SFUWebmail Frequently Asked Questions

If you don't see your question here, e-mail us.

General

  1. What is SFUWebmail?
  2. Do I have to use WebMail?
  3. Can I use WebMail sometimes and another e-mail client, say Eudora, other times?

Starting and Quitting WebMail

  1. What if I close my browser without first using SFUWebmail's Logout Button?
  2. What happens if I leave my browser open and don't logout from SFUWebmail?
  3. I can’t login to WebMail

Using SFUWebmail

  1. How do I forward my mail or set a vacation notice?
  2. How can I change my password?
  3. Some older messages in my INBOX are gone. Why?
  4. How can I delete a postponed message?
  5. I only have a few messages, but I'm out of quota. Why?
  6. Why doesn’t deleting a message change the amount of Quota data reported as “in use”?
  7. How come “Delete Selected Messages” did not delete all the selected messages?
  8. How can I configure SFUWebmail to retrieve from my Hotmail/YahooMail/etc account?

What is SFUWebmail?

SFUWebmail is a full-featured web-based e-mail client that runs on a server managed by ACS. It's implemented using EmuMail's WebMail product. SFU has customized it to work best in our environment.

Do I have to use SFUWebmail?

No. WebMail is a convenient, easy to use tool for sending and reading e-mail but you can use any mail client that supports POP3 or IMAP to access your SFU campus mailbox.

Can I use SFUWebmail sometimes and another e-mail client, say Eudora, other times?

You can use other e-mail clients in addition to SFUWebmail but you will need to understand how each client treats mail left on the campus mailserver to avoid the "disappearing" mail syndrome. For a detailed description of SFUWebmail's INBOX operation, read the help section under Folders->Folder Types. The table below summarizes the difference between SFUWebmail and most other mail clients

Mailbox settingSFUWebmailOther Mail Clients
Keep Mail on POPserver Keep INBOX and Campus mailbox "synchronized". New messages in campus mailbox are added to the INBOX. Any message removed from the INBOX (via deleting or moving) is removed from the campus mailbox. Any message in the INBOX that isn't found in the campus mailbox is removed. Leave campus mailbox untouched. New messages are copied to the mail client's INBOX as they are discovered, but no messages are removed unless you've selected a "delete from server after..." option.
Keep Mail on Client New messages are copied to your SFUWebmail INBOX and are then deleted from your campus mailbox so that your campus mailbox is normally empty. New messages are copied to your Mail Client's INBOX and are then deleted from your campus mailbox so that your campus mailbox is normally empty.

Starting and Quitting WebMail

What if I close my browser without first using SFUWebMail's Logout Button?

If you use SFUWebmail from a public workstation, it would be possible for someone else to start up the browser and use the browser's "history" function to jump back to your SFUWebmail session before it expires, effectively becoming "you".

What happens if I leave my browser open and don’t logout from WebMail?

SFUWebmail includes a "session expiry timer" that automaticly ends a session after an extended period of time (about 3 hours). Unfortunately, if you use a public workstation, this is lots of time for someone else to come along and take over your session. You should always logout from SFUWebmail and quit your browser when using SFUWebmail from a public workstation.

I can’t login to SFUWebmail

Double-check your SFU Computing ID and password. Make sure that if you have an "@" sign in the "ID" field, that it says "popserver.sfu.ca" or the name of your POPserver. Do not use "@sfu.ca" - it won't work. Try logging into My.sfu.ca. If that fails as well, there's most likely a problem with your Computing ID or password. In either case, contact the SFU Computing Help Desk at 291-3230 for further assistance.

Using SFUWebmail

How do I forward my mail or set a vacation notice?

Everything to do with managing your SFU Computing account, including setting up forwarding, setting a vacation notice, changing your password, or managing the SFU mailing lists that you subscribe to, can be done from the SFU account management page

Some older messages from my INBOX are gone. Why?

SFU's mailserver automaticly removes messages older than 45 days from campus mailboxes. This is ONLY done on your "INBOX" and is done to conserve space and maintain performance levels. Your INBOX should be considered temporary storage - messages that you want to keep should be moved to other folders, printed, or saved on your local hard disk. This and other information regarding your SFU e-mail account is covered in the SFU e-mail Guide

How can I delete a postponed message?

Postponed messages are stored as files in your EMUfiles storage area. You can delete them from the Options page, near the bottom of the screen.

I only have a few messages, but I'm out of quota. Why?

The default mailbox quota is 15MB. Everything in your mailboxes on the SFUWebmail server, including attachments and saved outgoing messages count towards that quota. If you have a few messages in your inbox with large attachments, or a lot of mail in your "Sent-mail" folders you can be over quota. To lower your disk usage, you can delete your oldest "sent-mail" folders and delete any large messages you don't want.

Why doesn’t deleting a message change the amount of Quota data reported as “in use”?

Deleting a message moves a message from the current folder to the “Trash” folder. To remove a message from the WebMail server you must delete it from the “Trash” folder. When you delete a message from the “Trash”, you will notice a decrease in your Quota “in use”.

How come “Delete Selected Messages” did not delete all the selected messages?

Only the messages selected on the current screen, that is, the screen you are viewing when you “click” the “Delete Selected Messages” button, will be deleted. Messages “selected” on previous pages are “unselected” when you navigate to the next page.

How can I configure WebMail to retrieve from my RoadRunner/Hotmail/YahooMail account?

You can link to mailboxes outside of SFU as long as the mailbox provider supports either the POP3 or IMAP protocol to access mailboxes. Virtually all ISPs do. Some e-mail-only providers do.

You can access these mailboxes using SFUWebmail's External Folder feature, which allows you to link a folder to an external mailbox. See the Folders help section for details on how to set this up.