Setting up Mail for Mac - A guide

Moving to a Mac brings some challenges - including setting up mail. There are two ways of getting your existing email address on the MacBook - directly via mail or via the system settings. This guide will walk you through the direct setup process of Apple's news program.

Set up mail on Mac OS X.

• Start first and click on "Mail"> "Settings" in the upper left corner of the screen. In the new window, select the "Accounts" tab. To create a new email address click on the "+" at the bottom left.

• Then enter your name, your email address and your password in the fields and go to the next step with "Continue". If the program finds a suitable server for your email address, you only have to click on "Create".
• If Mail does not find a suitable connection, you have to enter the server data manually. More on this in the next paragraph.

Find and set up connection data to the email server independently

If you are not lucky enough that Mail finds the server right away, you have to search the Internet for the settings of your mail provider. In our forum you will find a list of providers such as GMX, E-Plus or Google. Make a note of your host's data and go through the following steps:

• First select the server type. The most common is POP, where your mail is retrieved from the server and stored on the Mac. Any changes to the messages have no effect on the original on the server of your provider. If you delete an email, it will only be removed from the computer.
• With IMAP, the mails between server and Mac are always kept in sync. This means that if you delete a message, it also loads it in the trash on the server. IMAP is especially useful when you check your mail on multiple devices. However, not every provider offers this service.
• Enter a mailbox description, your email address including password and the incoming mail server that you wrote down from the list beforehand. Then click "Continue".
• Activate "SSL" in the next window. This ensures that your emails are encrypted.

• Enter the outgoing mail server and again optionally a description. Check the "Use authentication" box and enter your email address and password. After clicking on "Continue" you will see a summary of your data.
• Before completing the setup process, click on "Go online".

The tip refers to OS X 10.7.5 and Mail in version 5.3. The procedure is similar for other versions.