or supports AUTH LOGIN, choosing this server
type is a safe option, because if it turns out that the server
doesn't support AUTH LOGIN, Polarbar will fall back to the simple
SMTP usage.
- POP3 (out)
A standard Post Office Protocol 3 server that
requires you to log in with your user ID and password.
- PPO
A type of server that requires you to deposit your mail
into a specific directory that it scans periodically for new outgoing
mail.
The new server entry is added to the bottom of the list and is listed as
"undefined".
- Change Button
- Use the Change button to edit the settings for the highlighted server
entry. You can also double-click on a server entry to enter edit mode.
- Delete Button
- Use the Delete button to delete the highlighted entry.
- Up Button
- Use the Up button to move the highlighted entry up one slot in the
list.
- Down Button
- Use the Down button to move the highlighted entry down one slot in
the list.
For all server types other than PPO, the "Edit connection settings"
dialog uses the same basic dialog with minor differences between the
types, as described below:
- The Server Settings Tab (all servers other than PPO):
-
Mail Server
-
The address for the mail server (e.g., mail@myisp.com).
-
Port
- Usually 25 for an SMTP or Auth SMTP server or 110 for a POP3
(out) server.
-
Test Connection Button
-
When you activate this button, Polarbar tests the connection to this
server and reports the results by changing the button text. If the
connection attempt fails, you can adjust the server settings and test
the connection again.
-
Connection Timeout
-
How many seconds the program should wait for a connection. It will stop
waiting sooner than this if TCP/IP returns an error or if the connection
is made.
-
Attempts
-
How many attempts Polarbar should make to connect to this server before
moving on to the next server in the list.
-
Userid
-
For Auth SMTP, POP Before SMTP, and POP3 (out) servers only. Your user ID
for this mail server. This field is optional. If it is blank, then Polarbar
will prompt you for your user ID the first time it attempts to retrieve mail
using this server (after you start Polarbar or switch to this account).
-
Password
-
For Auth SMTP, POP Before SMTP, and POP3 (out) servers only. Your password
for this mail server. This field is optional. If it is blank, then Polarbar
will prompt you for your password the first time it attempts to retrieve mail
using this server (after you start Polarbar or switch to this account).
Disable
If this checkbox is enabled, then Polarbar will not attempt to send mail
using this outgoing mail server.
The IP Address Range Tab (all servers other than PPO):
IP Ranges
A optional list of IP address ranges, separated by semicolon, that
your computer's IP address must be within in order for Polarbar to
use this server. For example, if the ISP that owns this server always
gives your computer an IP address that starts with 39.12 or 39.13
when you are connected to the ISP's network, then you could enter
39.12;39.13 into this field. Then if you were dialed into some
other network, this server would not be used to send your mail.
The PPO Settings Tab (PPO servers only):
Directory
The absolute path for the directory that the PPO server scans for new
messages to send. Polarbar saves all messages using the POP file name
extension (all uppercase).
Activate PPO Outbox
If this checkbox is disabled, then Polarbar will not attempt to send
mail using this PPO server. This checkbox is disabled and cleared if
the Directory field does not hold the absolute path for an existing
and accessible directory.
The Retrieving Page
-
Retrieve mail automatically every [ ] minutes
-
With this checkbox turned on and a number of minutes specified, the program
will automatically retrieve new mail whenever the account
is open after each time the specified number of minutes elapses. To temporarily
turn it off, or to make automatic mail retrieval occur on all accounts,
see Popper.
-
Retrieve mail at startup
-
With this checkbox turned on, Polarbar will attempt the first mail retrieval
as soon as it is safe to do so (after starting Polarbar or switching to this
account) instead of waiting until after the automatic mail retrieval interval
expires.
-
Send mail in outbox when performing receive
-
With this checkbox turned on Polarbar will try to send any messages in your
outbox as soon as a mail retrieval process has been started.
-
Popper retreives to another account
-
With this checkbox turned on, any messages that are retrieved for this
account when the Popper is running are
instead redirected to the account that is specified in the drop-down
list to the right, even if this account is the active account when the
Popper is retreiving messages.
-
Play system sound when new mail is received
-
With this radio button turned on, the program will play your system's
default sound (typically a beep), when a mail retrieval action results
in new mail being received.
