Short Nerd Chief

When Gmail announced free IMAP access for all, users rejoiced.  But then we tried to use it, and Windows Mobile users said Boo! Now Gmail says they have fixed IMAP for Windows Mobile users, so we can rejoice again.  Google has updated the configuration instructions for WM6.  These instructions are incomplete, however, so here is an illustrated guide to setting up IMAP.

Step 1

From the main messaging screen, select New Email Account…

Step 2

Fill in your Gmail address, and uncheck the box labeled Try to get e-mail settings automatically from the Internet.  We’ll be setting this up manually. Click Next.

Step 3

Your name will probably be filled in for you, if you have defined your Owner Name under Settings.  If not, type it in.   The default Account display name will be gmail.com, so change it if you want to.  Click Next.

Step 4

Type imap.gmail.com in the Incoming mail server box and change the Account type from POP3 to IMAP 4.  Click Next.

Step 5

Your User name should be your full Gmail address, including the @gmail.com part.  Type in your password and click the box to Save password. If you’re really worried about security, you can leave this unchecked, but you’ll have to supply the password every time.  Click Next.

Step 6

Fill in smtp.gmail.com as the Outgoing mail server and check the box for Outgoing server requires authentication.  We’ll need to tell WM to use https for transferring data, so click Advanced Server Settings.

Step 7

On the Advanced Server Settings screen, check both of the boxes to require SSL for both incoming and outgoing mail.  Leave the Network connection as The Internet. Click Done. You’ll be taken back to the SMTP screen, so click Next.

Step 8

Choose how often to send and receive. I’ve selected every 15 minutes, but choose your own poison.  WM will default to downloading 3 days worth of mail; if you want more or less, click Review all download settings.  This is also where you can tell it to download more of each message body or to automatically download attachments.  I think the defaults there are fine. Now click Finish and your email from the Gmail inbox will be downloaded to your phone. But you’re not really done.

Step 9

By default, WM will only sync your Inbox with the Gmail server. This is fine for some, but not for me. I have a number of rules defined to move messages from the Inbox to All Mail and assign a label.  This has the effect of putting the messages into folders. These messages will not be downloaded.  In addition, Gmail IMAP makes each label a folder, so if you move a message from the Inbox to the “Get Rich” folder, it will assign a Get Rich label.  However, WM will not by default sync these folders with Gmail. So lets change the sync settings. Click Menu > Folders.

Step 10

Now you see some folders, but only the ones set to sync. Click Menu > Show All Folders to see them all.

Here are all the folders.  Gmail has created some special folders, which appear under [Gmail] and [Imap]. The other folders are your labels.  To change the sync relationship, we need to Manage Folders.

Step 11

Click Menu > Manage Folders.  You’ll get a list of all your folders, which you can assign to Sync.

Step 12

For each folder you want to sync (or not sync), highlight the folder and click the right soft key.  This will be labeled Sync or Don’t Sync, as the case may be.  Folders set to sync will now have a little ActiveSync icon.  When you’re finished, click Done.

Final Step

To download the messages in the other folders, either wait until the next automatic sync, or click Menu > Send/Receive.  You can access the folders by choosing Menu > Folders.

Voila! An HTML message with an actual message body.  Most pictures will be automatically blocked, just like in Outlook, so click Show Internet Pictures to see them.  Also, clicking the directional button left or right will take you to the previous or next message, respectively. To scroll, you need to click Click to scroll right.

Final thoughts:

• The way the sync works, you will be unable by default to assign a star to a message, mark a message as Spam, or permanently delete it.  To do this, set the Starred, Spam and Trash folders under [Gmail] to sync, and move a message to the appropriate folder. This will, however, also automatically download messages from those folders, including Spam.  There is no way to tell WM to sync in only one direction, as there is in other mail clients like FlexMail.
• Deleting a message has the effect of removing its label, which means it will stay on the server in All Mail. To really delete it, you have to move it to the Trash. This is true in all IMAP clients, and has to do with how Gmail maps the Deleted Items folder.
• If you want to be able to access messages that exist only in All Mail, you can sync the {Gmail] - All Mail folder. This will, however, have the effect of downloading every message twice, as messages with labels will go both in their own folder and in All Mail.

The bottom line is Gmail IMAP now works.  FlexMail remains superior in some ways, particularly the ability to map one-way message downloading and uploading and to clear messages on the phone without doing anything on the Gmail server.  But WM IMAP is free, and FlexMail is $30, so decide for yourself whether it is worth it.