-=PCTechTalk=- POP3 vs. IMAP
- From: Gman <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:25:53 -0400
Sandi,
POP3 and IMAP differer in both how they work behind the scenes as well
as how they appear within your email client of choice.
POP3 allows you to request a download of your email messages from the
server to your email client. Although you can set up your client to repeat
this process at set intervals (most clients do this automatically) or to
manually download your messages at any time, each request is handled
separately and no further client-server communication is necessary for those
messages already downloaded. By default, all clients will then send a
signal to the server telling it to delete any messages that have been
received by the client, but this can be changed within the client's options
area. So basically, POP3 grabs up your email from the server and then the
server is cleared when it's done. Note that Gmail's Spam folder and its
contents are not included in these POP3 downloads.
IMAP, on the other hand, establishes a constant connection between the
email client and the server. Whe you fire up your email client, it
immediately tries to let the server know that it's active and ready. The
two of them then begin a process of 'comparing notes' to see what changes
have been made to both since the last time they were connected. If there
are any "new" messages on the server, those will be sent to the client. If
there are any "old" messages that are now missing on the client (those you
deleted), they will also be wiped from the server's collection. If you
create a new folder within your client and move some messages to it, those
changes will also be duplicated on the server. If you go into the online
webmail interface (instead of your client) and make those changes, they'll
also show up within your email client the next time you "Syncronize" your
client with the server. So, by using IMAP, you're able to see and
manipulate everything that is sitting on the email server while still using
your own favorite email client (and vice versa). Note that I'm not sure
whether or not Gmail's Spam folder and its contents are included since I
only use POP3 for my Gmail accounts and have not tried their IMAP offering.
Peace,
Gman
"The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandi Beach" <sandib2@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 11:58 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Sandi's port settings
> Lil, I printed off your instructions and then went looking to see what I
> had
> done. I had instructed gmail be forwarded to my dialup address so once I
> don't have that, it won't work any more. I do have IMAP enabled.
> So, I guess it is a good thing I copied off your instructions in order to
> get all gmail accounts to come into Outlook Express once I am disconnected
> from dialup.
> Thank you so very much.
> Sandi
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