Connect your email account

Mail reads the mailbox you already have. You connect it once with your email address and a password, and PlexiDesk talks to your mail server directly from the desktop app. There is no Google or Microsoft sign-in to go through: Mail uses IMAP, which almost every email provider offers.

Connect your mailbox before you use Mail, the Inbox widget or the Email widget. They all read the mailbox you connect here.

Before you start

• Use the PlexiDesk desktop app. Mail connects to your mail server from your computer.
• Plans. Connecting a mailbox is part of every plan.
• Get an app password. Most providers ask for an app password (also called an app-specific password) rather than your normal password, especially when two-step sign-in is on. You make one in your email account's security settings. The connection form tells you where for each provider it knows.
• Know your server name if your provider is not listed. For any other provider you need its IMAP server name and port, which your provider publishes.

Connect a mailbox

1. In the side menu, open Apps and click Mail under Tools. The first time, Mail shows Connect your email.
2. Click your provider: Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Fastmail, Yahoo or Zoho. This fills in the server details for you, and a note tells you what that provider needs, for example Needs an app password (Google account → Security → App passwords).
3. Type your Email address.
4. Type your app password in Password.
5. Click Test connection if you want to check first. When it works, Connection works appears beside the button.
6. Click Connect. PlexiDesk checks the details with your mail server, then opens your inbox.

Connect and Test connection become available once there is an email address, a password and a server.

What each preset tells you

Zoho

Zoho's server name depends on your plan and on where you sign in to Zoho, so clicking Zoho opens two more rows:

• Zoho account: choose Own domain (paid plan) if your address is on your organisation's own domain on a paid plan, or @zohomail.com or free plan.
• Region: where you sign in to Zoho (mail.zoho.com.au is Australia): choose US, EU, UK, India, Australia, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UAE or China.

The note for Zoho reads: Turn on IMAP Access first (Zoho Mail → Settings → Mail Accounts → IMAP). With two-factor sign-in on, it needs an app-specific password (Zoho Accounts → Security → App Passwords). Zoho does not offer IMAP on newly created free-plan accounts.

Connect any other mailbox

1. Open Mail. On Connect your email, click IMAP server settings.
2. Type the IMAP host, for example imap.example.com.
3. Check the Port. It starts at 993.
4. Leave Use SSL/TLS (port 993). Uncheck for STARTTLS on 143. ticked for port 993. Untick it and set the port to 143 if your provider uses STARTTLS.
5. Type your Email address and Password, then click Test connection or Connect.

You only set up the incoming (IMAP) server. PlexiDesk works out the server it sends your replies through from the same details.

Change your password or server

1. In Mail, click Account (the three dots at the top of the message list).
2. Click Account settings. The connection form opens with your address and server filled in.
3. Type your password again, change anything else, and click Connect.

Disconnect your mailbox

1. In Mail, click Account (the three dots).
2. Click Disconnect mailbox.

Mail forgets the connection on this computer straight away and shows Connect your email again. Nothing changes in your mailbox on the mail server.

Where your connection is kept

• On this computer. Your connection, and your password, stay on the computer where you set them up. The form says: Stored encrypted on this device with your OS keychain. It never leaves your machine. Connect again on each computer you use. See Privacy settings and what leaves your computer.
• One per organisation. Each organisation you belong to, and your personal space, keeps its own mailbox connection on this computer.

If the connection does not work

For Zoho, also check that IMAP access is turned on in Zoho Mail, and that the plan and region rows match the address you sign in to Zoho with.

Common questions

Why does it want an app password? Most providers do not let other apps sign in with your normal password, particularly with two-step sign-in turned on. An app password is a separate password just for PlexiDesk, which you can remove in your email account at any time.

Can I connect two mailboxes at once? One mailbox per organisation, or for your personal space, on each computer. To read a different mailbox in the same organisation, use Account settings to change the connection.

Does disconnecting delete my email? No. Your mail stays on your mail server. Mail only forgets how to connect.

I use a different computer. Is my mailbox there too? Not until you connect it there. Your mail connection belongs to the computer you set it up on. See Sync your work across devices.

Related tasks

• Mail in Plexii
• Read, reply and send email
• Search your mail
• Inbox widget
• Privacy settings and what leaves your computer