1. Ability Mail Server
  2. Support
  3. Using the Interface

Using the Interface

This page describes in detail how to take full advantage of the explorer style settings interface. Because Ability Mail Server contains many features, it may take several minutes to learn where particular settings are located. This tutorial will enable you to quickly learn how to use the interface and help you understand where particular settings can be found.

Admin Interface and Status #

The admin interface offers an informative and easy to use facility which allows you to view the current status of the mail server as well as giving quick access to all areas of the mail server. For more information, please view the Admin Interface and Status page.

Setup Wizards #

The setup wizards allow you to set up various parts of the mail server quickly and easily, hiding many of the more complex options. To make it even easier, most of the options are explained in detail in the wizards to help understanding. For more information, please view the Setup Wizards page.

Explorer Style Settings Access #

The accounts area of the tree is organized into 5 sections. The three most important sections are Domains, Groups and Users. To create the first email account (user), you need to first create a domain. Once a domain is created, you can then select the Users section and then add users to that domain. The email address of the users is calculated from the domain name and users name (i.e. the user 'bob' in the image on the right would have an email address of 'bob@yourdomain.com').

Multiple Domains #

If you have more than one domain created, you can edit the users of both through the Users section. By default, the Users section will only display users on the first domain. However, you can change which users are displayed by clicking on the Users item in the tree and then selecting the appropriate domain from the drop down box. This method allows you to quickly and easily work with several domains.

Right Click Pop-up Menus #

With almost every item in the Settings dialog, you can right click on it and view a list of options. This applies to items in the tree as well as entries in list boxes. This facility enables you to quickly create new items, re-arranged ordered items and delete unwanted items.

Using List Boxes #

Often any item in the tree that can be deleted (such as a domain, user or Mailing List) can be also manipulated using a list box on the parent item as well as using a right click menu on the tree. However, the list box has the extra advantage of multiple items being selected at the same time, allowing you to quickly delete or move many items at once.

Navigating the Settings #

All the settings in Ability Mail Server are organized in a way to help reduce the need to search for particular settings. There are five distinct areas in the settings interface: General, Services, Filters, Accounts and miscellaneous. General deals with important overall settings such as security, account storage location and NT service control. Services deals with individual services such as SMTP and POP3. Filters deals with SPAM Filtering, Content Filtering and Antivirus Filtering. Accounts deals with the management of Domains, Groups, Users, Mailing Lists and Shared Address Books. Miscellaneous deals with all remaining options which do not really fit into the other areas. This includes options for controlling the SSL Certificates, Logging, Messages, Tools and License settings. Below is a list of what each tree item represents and what options can found within:-

  • General - Provides access to options such as primary domain, admin email, IP binding, overall mail and account size limits, admin login control, NT service control, general security and ODBC.
  • Services - This is the branch which contains all the available services. Simply expand this branch and select the appropriate service.
  • SMTP - This controls the SMTP service which is responsible for receiving incoming mail, as well as relaying outbound mail. This area provides access to options such as ports, IP binding, SSL, IP restrictions, relaying access control and security.
  • POP3 - This controls the POP3 service which is responsible for allowing mail clients access to mail stored in an account's Inbox. This area provides access to options such as ports, IP binding, SSL and IP restrictions.
  • IMAP4 - This controls the IMAP4 service which is responsible for allowing mail clients access to accounts directories and mail. This area provides access to options such as ports, IP binding, SSL and IP restrictions.
  • WebMail - This controls the WebMail service which is responsible for allowing users to access their accounts through a web browser. This area provides access to options such as ports, IP binding, SSL, IP restrictions, general WebMail behavior, templates, automatic sign-ups and user account options.
  • LDAP - This controls the LDAP service which is responsible for allowing mail clients and other mail software to request information from the mail server relating to local accounts. This area provides access to options such as ports, IP binding, SSL, IP restrictions and LDAP databases.
  • Remote Admin - This controls the Remote Admin service which is responsible for allowing remote administration of the mail server through a web browser. This area provides access to options such as ports, IP binding, SSL and IP restrictions.
  • Outgoing Mail - This controls the Outgoing Mail service which is responsible for delivering any outbound mail to external mail servers. This area provides access to options such as delivery method, queue limits, queue resetting and static routes.
  • POP3 Retrievals - This controls the POP3 Retrievals service which is responsible for connecting to external mail servers and downloading the contents of external accounts. This area provides access to options such as security, queue limits and pre-configured automatic retrievals.
  • Filters - This is the branch which contains all the filter systems. Simply expand this branch and select the appropriate system.
  • SPAM Filtering - This controls the SPAM Filtering system which works at the SMTP level. This area provides access to Real-time Black Lists, Bayesian Filtering, Grey Listing and much more.
  • Content Filtering - This controls the Content Filtering system which is responsible for filtering all mails coming into the mail server based on rules set up by the administrator. This area provides access to those rules which in turn allow simple or complex conditions to be created which if triggered can perform various actions.
  • Antivirus Filtering - This controls the Antivirus Filtering system which is responsible for scanning mail traffic for viruses. This service supports most antivirus products and this area provides access to options which allow you to configure the service to work with your product. If a virus is found, there are various actions that can be performed.
  • Domains - This area allows you to create, edit, delete and view domains.
  • Groups - This area allows you to create, edit, delete and view groups. Groups enable you to control certain aspects of the associated users, which includes access restrictions, account allocation limits and address book sharing.
  • Users - This area allows you to create, edit, move, delete and view users. Each entry created in this section represents an email account which has an email address in the form user@domain.
  • Mailing Lists - This area allows you to create, edit, move, delete and view Mailing Lists.
  • Shared Address Books - This area allows you to create, edit, delete and view Shared Address Books. Shared Address Books are intended to be used by WebMail and LDAP, which allow you to quickly and easily control shared contact information.
  • SSL Certificates - This area allows you to create, delete and view SSL certificates. To enable SSL in any service, you need to firstly create or import an SSL certificate using these options.
  • Logging - This area allows you to control how much or how little information is logged. Options include individual control of logging levels for each service, auto-deletion and log sizes.
  • Messages - This area allows you to modify the default messages used in various parts of the mail server. Messages that are editable include the Outgoing Mail failure mail, account full failure mail, WebMail welcome mail and default auto-response.
  • Tools - This area allows you to use various tools such as MX Lookup, diagnostics, backup importing and exporting and setup wizards.
  • License - This area allows you to modify your installed license key.

See Also: Admin Interface and Status, Setup Wizards.