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Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

Spruance
Grafter
Posts: 173
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Registered: ‎03-02-2008

Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

Despite getting a (wifi only) iPad last summer I have steadfastly stuck with my PC as the only email enabled device in the house but I have begun to appreciate how much more convenient it would be to also be able to access and indeed send emails from the iPad too. 

What has always put me off this multiple device concept is the notion of losing emails between devices. Hence I would still like to be able to download all of my emails (and then save to file any that I need to) to my PC whilst also having the option to view a copy of the emails on my iPad and maybe a smart phone as well in the event that I finally get myself such a device.

 

On balance I suppose it comes down to instructing the Plusnet email server to retain a copy of my emails to enable time for all devices to have the option of downloading all of the emails unless of course the server can somehow recognise the difference between Windows PC and Apple iPad?

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MrSilver
Pro
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Registered: ‎05-10-2016

Re: Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

If you use IMAP connection you will have offline copies on both PC and Ipad, and if you delete on either then it then deletes on the server.

You can on the PC have an offline folder (on most mail readers) and you can move / copy mail across for the ones you still want to keep too.

 

There were some good email client guides on the help section a while ago.

MKSlinky
Seasoned Pro
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Re: Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

Mr Silver,

if you delete on either then it then deletes on the server

 

This is very useful information, I hunted for this answer for many days on the web and yet despite the many articles about IMAP folders not one person seemed to mention this. Thanks Wink

decomplexity
Rising Star
Posts: 493
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Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

Not so with IMAP...

If you delete an email in a PC-based or smartphone/tablet based client, it is marked as deleted and will (depending on how the client is set up) disappear from that device. It will still be visible to another device but marked as deleted; some clients such as Outlook can show it with a strike-through line. And it will still be available on the server (and hence to webmail).

To remove it from the server, the client has to issue a Purge command (called EXPUNGE in IMAPese). Purging a folder permanently removes every email there marked as deleted. Phone and tablet clients often don't offer a Purge command.

Zen from May 17. PN Business account from 2004 - 2017
MKSlinky
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 866
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Registered: ‎26-01-2016

Re: Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

@decomplexity

Thanks for the input, I always value advice such as this and especially being new to the workings of IMAP. I think I've done something right, the way I have it working in Windows Mail is that if I send a message to the 'Deleted Items' folder it stays there and on the server until I empty the deleted items folder. 

 

I wonder if you could explain expunging in more detail please? It's a term I came across the other day but as yet I don't understand how I would go about doing this. Huh

 

MrSilver
Pro
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Registered: ‎05-10-2016

Re: Accessing the same email account from more than one device.

Is it really most phones and tablets don't? I know if I delete on my iPhone/iPad the two stay in sync and when I load up outlook it only sees the same, with the out the box settings as far as I am aware.