ISMail Pro Web FAQ

General:

What is the ISMail-Web plugin (for ISMail Pro):
The ISMail-Web plugin adds Webmail and a web-based ISMail Manager to ISMail Pro.

For details, see the ISMail-Web plugin manual.

Note: this is the same plugin used with ISMail, but has additional features when used with ISMail Pro. These additional features are described in this FAQ. For general information on the ISMail-Web plugin and information on the ISMail-Web plugin used with ISMail, see the ISMail-Web FAQ.

Why do I need to install this plugin to get Webmail?
The Webmail feature is somewhat large (10MB) and not everyone wants Webmail, so it was decided to package the ISMail-Web plugin as a separate file. That way, the ISMail Pro program can be kept as small as possible.

Is there a manual for the ISMail-Web plugin?
Yes, click here, visit the Support section of the web site, or use the Help link in the web-based ISMail Manager view the manual.

Requirements:

What is required to install the plugin?
ISMail Pro version 2.1.4 or greater must first be installed.

Note: this plugin will also work with ISMail, however, the features described for ISMail Pro-Web will NOT be available with the standard version of ISMail.

Installation and Uninstallation:

How do I install or uninstall the plugin?
To install:

To uninstall, stop all servers and exit the ISMail Pro configuration system as above. Then, access Start->Settings->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs, select the plugin, click 'Add/Remove' and follow the uninstallation screens.

Upgrades:

How do I upgrade the plugin?
To upgrade the plugin:

Note that certain custom plugin settings (e.g. custom banner images, single-domain dropdown menu, etc.) may not be kept across plugin upgrades. If you wish to use these settings, note any changes previously made to the files:
- ../ISMail/Apache/cgi-bin/mail_login.pl
- ../ISMail/Webmail/SquirrelMail/config/config.php

and re-insert these changes after installing a newer version of the plugin.

Note: if also upgrading ISMail Pro, perform the ISMail Pro upgrade before upgrading the plugin.

Setup:

How do I setup Webmail?
No setup is required. When you install the plug-in, the PHP configuration file (php.ini) is automatically modified for Webmail, and the Webmail (SquirrelMail) configuration file is edited to make some cosmetic changes.

Webmail Server Management:

How do I start the Webmail server?
To start the server, right-click the ISMail Manager in the Windows system tray and select 'Start Webmail' on the pop-up menu. If there is no 'Start Webmail' line on the pop-up menu, check that the ISMail-Web plugin is correctly installed.

Note: if you are running MiniPortal, no 'Start Webmail' line will appear; the MiniPortal web server will automatically be used.

How do I set the Webmail server port?
The Webmail server port is initially set to the web server port (port 80). If you are running a web server or wish to change this port, right-click the ISMail icon in the system tray, select 'Open', access the 'Webmail' tab, enter a new value (e.g. 81), and click 'Apply'.

Note: if you change the Webmail server port, you will need to access Webmail and the web-based administration screens using the port number. e.g.:
Webmail: http://127.0.0.1:NN/webmail
Web-based administration: http://127.0.0.1:NN/admin_mail/
where 'NN' is the port number (e.g. for port 81, http://127.0.0.1:81/webmail)

Also, this port must not be blocked by a router or firewall software.

How do I login to Webmail?
If you have a domain setup, just enter the URL:
http://yourdomain.com/webmail/

Then, enter the mail account user name and password.

You may also use any URL which resolves to the mail server, provided that a complete user/domain name and password for a valid ISMail account are entered. For example:
http://mymail.mydomain.com/webmail/
should have a user name like 'user@mydomain.com' and the password.

Make sure you have Cookies enabled. You cannot login without Cookies enabled.

Note: if the Webmail port has been changed, the port must be include in the login URL (e.g. if port 81 is used, access http://yourdomain.com:81/webmail/).

How do I login to the web-based ISMail Manager?
To login to the ISMail Manager from the server machine, enter: http://127.0.0.1/admin_mail/

No password is required to login from the server machine using this special 'loopback' IP address in the URL. While logged in from the server machine, an ISMail Manager account may be added for remote access.

To login to the ISMail Manager from any machine, enter:
http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/
where 'your-domain.com' is your domain name. Use the account name added above to login.

Important Note: if you are using an alias for your domain name in the above URL (e.g. 'www.your-domain.com' or 'mail.your-domain.com'), enter the full account and domain name in the 'User Name' field of the login (e.g. 'user@your-domain.com' instead of just 'user').

Note that an ISMail Manager 'Manager' or 'Domain Manager' account is NOT an email account and will not be visible on the Windows-based ISMail Manager 'Accounts' screen.