-
Play audio file when new mail is received
-
With this radio button turned on and a valid audio (.AU) file selected via
the Find button to the right, the program will play that audio file,
when a mail retrieval action results in new mail being received.
-
Do not play a file when new mail is received
-
With this radio button turned on, the program will not play any sound
when a mail retrieval action results in new mail being received.
The Messages Page
-
Prompt before deleting messages
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will ask you for confirmation
each time you delete a message from a folder. Caution:
If turn off this setting, it is suggested that you enable the cleanup
setting: Copy Discarded Messages to Trash to avoid accidental loss
of messages.
-
Prompt if no default persona when composing
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will ask you to select a
Persona when the
compose window opens if you haven't
previously selected a default persona.
-
Prompt before permitting addresses without domains
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will ask you whether you're sure
you haven't made a mistake each time you try to leave the compose
window with an addressee which is not formatted like a legal internet
address and is also not found as a nickname in one of your address
books. Turn this setting off if you need to be able to address messages
to other users on your own network without having to specify the domain
name as part of the address.
-
Prompt before permitting messages without user text
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will ask you whether you're sure
you haven't made a mistake each time you try to leave the compose
window without having added any text to the initial preface and/or quoted text.
-
Prompt before permitting messages with no subject
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will ask you whether you're sure
you haven't made a mistake each time you try to leave the compose
window wit a blank subject.
-
Include message headers when forwarding
-
If you turn this setting on, then when you forward
a message, its header lines will be included instead of only its message
body text.
-
Scan unread messages across folders
-
If you turn this setting on, then when you select
Next Unread Message
and there are no more unread messages in the current
folder, the program will advance to the next folder with
unread messages in it, if any, not counting the draft,
outbox, and trash folders.
-
Remember folder message list sort order
-
If you turn this setting on, then when you sort the
Message List, the
sort order will be retained between visits to to
folder and between invocations of the program.
-
Switch focus on message selection
-
If you turn this setting on, then after a message is selected,
the window focus is switched back to the message browser.
-
Default word wrapping ON for all composed messages
-
This setting lets you specify whether you want the Word wrap setting
on the Edit menu of the compose window
to be on or off by default.
-
Start in drafts folder when it has new autosaved messages
-
If you turn this setting on, then if Polarbar was closed, crashed, or
killed with open compose windows, then
when you restart Polarbar, Polarbar will start up with the drafts
folder selected instead of the inbox.
-
Use separate message window (requires restart)
-
If you turn this setting on and restart Polarbar, all messages are displayed
in a window that is detached from the main Polarbar frame. This feature does
not work well unless you also enable "Switch focus on message selection".
-
Move unread message count to start of title bar
-
Polarbar displays the current unread message count in the title bar. By
default, it is displayed following the "Polarbar Mailer - " part of the
title bar text as a convenience for those users that want to have their
window manager lock Polarbar in all virtual screens, which typically
requires that the title bar text be constant up to the first occurrence
of a dash. If you enable this setting, Polarbar will instead display the
current unread message count as the first text in the title bar, which
will usually allow you to see the current unread message count simply by
looking at the window manager's task list.
-
Default MIME/UUENCODE as the method of encoding attached files
-
This setting lets you specify whether you want the compose
window's Attachments menu setting to default to Mime or UUencode.
The Cleanup Page
-
Maintain the Transaction Log
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will monitor the size of the
message
transaction log file and remove the oldest entries in order to make
it adhere to the Maximum Number of Log Items setting. This action
is taken each time you close an account,
either by switching to another account or by closing the program.
-
Maximum Number of Log Items
-
If the Maintain the Transaction Log setting is turned on, the program
will remove the oldest entries from the message transaction log file in
order to keep only this number of entries in the file.
-
Maintain the Trash Folder
-
With this checkbox turned on, the program will monitor the size of the
TRASH
folder and delete the messages that have been in it the longest, in order
to make its size adhere to the
Maximum Number of Trash Messages
setting. This action is taken each time you close an
account,
either by switching to another account or by closing the program.
-
Maximum Number of Trash Messages
-
If the Maintain the Trash Folder setting is turned on, the program
will delete from the TRASH folder the messages which have been in it the
longest in order to keep only this number of messages in the folder.
