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Is Your Email System Running a Little Slow? Try These Tips. Last year's rollout of the IMAP4 email system using Netscape Communicator has streamlined and enhanced the overall email service to most employees. The new service provides a standardized and robust system for the Lab, offers remote access via the web, and allows users to send and receive html-encoded messages. The system works well, and users can help keep messages moving by following a few tips. The most basic step is to keep your In Box small. Messages can pile up quickly, and if you have too many, things bog down. "I try to keep the number of messages under 100, but a couple of times I've had 3,000 or more," said Zach Radding, a member of the Lab's Strategic Servers Group and one of the leaders of the IMAP4 rollout. "You need to go through your In Box and file or throw them away." The more messages you have, the longer it takes to verify all the headers. Also, don't forget to empty your Trash folder frequently. Here are some other suggestions: Turn off the SSL feature, which provides a secure connection by encrypting messages. This is especially important if you use a Macintosh. To check whether you have SSL on, pull down the Edit menu to Preferences, then open Mail Server within Mail & Groups. SSL is the second item under the IMAP heading. While you're in the Mail Server section of Preferences, check to make sure that your outgoing mail setting reads smtp.lbl.gov or lbl.gov. When you create folders for filing messages, use only letters and numbers, no symbols, please. Asterisks, pound signs and the like cause folders to become corrupt (so you can't read any of the files in the folder). When sending messages within the Lab, make sure the address you're sending to is the address listed in either the Netscape Address Book or the Lab Directory Services. Using other addresses for Lab employees may delay or derail your message entirely. When sending a file by email, limit the size to five megabytes or under. If you need to transfer a file larger than 5 megs around the Lab, use either the Novell servers or AppleShare, depending on what kind of computer you use. If you need to send a large file off site, post it to a web site or use FTP (file transfer protocol). Information is available on creating a local web page. For archival purposes, download your messages to your computer, rather than keeping them on the Lab's server. This saves both time and server file space. The down side is that messages stored on your system can't be accessed remotely. One final system check pertains to employees who have downloaded version of Netscape Communicator from another location, rather than using the version tailored for the Lab. Newer versions of Netscape have a default setting for email to use POP mail, rather than IMAP. This setting causes your system to grab messages off the Lab server and store them locally, but when you switch to IMAP those messages "disappear." If you have downloaded a new version of Netscape Communicatorm before you even think of going into the mail function, edit your Preferences to select IMAP rather than POP3 (follow the same path described above). Then quit Netscape and restart it to activate the IMAP4 setting. Then you can confidently open your mail, knowing your messages will be waiting for you on the IMAP4 server. As usual, if you have any questions or need help, call the Computer Support Help Desk at X4357 (H-E-L-P) or visit their website. |
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