If an error appears, check that the Webmail server is running. It may also help to exit and re-start the web browser.

If the Webmail server port has been changed, see the Note above for the login URL.

How do I login to the web-based Domain Manager?
Login to the Domain Manager at:
http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/login_domain.html

An alternate login for the Domain Manager is at:
http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/
where 'your-domain.com' is the name of your domain. Click 'Domain Manager Login' to login.

Important Note: if you are using an alias for your domain name in the above URLs (e.g. 'www.your-domain.com' or 'mail.your-domain.com'), enter the full account and domain name in the 'User Name' field of the login (e.g. 'user@your-domain.com' instead of just 'user'). This will ensure that you are logged in to the correct domain.

You must previously have used the web-based ISMail Manager to setup a Domain Manager account in order to login.

Also, a 'Domain Manager' account is NOT an email account and will not be visible on the Windows-based ISMail Manager 'Accounts' screen.

How do I login to the web-based User Account Manager?
To login to the User Account Manager, enter:
http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/
where 'your-domain.com' is the name of your domain. Then click 'User Account Manager Login'.

An alternate login for the User Account Manager is at:
http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/login_user.html

This is the URL which users should access.

Important Note: if you are using an alias for your domain name in the above URLs (e.g. 'www.your-domain.com' or 'mail.your-domain.com'), enter the full account and domain name in the 'User Name' field of the login (e.g. 'user@your-domain.com' instead of just 'user'). This will ensure that you are logged in to the correct domain.

Webmail Management:

How do I increase the maximum message attachment size from 8MB to a larger value, say 16MB?
The attachment size is limited by the PHP configuration. To increase it:

1. Open the ../ISMail/php/php.ini file in a text editor.

2. Change the line:
post_max_size = 8M;
to:
post_max_size = 16M;

How do I setup Webmail to display a custom login banner, or a different login banner for each domain?
To display a custom login banner or a different login banner image for each domain:

1. Add the banner image file(s) to the directory:
../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/images
(e.g. ../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/images/banner-dom1.gif)

2. Edit the file:
../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/config/config.php

The line containing '$org_logo' near the top of the file shows how to refer to the file containing the banner image; the example refers to a file named 'benner01.gif' in the '../squirrelmail/images' directory.

The line containing '$org_logo_domain['localhost'] shows how to refer to a specific domain (in this case, the domain is 'localhost').

Example: to add the image 'banner-dom1.gif' to the domain 'dom1.com', copy the file 'banner-dom1.gif' to the '../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/images' directory. Then, edit the file '../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/config/config.php' and replace the line:
$org_logo_domain[0] = '';
with the line:
$org_logo_domain['dom1.com'] = '../images/banner-dom1.com';

To add banners for additional domains, replace subsequent lines of '$org_logo_domain' as above.

How do I setup a Webmail global address book?
To setup a global address book, you must edit one Webmail source code file and manually create the global address book file.

To edit the Webmail source code file for a global address book,

  1. Edit the file:
    ../ISMail/Webmail/Squirrelmail/functions/addressbook.php
  2. Copy the lines:
    global $data_dir, $address_book_global_filename;
    $address_book_global_filename = "$data_dir/global.abook";
    to the line just below the end-of comment line ( line with'*/')

To create the global address book file (from a user address book file):

  1. Login to Webmail
  2. Click 'Addresses'
  3. Create a user 'personal address book' using the form and 'Add address' button
  4. Copy the user 'personal address book' file located in the:
    ../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/data
    directory (named using the user account name and '.abook') to the file:
    ../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/data/global.abook
  5. Edit the entries in global.abook keeping the format of each line the same
  6. The global address book will now appear when 'Addresses' is clicked

Note: global address books are read-only and must be manually edited to add new addresses. They are also visible across all domains.

How do I import an Outlook 2000 Contact List into a Webmail address book?
To import a Contact List, you must first export it from Outlook into a CSV (comma separated value) file and then import that file into Webmail.

To export a Contact List from Outlook 2000 into a CSV file:

  1. Start Outlook 2000
  2. Select File->Import and Export
  3. Select 'Export to a File' and click Next
  4. Select 'Comma Separated Values (Windows)' and click Next
  5. Select the 'Contacts' folder and click Next
  6. Enter a filename into 'Save exported file as' (e.g. c:\out_contacts.csv) and click Next
  7. Check 'Export "Contacts" from the "Contacts" folder' and click Finish

To import a CSV into Webmail:

  1. Login to Webmail
  2. Click 'Options'
  3. Select the CSV file to import using the 'Browse'
  4. Import the file using 'Import CSV File'
  5. Choose the order of the fields to include using the pull-down menus. Make sure that 'First Name' or 'Last Name' is non-blank. Blank fields may be set to 'Do Not Include'.
  6. Click 'Finish'.