-
Copy Discarded Messages to the Trash Folder
-
With this setting turned on, the program will copy deleted messages to the
TRASH folder. If this setting is not
turned on, messages will be permanently removed from the drive with no backup.
Note also that with this setting enabled, sent messages will be saved to trash
if no sent folder is selected.
-
Persist Java console output to debug file
-
Used for diagnostic purposes, this setting sends various messages about internal
operations and error messages to a file named DEBUG.OUT in the Polarbar main
directory. Normally this setting is off.
-
Max log size in kilobytes before archiving
-
Enabled only when Persist Java console is checked, this setting determines how
large the diagnostic file can grow to. Once this size is reached, it is either
truncated if the next setting (number of archives) is 0 or it is archived and
then truncated.
-
Number of log archives to keep
-
Enabled only when Persist Java console is checked, this setting determines how
many diagnostic files are kept. An archive file is created only when the diagnostic
file reaches the pre-defined max log size setting above. Any number of archived
files can be maintained, limited only by disk space.
-
Number of status message lines to keep for viewing
-
This setting determines how far back you can view status line messages that are
ovewritten over time. Status line messages are the ones that show the number of
messages downloaded and how many notes were filtered, etc. The default is 100
lines. Entering a larger number for this value may result in increased memory
usage and should be adjusted with care.
-
Number of Java console lines to keep for viewing
-
This setting determines how far back you can view standard Java console messages
that are redirected by Polarbar when it starts. Java console messages usually
only occur when errors or diagnostic messages are produced by Polarbar error
handling routines. The default is 1000 lines. Entering a larger number for this
value may result in increased memory usage and should be adjusted with care.
The News Page
If your only use of internet newsgroups is by web sites such as http://www.dejanews.com
or
http://www.hotbot.com, you don't
need a news reader application. Those web sites let you read all the newsgroup
postings you want and they even let you write a reply, but not easily.
The Polarbar Mailer provides an easy way to write newsgroup postings and
replies so you can interact with such web sites in both directions without
using a full-fledged news reader. To write an original posting, just type
NEWS: and the newsgroup name as the addressee, in the compose
window. To reply to a posting on a newsgroup web site, see Paste
quoted.
-
News Server
-
The address of your news server.
- Note: If you don't want to use the Polarbar news posting feature,
you should leave the New Server field blank in order to avoid
occasional Paste Quoted oddities where Polarbar thinks that you
are trying to reply to a news message.
-
Port Number
-
Usually 119, the port number to which the news server will respond.
-
Interpret addresses containing a period (.) but no (@) as newsgroups
-
If you leave this setting on, then you don't have to type NEWS: before
a newsgroup name in the Addresses: field of the compose
window. The program will assume that any address that has a period
without an @ sign is a newsgroup and will send the message using your news
server. (If the message also has other addressees that don't look like
newsgroup names, the program will send the message to those addressees
using the SMTP or POP3 server; it will only send the message to the news
server for those addressees that look like newsgroup names.)
-
Note: This setting applies to you even if you never want to use the Polarbar
Mailer for newsgroup postings or replies. If you need to be able to send
an email message to an address which does not contain an @ sign but does
contain a period (for example, another user at your own domain so that
you want to leave off the @ sign and the domain name, but his username
has a period in it), then you have to turn this setting off or else the
program will always try to send that message to your news server (and if
you don't have your news server setting filled in, the program is going
to prompt you for it at send time). With this setting turned off, the
program will never try to send anything to the news server unless you type
NEWS: in front of the address in the compose window.
The PGP Page
This page lets you configure Polarbar for use with PGP for signing,
encrypting, decrypting and verification of mail messages.
- PGP Public Keyring
- Enter the path to your PGP public keyring or use the Find button
to locate it.
- PGP Secret Keyring
- Enter the path to your PGP secret keyring or use the Find button
to locate it.
- PGP ID
- Enter your PGP ID here or locate it using the find button.
- PGP Passphrase
- Only type your PGP passphrase here if you want it to be stored in
Polarbar's account settings file, using weak encryption. If you don't
type your passphrase here, then each time you start Polarbar, you will
be prompted for your passphrase the first time that Polarbar might need
it since the time you started Polarbar. If you do enter your passphrase
here, you can test it using the Test button. If you are worried about
leaving your passphrase in memory, you can clear it by selecting
Tools->PGP->Clear PGP Passphrase