Page updated 16 December 2010
Introduction
nPOPuk is a true client/server application so does not work in the same way as a typical e-mail program. Mail is read directly from the server, not automatically deleted from it and, initially, held only in memory rather than saved to disk before being displayed. This makes it ideal for the more Specialist Tasks that don't require off-line copies of mail.
E-Mail Basics with nPOPuk
After Installation, you may wish to examine the features of the Main Window before going on to use the program as an email client.
Because of the way nPOPuk functions it is easiest to break down the process of dealing with e-mail into five main tasks:
Step One covers collecting your mail from the POP server. Steps Two and Three cover the business of reading and writing mail, including replies and forwarding. Steps Four and Five together cover the process of deleting mail from the POP server and sending mail via the SMTP server.
If your first action on opening nPOPuk is normally to write a new message, then see the Command Line Options page which describes a impressive range of features.
Customising
For those who just want to know how to get nPOPuk to do what they want, the sections below guide you through the ways to control the program.
Global Options
The Global Options dialogue controls overall program behaviour, e.g.:
- How much of the mail items to retrieve from the server
- Whether to save data locally and the format of the file
- Settings for writing and sending mail, forwarding and replying
- Global filters to control arrival of mail (e.g. to delete spam)
- Navigation between messages
- Connection/Disconnection Settings
- Audible and Visual Warnings on arrival of mail and exit from program
- Password Access to the Main Window
- Sorting of mail items in the Main Window
To access the dialogue, open the FILE menu and select Global Options....
Mailboxes
Mailboxes take two forms, Accounts, which connect to POP3 and SMTP servers, and Saveboxes, which are used to store mail locally. Both are added from the Main Window by opening the MAILBOX menu and selecting Add....
The only customising that can be done to a Savebox is to Rename it. Customising of accounts the done through the more complex Account Settings dialogue. This holds settings for each account. If there is more than one account, select the desired account before opening the dialogue by selecting it from the Mailbox Pane (or, if that option is deselected, the drop-down list under the main window toolbar). Settings for each account include:
- Account name
- Server names, port numbers and protocols
- Username and password
- Forcing POP access before SMTP access
- Signature
- Control of mail filters (e.g. to direct mail to a specific Savebox)
- Connection method
To access the dialogue open the MAILBOX menu and select Edit... The dialogue appears.
nPOPuk.ini
The options set in the RENAME SAVEBOX, ACCOUNT SETTINGS and GLOBAL OPTIONS dialogues are written to the nPOPuk.ini file. Advanced users may care to edit this file directly, as further options, not accessible in any other way, can be set by editing this file. The nPOPuk.ini page provides further information.