Note: Contact lists can not be imported if Webmail running on Win95/98/ME.

How do I import an Outlook Express Contact List into a Webmail address book?
To import a Contact List, you must first export it from Outlook Express into a CSV (comma separated value) file and then import that file into Webmail.

To export a Contact List from Outlook Express into a CSV file:

  1. Start Outlook Express
  2. Select File->Export->Address Book
  3. Select 'Text File (Comma Separated Values)' and click Export
  4. Enter a filename into 'Save exported file as' (e.g. c:\oe_contacts.csv) and click Next
  5. Select the contact fields you wish to export (e.g. First Name, Last Name, Name, E-maill Address, ...).
  6. Click Finish and Close

To import a CSV into Webmail:

  1. Login to Webmail
  2. Click 'Addresses'
  3. Select the CSV file to import using the 'Browse'
  4. Import the file using 'Import CSV File'
  5. Choose the order of the fields to include using the pull-down menus. Make sure that 'First Name' or 'Last Name' is non-blank. Blank fields may be set to 'Do Not Include'.
  6. Click 'Finish'.

Note: Contact lists can not be imported if Webmail running on Win95/98/ME.

How do I change or remove the sound file played when new mail arrives when using automatic new mail notification?
To change or remove the sound file played when new mail arrives for all users, edit the file:
../ISMail/Webmail/squirrelmail/plugins/notify/notify.php

Change the lines with 'BGSOUND' and 'EMBED' to refer to different sound files. Also, copy the new sound files into the same directory as this file.

How do I download mail from external POP3 accounts?
To download messages from external POP3 accounts:

  1. Click 'Options'
  2. Click 'Simple POP3 Fetch Mail'
  3. Enter the server and account information

From the mail Webmail screen, use the 'Fetch' button to download mail from POP3 accounts.

User Accounts:

What are the user accounts and how do I set them up?
User accounts are regular mail accounts from which you send and receive mail messages. You will need at least one user account. The ISMail Pro User Guide describes how to add a user account to ISMail.

Can users create their own accounts
Yes, but a Domain Manager must enable this feature for the domain. To do this:

  1. Login to the web-based Domain Manager screen at:
    http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/login_domain.html
    (if you have not yet setup a Domain Manager account, you must first do so with the web-based ISMail Manager at: http://127.0.0.1/admin_mail/).
  2. Open the 'Mail Server' folder and click 'Options'. Check the 'Automatic account creation' checkbox and click 'Apply'.
  3. Users may now create accounts using the URL:
    http://your-domain.com/admin_mail/mail_new_user.html
    This URL can be added as a link to a web site for easy access.

Security:

How secure is Webmail?
Webmail requires a login to access an email account.

The Webmail system only uses the standard web server port (usually port 80) and the IMAP port (143). No other ports are needed.

Troubleshooting:

There is no Webmail server listed when I install the Webmail plugin. How do I fix this?
If either MiniPortal or MiniPortal EP is running, Webmail is controlled by that product's web server. Start that product's web server to access Webmail.

Note: if either MiniPortal or MiniPortal EP is in use, the MiniPortal-PHP plugin must be installed prior to installing the Webmail plugin.

The Webmail server refuses to start or there is '1060' error. How do I fix this?
Webmail requires a network port to operate (default: port 80). If another web server is running and using this port, the Webmail port must be changed. To change the Webmail port, right-click the ISMail Pro icon, select 'Open', access the 'Webmail' tab, enter a new value (e.g. 81), and click 'Apply'. Then, re-start Webmail. Note that Webmail must be accessed using this port (e.g. if the port is 81, use http://127.0.0.1:81/webmail/). Also, this port must not be blocked by a router or firewall software.

The Webmail server refuses to start even if I change to a port other than 80. How do I fix this?
 The most common reason for this is a syntax error in the Apache configuration file ('Apache\conf\httpd.conf'). To check if this is the problem:

  1. Open a DOS command window
  2. cd to the Webmail webserver install directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\InstantServers\ISMail\Webmail\Apache\install)
  3. Type 'spp2k.bat' (this sets the DOS PATH environment variable).
  4. cd to the 'Apache' directory ('cd ..').
  5. Type 'apache'.

The syntax error and line number in httpd.conf will be displayed. Edit the httpd.conf file and fix the syntax error.

