Configuring KMail

You can launch KMail by clicking on this icon in the panel or by selecting Internet+Mail->KMail from the main menu. As we proceed, please note that only the minimum configuration steps will be explained in this section. Feel free to explore the various configuration options.

Clicking on Settings->Configure KMail... will bring up the configuration window. It is organized as a list of categories (on the left) and the configuration options for each of those categories (on the right). First, an identity[5] must be defined under the Identities category. KMail offers you a “skeleton” for the default identity based on your system's account data (login, name, etc.). Click on the Modify button and, in the General tab, fill Your name, Organization and Email address with your data (see Figure 9.1, “Setting General User Parameters”).

Figure 9.1. Setting General User Parameters

Setting General User Parameters

Use the Advanced and Signature tabs to set up other parameters such as different “Reply-To” addresses, a GPG key for secure messages transmission, and so on. Once you are satisfied with your settings, click on OK and then on Apply: your default identity will be defined.

To configure the mail servers, select the Network category. In the Sending tab click on the Add... button, select SMTP as the transport type and click on OK. In the General tab, fill the Name field with a meaningful name for this server and the Host field with the SMTP server's name or IP address (see Figure 9.2, “Setting the Outgoing Mail Server”). The remaining fields can be left with their default values.

Figure 9.2. Setting the Outgoing Mail Server

Setting the Outgoing Mail Server
[Note]Note

For security reasons, it may be that the outgoing mail server you use needs authentication. If this is the case, check the Server requires authentication option and complete the login and password provided by your ISP or network administrator.

To receive mail, you need to create at least one account. In the Receiving tab click on the Add... button, select POP3 as the account type[6] and click on OK. In the General tab, complete the Name field with a meaningful name for this account and the Host field with the POP3 server's name or IP address. Your ISP should have provided you with an e-mail user name and password which have to be entered in the Login and Password fields. Put a check mark in the Store POP Password in configuration file to avoid having to type the password each time messages are retrieved (see Figure 9.3, “Configuring a POP3 Mail Account”). Click on OK to add the account.

[Note]Note

However this could become a security issue. If you do select that option, anyone accessing your computer while you are logged in could read (or worst, delete) your e-mails: use at your own risk.

Figure 9.3. Configuring a POP3 Mail Account

Configuring a POP3 Mail Account
[Tip]Tip

If you have a permanent network connection (such as DSL or cable-modem) putting a check-mark on the Enable interval mail checking option and selecting a period (in minutes) using Check interval will tell KMail to automatically fetch messages periodically.

If you want KMail to handle more than one mail account just repeat the above procedure for each extra account. Once you are satisfied with your settings, click on OK. KMail is now ready to read and send mail on the Internet.



[5] If you have more than one e-mail address, for example one for your work and a private one, it is useful to create a different identity for each of them.

[6] Since almost all ISPs provide POP3 accounts to retrieve mail, we used it in our example. If you have another account type, such as an IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) one, the configuration will differ slightly.