Apple Mail, Outlook and Thunderbird

You can read and send committee mail in Apple Mail, Outlook or Thunderbird, using a committee role address. This is optional. If the group is happy using Admin → Inbox on the website, leave it switched off.

This is the same work described in the 30 October 2026 release note.

What you need

A committee role with an email address on the group's domain
A site administrator to turn the setting on (once, for the whole site)
The mail app on your computer or phone

You still send newsletters and mail to the member list from the website composer. This setup is for day-to-day committee mail: Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Junk, Deleted, and any folders you already created on the website.

Turn it on (site administrator)

Open Admin → Mail Settings → API. Tick Allow External Mail Support, then save. Until that is done, mail apps cannot connect.

If you later need to stop every device at once, untick the same box and save.

Mail Settings → API: Allow External Mail Support. Off by default. Incoming mail uses IMAP port 993, outgoing mail uses SMTP port 465, both with SSL/TLS.

Set up your mail app

Only people who hold a committee role with an email address see this page. Open Profile → External Email Setup.

Choose your computer or phone, then the mail app you use.
Choose which committee address to use.
Type a short label you will recognise (Phone, Laptop) and choose Create application password. Copy it straight away. It is shown once and is not your website login password.
Follow the numbered steps on the page for your app. Use the clipboard icon in each box to copy the hostname, ports, username and password.
Open Inbox in the app and send a short test. Check that a copy appears in Sent on the website as well.

On a live site, incoming mail uses port 993 and outgoing mail uses port 465, both with SSL/TLS. Username is the committee role address. Password is the application password. Do not choose STARTTLS.

You can only send From a committee role address listed on that Profile page. Sending from a personal address is refused. Mail you send this way is saved in the shared committee inbox Sent folder so the rest of the committee can see it.

Profile → External Email Setup: choose Mac, Windows, iPhone or iPad, then the mail app, pick the committee address, create an application password, and copy the IMAP and SMTP settings.

Apple Mail on a Mac

On the setup page, choose Mac then Apple Mail on Mac. The steps on the page match Mail → Add Account → Other Mail Account.

Apple Mail on Mac: create an application password, add the account in Mail, then paste IMAP 993 and SMTP 465 with SSL/TLS.

Outlook on Windows

On the setup page, choose Windows then the Outlook version you use (new Outlook or classic). Choose IMAP if the app asks for the account type. Expand Show more or Advanced settings to enter the ports.

New Outlook on Windows: add the account as IMAP, paste the same hostname, ports 993 and 465, SSL/TLS, and the application password. Do not choose STARTTLS.

Thunderbird, iPhone and iPad

Choose Thunderbird or iPhone or iPad on the same page. The numbered steps change to match that app. The hostname, ports, username and application password stay the same.

Limits and folders

There is a limit of 20 people on one send, a 10 MB size limit, and 30 sends per hour. Incoming mail appears in Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Junk and Deleted, plus any folders you already created on the website. Marking something read or deleting it behaves the same as on the website.

If a phone or laptop is lost

Go back to Profile → External Email Setup and use the bin icon on that application password. That stops that device immediately. Create a new password when you set the app up again.