Zimbra is a popular, open-source, fully-featured email/calendar/task-management system that was recently implemented as a major upgrade for all Whitman staff and, starting this spring, for Whitman faculty as well (except for faculty who opt to use WhitMail instead). The Zimbra email system and all its accounts and files we can host on-campus, on Whitman-owned servers. Zimbra provides email service along with other features like a calendar (private calendar, and/or shared, group (office/department) calendaring and scheduling functions, and even task management capabilities.
We have switched to Zimbra for many reasons and after testing and comparing it to other available alternatives on factors such as usefulness, ease of use, the degree to which its features and capabilities address the many needs of the Whitman community. In the case of faculty, the final determination was made by the Committee of Division Chairs after considering the available options.*
(*with the provision that faculty wishing to use Google Gmail/WhitMail could opt for that as an alternative if they wish)
Currently all staff have Zimbra Mail. We hope to have the the faculty upgrade completed by moved to Zimbra by the beginning of Fall 2010. The tentative faculty upgrade schedule (because it may change to address faculty needs) is here.
You can always call the WCTS Helpdesk x4976 or email us at helpdesk@whitman.edu.
Zimbra offers more features, like a calendar and task function to help coordinate schedules and plan meetings etc. You can also search through your emails using keywords. Zimbra can also be organized by tags and conversations, similar to Gmail's method of organizing.
Yes, definitely yes. You can follow our quick Update Your Settings Instructions if you have already been using one of these programs for email. If you want to set up for the first time, follow the set-up guides at Mozilla Thunderbird for PC or for Mac.
The search feature is an incredibly useful feature to help you quickly find emails. Zimbra has put together a Search Guide to help you make the most of it.
Filters can be very useful in organizing your email by automatically tagging incoming email or delivering them into folders. Zimbra's Filter guide can help you set up your folders effectively
To use Zimbra's auto-reply feature, you can follow their Vacation Message Guide.
If you have a large amount of email messages that you would like to keep, we have instructions for Transferring Email to Gmail that will require you to also set up a Gmail account. If you only have a handful of emails you'd like to keep and you do not have a Gmail account, it would be easiest to manually forward those emails. Meanwhile you can forward incoming mail to your new address through Zimbra's Forwarding Guide.
To keep your Whitman password synced with other Whitman accounts you can visit the Online Password Changer to securely change your password.
You may be going to File -> Print which won't scale the message properly. You'll want to go to Zimbra's Printing Guide for tips on printing it properly.
Not necessarily. Clicking the 'Get Mail' button asks Zimbra to look for new mail immediately. Zimbra searches for any incoming mail every five minutes or so. If you want to change this setting, go to Preferences -> Mail to change how often Zimbra checks for mail.
Zimbra's calendar is incredibly flexible. Basic calendar functions are quite simple and straightforward, but it also has a number of powerful and advanced features as well. The best place to get acquainted with this tool is to see Zimbra's Calendar Guide.
Absolutely not! You can set a calendar event to be "reccuring", which will tell the system to automatically repeat it for you. See Zimbra's Recurring Appointments Guide for more.
Yes. When you're adding an appointment to your calendar, click on the click the more details button. Then, fill in the "Attendees" field. Zimbra's Appointment Guide will show you how to do this.
You can indeed. Zimbra's Calendar Sharing Guide will walk you through setting this up.
Either view the message in a desktop client like Thunderbird or use the “standard version” of Zimbra at http://zimbra.whitman.edu/zimbra/h. If you're already logged into Zimbra, you can switch back and forth between the "standard" and "advanced" versions using the small link above Zimbra's help-button in the top-right corner.
Use a desktop client such as Thunderbird. The Import/Export tab in Preferences also has some options for exporting mail, but does not delete messages after exporting.
If you switch between calendar views and then try to go to a different time period using the arrows in the top right you calendar items may disappear. If your items have disappeared, use your web browser’s Refresh button to reload Zimbra. Your items will be displayed again. Also, if you can, try to stay in one calendar view to avoid triggering this bug.
Click the Refresh button in the calendar toolbar to get the latest changes.
If you can't find your question above, you can also look at Zimbra's Help Page or contact the WCTS Helpdesk x4976, helpdesk@whitman.edu
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