Webmail (SquirrelMail) FAQs

Why does the webmail login page default to the 'Student' server'?

We could have chosen to have no default selection, but that would have annoyed everyone. Silkymail defaults to the 'Staff' server, so we thought we would make a change and choose the Student one. Also, there are more students than staff.

You can get SquirrelMail to remember your preferred server. To do this tick the 'Remember login server' checkbox. Note: You will need to have cookies enabled for this to work.

Why do I get a certificate warning?

If you are using a University computer, installed by IT support staff, then you should not be experiencing this warning message.

If you are using your own home computer, or an non-standard work computer, then it is likely that you are getting this warning because your computer does not recognise the University as a trusted certificate signing authority (it's not one of the commercial signers that come with a default install).

To configure your computer to recognise the University Certification Authority please follow the instructions on the 'Installing the University's server certificate' web page. This should then prevent the warning messages from reoccurring.

Why does it report 'Mailbox does not exist' when I login?

This is probably because you selected the wrong Mailstore on the login page. The default mailstore is 'Student' because they are more likely to be using public access computers, rather than their own. Staff are more likely to be using their own desktop, laptop or home computer. If you are a member of staff please ensure that you select the 'Staff' mailstore before logging in. You can remember this choice for the computer you are using (at that time) by ticking the 'Remember Mailstore' checkbox.

Why can't I login? I know my password is correct!

This may be because your web browser has a corrupt cookie. If this is the problem, then clearing all the cookies for the 'webmail.bris.ac.uk' site from your browser will fix it. If you are not sure how to do that then close and reopen your browser.

How do I change the colours and look of SquirrelMail?

You can change the colour themes that SquirrelMail uses by selecting a different 'Theme':

Click the 'Options' link, at top of page.
Click the 'Display Preferences' link.
Select your desired theme from the 'Theme' drop-down list.
Click 'Submit' button to save your preference.

How do I change the size of the text?

You can if you are using the Firefox browser, but you cannot do so in Internet Explorer. In Firefox, use 'View->Text Size->Increase' from the pull-down menus, or type 'Ctrl +' (press the Ctrl key and the '+' key simultaneously) or 'Ctrl -'.

How do I change the width of the left-hand sidebar?

You can drag the dividing border with the mouse. To do this move the mouse pointer to above the dividing line and once the pointer changes to the left/right icon, click and drag to the size you wish.

If you wish to change the width permanently, you will find the setting under Options - Folder Preferences - Width of Folder List.

Why aren't all my mailbox folders listed?

SquirrelMail will only display the folders you are 'subscribed' to. This may not be every folder in your mailbox.

To add folders to your 'subscribed' list:

Click 'Folders' link, at top of the page.
Scroll down to the 'Unsubscribe/Subscribe' section.
From the right-hand list, select the folders you require.
Click the 'Subscribe' button.

To remove folders from your 'subscribed' list:

From the left-hand list, select the folders you require.
Click the 'Unsubscribe' button.

Why do the names of recipients not appear in the list for my 'Sent Items' folder?

This is because you have not told Squirrelmail which is your folder for storing sent mail.

Go to the 'Options' and select 'Folder Preferences'. In the Special Folder Options, set the name of your 'Sent Folder'. This will probably be something like 'INBOX.Sent Items'. Now click on the 'Submit' button.

How do I save a copy of email I send?

If you want to save a copy of email you send, you need to configure SquirrelMail to do so.

Click 'Options' link, at top of the page.
Click 'Folder Preferences' link.
Use the 'Sent Folder' setting to set your preference.
Click the 'Submit' button, at the bottom right of page, to save your preferences.

What has happened to the message I just deleted?

If you delete a message then, by default, SquirrelMail throws it away immediately.

If you wish, you can set up a 'Trash' folder to receive deleted messages

Create a 'Trash' folder
Click 'Options' link, at top of the page.
Click 'Folder Preferences' link.
Use the 'Trash Folder' setting to set your preference.
Click the 'Submit' button, at the bottom right of page, to save your preferences.

Why have my deleted (but not expunged) messages disappeared in Mulberry?

If you delete a message in Mulberry (so it has a red line through it), and then use SquirrelMail, the message will be removed completely from your mailbox, just as if you had expunged it. So it is important to be careful about marking messages for deletion.

Why does my new mail notification not work?

There are several different settings that affect the behaviour of the new mail notification facility. These can all be found via the 'Options' page within SquirrelMail.

The option settings are as follows:

Options > Display Preferences > Enable Mail Delivery Notification
Options > Folder Preferences > Auto Refresh Folder List
Options > NewMail Options > {all 5 options}

To enable notification the 'Enable Mail Delivery Notification' setting must be turned on.

The frequency of notifications is controlled by the 'Auto Refresh Folder List' setting.

You can be notified by a pop-up, a change in the browser title bar text, or by an audio alert. These choices can be made on the 'NewMail Options' page.

Please note: If you are accessing your email via another mail client at the same time the other client may be automatically marking the messages that you have viewed as read. This will cause any other mail client, including webmail, to treat them as not new and therefore not generate new mail notifications.

Please note: You will need to have JavaScript enabled in your web browser settings and any pop-up or ad-blocking functions need to be disabled for the site (or the entire University domain, 'bris.ac.uk' and 'bristol.ac.uk').

It says I'm over quota, but I can't delete messages

By default Squirrelmail is set to move 'deleted' messages to your Trash folder, which are then deleted when you exit Squirrelmail. You cannot do this when you are over quota and need to disable the Trash folder.

To disable the Trash folder select:

Options > Folder Preferences
Set 'Trash folder' to [Do not use Trash]
Submit

You can re-enable the Trash folder when you have finished deleting your emails.

How do I manage my existing personal address books?

Click on the 'Addresses' icon at the top of the page. You will have access to your address books, and there is a personal address book available in the webmail application. You may wish to add entries to this personal address book, but please bear in mind that this particular book is only available within SquirrelMail.

Please note: Do not use this button to select email addresses when composing an email as it retrieves all of your addresses, which can take some time. Please use the "addresses" button on the 'compose' page which will allow you to search for addresses. This is a much quicker way to select addresses.

Why cannot I see all my address book entries?

SquirrelMail requires that address book entries have a nickname. This is because it uses the nickname as a unique identifier for the entry so it must be set to something. The consequence is that if you have set entries from Mulberry, or some other email application, which do not have a nickname set then you will not be able to use them in SquirrelMail.

The solution is to use Mulberry, or other email application, to add nicknames to the relevant entries.

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