Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Checking Your Mail

You get new mail and send mail you’ve written using the Get Mail command. You can trigger it in any of several ways:

• Click Get Mail on the toolbar.

• Choose Mailbox→Get New Mail. (If you have several accounts, you can check only one of them by choosing from the Mailbox→Get New Mail In Account submenu.)

• Press Shift-

  

  -N.

• Wait. Mail comes set to check your email automatically every few minutes. To adjust its timing or turn it off completely, choose Mail→Preferences; choose a time interval from the “Check for new mail” pop-up menu.

Now Mail contacts the mail servers listed in the account list, retrieving new messages and downloading any files attached to those messages. It also sends any outgoing messages and their attachments.

Note

The Activity window gives you a Stop button, progress bars, and other useful information. Summon it by choosing Window→Show Activity Viewer, or by double-clicking the little rotating arrows that appear in the upper-right corner of the Mail window when the program is checking for new messages.

POP, IMAP, and Web-based Mail

When it comes to email, there are three primary flavors of servers (Internet computers that process email): POP (also known as POP3), IMAP (also known as IMAP4), and Web-based. Each has its own distinct feeling, with different strengths and weaknesses. (AOL mail could be considered a fourth kind, but Mail can’t talk to it.)

POP accounts ...