Gmail rolling out IMAP Support?

[Josh]

It appears that Google is working on integrating IMAP into Gmail. Download Squad reader eD! Thomas sent in a tip letting us know he came across the new IMAP setting while snooping around Gmail. However, it is only appearing in select few Gmail and Google Apps for domains accounts at the moment.

When we checked Gmail Help database this evening, Gmail had said that they support POP, but not IMAP. Then a few minutes later, that doc was gone, and a stack of IMAP related help docs were up. The new pages explain how to integrate the new mail feature. It's as easy as setting up POP, but with huge benefits.

Source



More here

It appears that this is only just now being rolled out as only certain accounts have these options. I cant wait to use it once I get it!

[zridling]

This is really fantastic and opens Gmail up to all kinds of utility. Google promised this feature a couple of years ago; good to know they keep their promises.

Garett Rogers posted this on ZDnet:

What is IMAP? Basically it is a different way email clients like Outlook can manage your email. There are two different methods that most clients support: POP and IMAP.

POP, has been supported since Gmail was launched. It basically downloads all messages to your local machine, then messages are read and managed locally. In contrast, when users use IMAP, all the messages exist and are managed directly on the server. This means that if a user move a message to a different folder, replies to or deletes messages, or anything else, everyone who subscribes to that IMAP account in their email client will always be in the loop.

This can be very useful if you have a shared company-wide email address, like “sales”, and you want to prevent multiple sales people from replying to the same message, or if you have a personal email address that you check on multiple machines. Thank you Google for finally giving this feature to us.

[tomos]

IMAP, all the messages exist and are managed directly on the server. This means that if a user move a message to a different folder, replies to or deletes messages, or anything else, everyone who subscribes to that IMAP account in their email client will always be in the loop.

-zridling (October 25, 2007, 06:51 PM)

must go read up about imap -

  would'nt it be nice then to have an imap email client where if you tag mail, it would be reflected in gmail

I currently tag stuff in Thunderbird (for what it's worth) & have some filters setup in gmail,
but basically everything gets archived when downloaded to client

[Grorgy]

Hi tomos, lifehacker had an article about that here's the link http://lifehacker.co...mail-imap-314565.php
And a quote

If you've set up Gmail IMAP using Google's instructions, you may have noticed a couple of snags—namely that your Sent Mail, Drafts, and Deleted Mail aren't necessarily matching up as you'd expect between your email client and Gmail. To remedy this, you'll have to tweak a few advanced configuration settings in your client,

Hope this helps

[housetier]

I have tried gmail's iMap-interface and have gone back to the web interface. My tags where represented as folders, but on the same level as Inbox, so TB wouldn't update them; as I have set up several filters which sort my mail by tagging them, I do not see them until I manually update the folder.

Let's say I have one filter for all mails regarding donationcoder: the filter applies the tag "DC" and archives them. Now in TB I don't see a new mail in Inbox (because it's already in DC), nor do I see a new mail in DC unless I select that folder which updates it. I think it would work better if those folders where subfolders of Inbox, but I don't know for sure.

Maybe I need to disable gmail's filter and set them up in TB... I shall try and report back!

[johnk]

Author of the IMAP protocol, Mark Crispin, gives his view on GMail's IMAP implementation:
http://www.wired.com...es/news/2007/10/imap

And a long chat about it at the Email Discussions forums:
http://www.emaildisc...owthread.php?t=50629

[housetier]

Yes I also have the feeling gmail was very slow and lacking something.