Getting Started with IMAP

Use IMAP to connect to email accounts like Yahoo! or email servers that don't support any other connector. This should be used as a last resort.

The IMAP connector can only access email. It can't access your calendar or contacts.

To get started

1. Go to Settings -> Data Sources and click "Add" on the IMAP connector.
2. Put your username and password in and click Auto Discover.
3. You should see a screen to configure your mailbox settings. You can just continue from here.
4. Click "Save"
5. Go to the Dashboard to see the email processing progress. You will get an email when processing completes.

Advanced Setup

If SigParser can't auto discover your IMAP settings, you can click "Advanced Setup" to configure the server settings manually.

1. Select "IMAP" for connection type
2. Fill in email address and password
3. Set the mailbox server paths to your provider. See email providers below.
4. Click "Test Settings and Save". It will attempt to connect to your email server and validate connectivity.

If you still can't get it to connect, contact our support team.

When to use IMAP vs Exchange/Outlook/Google

IMAP should generally be used when nothing else can connect.

Google vs IMAP

You should never use IMAP if you use Google or Gmail for your email. SigParser has a great Google connector that handles updating and creating contacts, syncs the calendar in addition to email. You can connect this with OAuth.

With the Google connector SigParser doesn't need your username and password. Using the Google connector will thus be more secure.

Exchange vs IMAP

If possible you should try using Exchange since SigParser can get email, meetings and contacts. But sometimes it is difficult to get the settings for an Exchange server if the DNS wasn't setup for auto discovery. So providers like Rackspace offer IMAP as an alternative.

Both Exchange and IMAP require the username and password when setting up.

Office 365 vs IMAP

Office365 is better than IMAP since SigParser can get email, meetings and contacts. It also uses OAuth which means SigParser has a lot less permissions than just using straight IMAP and SigParser never gets your email password.

Email Providers

Here are helpful links for email settings for some of the most common providers:

• Yahoo!
• Rackspace
• Hotmail
• Gmail - Don't use IMAP. Use the Google connector.