For users of Microsoft’s email offering, its redesign more than a year ago to its new modern look was definitely a welcome change. However, one of the most glaring omissions since this redesign was the absence of support for the IMAP mail protocol, which caused a lot of incompatibility issues with several email applications, including OS X’s own Mail app.
Not only that, but nowadays almost every respectable email service uses IMAP. We even wrote about the differences between IMAP and POP email protocols before and concluded that IMAP has definitely a few advantages over POP email.
Thankfully, Outlook.com now finally supports the IMAP mail protocol, and even though Microsoft still recommends Exchange ActiveSync to sync your email, it is not necessary anymore.
Let’s take a look at how to set up Outlook.com on your Mac’s Mail app through IMAP.
Oct 27, 2013 Love Mac Forums - always get help. That being said. Adobe products working - check Folders and icons mysteriously reappeared on desktop after being MIA for two hours - check Message App still not working and frozen on the dock - big problem - HELP please Still unable to receive any mail sent to myself (test) - Problem Images back to embedding into email not attaching - Problem. Sep 27, 2019 Learn more about Mail for Mac. Use Mail Drop to send large files. Get help when you can't send or receive email on your Mac. Contact Apple Support. All devices signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID share contacts. Contacts addressed in previous messages that were sent and received on those devices are also included. I had a fresh install of OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks, had moved my /Mail/ folder to the fresh installation and have had imported my emails from Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.8. All emails were there. But a search only returned very recent emails matching the query, whereas for the very same query in Spotlight showed matches which spanned over the entire. Time Machine in macOS can work within a number of apps, letting you retrieve older versions of files or even deleted email messages in the Mail app. However, if an entire folder of stuff goes away. May 18, 2019 Apple Mail is a free, native email application that ships with every Mac, making it a solid default choice for most Mac users, especially those using iCloud only. Despite steady developments from the Apple stable, its email client hasn’t had a major design upgrade in. Apr 15, 2020 The Mail application that ships with macOS and OS X is solid, feature-rich and spam-eliminating software that is also an easy-to-use email client. Optimized to work on the Mac, the Mail app is trouble free and full featured. It can handle all your email accounts in one place.
![Mail Mail](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126319311/275798330.jpg)
First, open the Mail application on your Mac and head to the app’s Preferences by clicking on the Mail menu on the menu bar and by selecting Preferences. Once the Preferences panel shows up, click on the Accounts tab (the second one from the left).
Now click on the “+” sign at the bottom left of the panel to create a new account. On the email account information panel introduce your full name and your Outlook.com email address but not your password (this is because Mail will try to connect to your account using the POP3 email protocol, and we want to avoid that). After that, click on Continue.
Since you didn’t write a password, Mail will display an error message instead.
Click Continue and a new account information panel will show up. This time, fill the information as follows:
- Account Type: IMAP
- Description: Use any
- Incoming Mail Server: imap-mail.outlook.com
- User Name: Your Outlook email address
- Password: Your password
When ready, click on Continue and wait until the new account information panel shows up.
There, you will have to introduce the Outgoing Mail Server information as follows:
- Description: Use any
- Outgoing Mail Server: smtp-mail.outlook.com
- Use Authentication: Check
- User Name: Your Outlook email address
- Password: Your password
Once you are done, click on Continue and one the next screen verify that all your information is correct. Once ready, click on the Create button to take your brand new Mail account online.
Cool Tip: If you happen to have an Outlook.com account already set up on Mail using the old method (Exchange ActiveSync), you don’t need to create a new one with these settings. Instead, just select it on Mail’s Preferences and edit its information using the above info.There you have it. You can now finally take your Outlook.com mail account and bring it to the modern age on your Mac. Just be careful to follow all the steps diligently and you shouldn’t run into any sort of trouble.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#email #IMAP
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Emailing is probably the activity we do the most on our computers. Even if you don't work on a computer during the day, you probably sit down in front of it to check your inbox at the end of the day. If the Mail app that comes with your Mac doesn't provide the features you need, you're in luck. There are dozens of great email apps in the Mac App Store. I've tested many of them and these are my favorites. Each one has a little something special that makes it unique.
Polymail
Polymail for Mac has a fantastic interface with cute buttons everywhere so you don't have to think about what to do next. It actually looks like it belongs on a mobile device, except that you click the buttons instead of tapping them.
There is a fourth section that appears whenever you select an email, which displays all of the past correspondences you've had with that particular contact or group of contacts. It's great for quickly tracking down something you've talked about in the past.
You can set up new mail with a pre-made template, send calendar invites, get notifications when someone has read your email, and schedule an email to be sent at a later time.
You can also write or respond to emails with rich text formatting. So, if you want to change the font, add bold lettering, bullet point a section, or just slap an emoji in there, it's all available right from the toolbar at the top of your new email. The only thing it's missing is Touch Bar support, which would really make this app shine.
Polymail can be used for free, but you'll need to sign up for a subscription if you want all of the awesome features that make Polymail stand out, like read notifications, send later, and messaging templates. You can add these features for as low as $10 per month. If you are a heavy email user and these features entice you, give the free trial a run to see if it's worth your money.
If you want your computer email experience to look and feel more like a mobile experience, with big, easy-to-find action buttons, Polymail is the one for you.
Spark
Spark has this 'Smart Inbox' feature that separates mail into categories: Personal, Notifications, Newsletters, Pinned, and Seen. That is, any email that is from someone in your contacts or otherwise looks like a personal email will be filtered to the top of the inbox list. Below that, in a separate section, emails that look like alerts from companies you deal with, like your gas company or Amazon, that include some kind of alert or notification. Below that, you'll see a section called 'Newsletters' which is exactly that. Below that, there are emails you've flagged or tagged as important in some way. Lastly, emails you've seen, but haven't moved to another folder.
Spark also allows you to snooze an email and come back to take care of it at a later time. This is invaluable when you regularly get emails that you need to respond to but don't have time for until the end of the day. I use it all of the time.
It also has gesture-based actions for getting to inbox zero. You can swipe to the right or left to delete, archive, pin, or, mark an email as unread.
And it has Touch Bar support, which I love.
Spark is best for people that like to have their inbox organized before they go through and move emails to new folders, address them, or delete them entirely. If that sounds appealing to you, try Spark.
Kiwi for Gmail
If you have one or more Gmail accounts, you should consider switching to Kiwi. This all-in-one triumph brings the look and feel of Gmail for the web to the desktop in the form of an app. With the service's unique Focus Filtered Inbox, you can view your messages based on Date, Importance, Unread, Attachments, and Starred. In doing so, you can prioritize your emails in real-time.
Perhaps the best reason to use Kiwi for Gmail is its G Suite integration. Thanks to the app, you now get to experience Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, as windowed desktop applications. Kiwi is available for Mac and Windows.
Postbox
New on our list for 2020, Postbox has been designed for professionals, but anyone with more than one email account should continue using it. Available for Mac and Windows, Postbox works with any IMAP or POP account, including Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, and more.
Postbox offers one of the fastest email search engines available, which is ideally suited when you need to find files, images, and other attachments. With the app's built-in Quick Bar, you can move a message, copy a message, switch folders, tag a message, Gmail label a message, or switch folders with just a few keystrokes.
Looking for more? Postbox comes with 24 (counting) themes, and much more.
Your favorite?
What's going to be your next email client for Mac?
Updated February 2020: Guide updated to reflect price changes and more.
macOS Catalina
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