When I access Webmail, I get PHP errors such as 'Cannot add header information' or 'Undefined variable: _SESSION'. What is wrong?
Webmail requires a network port to operate (default: port 80). If a web server is running and already using this port, the Webmail port may need to be changed. To change the Webmail port, right-click the ISMail icon, select 'Open', access the 'Webmail' tab, enter a new value (e.g. 81), and click 'Apply'. Then, re-start Webmail. Note that Webmail must be accessed using this port (e.g. if the port is 81, use http://127.0.0.1:81/webmail). Also, this port must not be blocked by a router or firewall software.

When I access Webmail, I get a 'The page cannot be displayed' screen. What is wrong?
ISMail or the ISMail Webmail server may not be running. Start ISMail and use the ISMail configuration program to start Webmail.

When I access Webmail on one or more of my domains, I get a 'The page cannot be displayed' screen. What else could be wrong?
Webmail requires access to a script in the global cgi-bin directory in order to determine the Webmail domain(s).

If MiniPortal is running, and a domain has its own cgi-bin directory, Webmail will not find the script. Either remove the unique cgi-bin directory, or copy the file 'mail_login.pl' from the global cgi-bin to the domain's cgi-bin.

When I try to login, I get 'You must be logged in to access this page'. What is wrong?
Cookies must be enabled to use Webmail.

The ISMail IMAP4 server must also be running to use Webmail.

When I try to login, I get 'There was an error contacting the mail server'. What is wrong?
The IMAP4 server is not running. Start ISMail and start the IMAP4 server.

When I try to login, I get 'Unknown user or password incorrect'. What is wrong?
ISMail must have an account for this username on the domain being selected for login.

When I try to login, I get 'Unknown user or password incorrect'. What else could be wrong?
The Webmail configuration file (..\Webmail\squirrelmail\config\config.php) defines the default domain name for Webmail. There are 3 entries used:

These can always be set to either 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' since they are only used to connect to the mail server running on the same machine as Webmail.

Note: if an actual domain name is used, access to Webmail may be prevented by some routers.

I still can not access Webmail. What else could be wrong?
Webmail comes with its own version of PHP. However, there may be another version of PHP installed on the system which is causing a conflict. To check this, open a DOS command window and type 'set'. The DOS environment variables will be displayed. If 'php' appears in the PATH variable, another version of PHP may be installed. Also, if the file 'php.ini' appears in the Windows system directory (e.g. c:\windows or c:\winnt), another version of PHP may be installed. The other version of PHP must be removed before using Webmail as its defaults prevent additional copies of PHP from running (the Webmail PHP will not interfere with other versions of PHP and may be used so long as the other versions do not set system-wide defaults).

Webmail comes with its own version of Perl. However, there may be another version of Perl installed on the system which is causing a conflict. To check this, open a DOS command window and type 'set'. The DOS environment variables will be displayed. If 'perl' appears in the PATH variable, another version of Perl may be installed. Also, if PERL5LIB appears, another version of Perl may be installed. The other version of Perl must be removed before using Webmail as its defaults prevent additional copies of Perl from running (the Webmail Perl will not interfere with other versions of Perl and may be used so long as the other versions do not set system-wide defaults).

When I login to Webmail, error messages such as 'ERROR: Could not complete request' are displayed. Additional details indicate certain files (e.g. 'Sent Items') already exist. What should I do?
These errors can occur if ISMail account configuration data does not contain the names of the account message files in the file system. This can happen, e.g., if a server is moved to a new machine.

The solution is either to restore the ISMail configuration from a recent backup using the ISMail Manager 'Restore' tab, or to delete the files displayed in the error message (e.g. 'Sent Items', 'Drafts', 'Trash') from the file system. These files are located in ../ISMail/mail/domain/user where 'domain' is the domain name and 'user' is the account name.

When I use the 'Add address' button to save an address to my Webmail 'Personal address book', I get a rude 'ERROR: Could not lock datafile' message. Why?
Webmail does not support Address books on Windows 95, 98, or ME since these platforms do not allow shared files (like address books) to be safely updated.

If Webmail is still not working, please contact Technical Support.

Troubleshooting (Calendar):

The Webmail Calendar in SquirrelMail 1.4.2 seems to lose events! How do I fix this?
This can be fixed by upgrading to ISMail-Web 1.4.2.3 (or newer).

The SquirrelMail 1.4.2 calendar can also be replaced by downloading the shared calendar plugin (shared_calendar-1.1.1-1.4.0_mod.zip ). Delete the squirrelmail plugins/calendar sub-directory
(e.g. 'c:/program files/instantservers/ismail/webmail/squirrelmail/plugins/calendar'), and then unzip this file as a new calendar sub-directory. Then, refresh the Calendar pages in your browser for the new calendar plugin to take effect.