1. Background
    1.1 What is @Mail?
    1.2 Why was @Mail created?
    1.3 Why the name "@Mail"?
    1.4 How does @Mail compare to other email software?
    1.5 How thoroughly tested is @Mail?
    1.6 What are the future plans for @Mail?
    1.7 Whom do I contact for support?
    1.8 Is there any more information on @Mail?
    1.9 Where can I purchase @Mail?
    1.10 Who is develops @Mail?
    1.11 Can I get a demo version of @Mail?

2. General Technical Questions
    2.1 What Hardware does @Mail require?
    2.2 How much harddisk space do I require?
    2.3 What to do if I have problems getting @Mail Setup?
    2.4 How compatible is @Mail with my existing webserver setup?
    2.5 Is @Mail compatible with sendmail 8.9.3? Are there any compatibility issues?
    2.6 What does @Mail use to read emails?
    2.7 Does the software require cron or crontab?
    2.8 How do I submit a patch to the @Mail Group?
    2.9 May I include the @Mail software on a CD or other package I'm distributing?
    2.10 How do I get the most out of my @Mail server?

3. Installing @Mail
    3.1 What do I need for @Mail to run?
    3.2 Can you remotely install the software for me?
    3.3 Does @Mail run under windows platforms?
    3.4 What MTA does @Mail support?
    3.5 How to I configure sendmail?
    3.6 How to I configure my WebServer?

4. @Mail Feature Questions
    4.1 How do I setup Email to SMS gateways under @Mail?
    4.2 Advantages using an SQL database to store user emails
    4.3 Which languages are supported?
          Can it be modified to support another language?
    4.4 Can we use our own branding and remove '@Mail' in the script and pages?
    4.5How do I modify the user-interface of @Mail to suit the design of my website?
    4.6 Can I disable the frames
    4.7 What does the full site license include?
    4.8 Do we have to buy any plug-ins?
    4.9 Can we send Email messages to mobile phone?
    4.10 Does @Mail work with MTA's other then sendmail?
    4.11 Does @Mail run under Virtual Servers?
    4.12 Does @Mail support large user bases?

5. Configuration Questions
    5.1 How do I configure @Mail to host multiple domain-names for WebEmail?
    5.2 What is the error 'xxx not available for sendmail programs'?
    5.3 Can I use an external SMTP server to send Email?
    5.4 What browser should I use with @Mail?
    5.5 Why does @Mail send a cookie on every response?
    5.6 Does @Mail support SSL?

1. Background

    1.1 What is @Mail?

@Mail is the total WebEmail solution. Server driven, it allows users to read and compose Emails via a webbrowser or access Email accounts via POP3 or IMAP. Users have the ability to sign-up for a new account and have it activated instantly, on the administers selection of domains. Users can also access Email via the WAP protocol on Mobile phones or PDA's or have basis account information sent via SMS.

Written in 1998, the @Mail software has been completely rewritten by a growing international technical team, and now supports a new release based on client feedback every three months.

1.2 Why was @Mail created?

70% of all connections to the Internet are primarily to check eMail. Web or POP3/IMAP Email is an important aspect for ISP's, businesses, Educational institutions or website as a way to attract users or manage internal accounts. In 1998 we saw a lack of quality and customizable web Email programs, hence the creation of @Mail. Since then we have endeavored to offer a open source program that is based on client feedback and latest technologies.

1.3 Why the name "@Mail"?

The name was given by the team who developed the software; @Mail describes the nature of the software, and hey, it gets rated first in alphabetic search engines ;-)

1.4 How does @Mail compare to other email software?

@Mail is full source code allowing clients to modify features as required without expensive development costs. The interface of @Mail is constantly kept up-to-date with browser enhancements, to make one of the most attractive WebMail interfaces available.

1.5 How thoroughly tested is @Mail?

@Mail was first developed in the Summer of 1998. Since then @Mail is in use by many large ISP's, Governments and Corporations worldwide. Millions of people have active Email accounts which are hosted by the @Mail system, each day the userbase of the software grows. The software has been tested thoroughly by both developers and users.

The @Mail Group works closely with users of the software, we are always busy implementing new features and functionality to the software on our clients requests. When bugs do show up, we release patches and new versions as soon as they are available.

1.6 What are the future plans for @Mail?

To continue to be a full-source code product to keep up with advances in HTML/DHTML and web developments in general, to collect suggestions for fixes/improvements from its users, to respond to needs of large volume providers as well as occasional users.

To grow the @Mail user base to >10 million users who have a registered account with the system

1.7 Who do I contact for support?

Clients of @Mail receive technical support for the software by the original developers - The team is available via Email at info@CalaCode.com, and can be contacted via telephone or real-time chat on request.

Clients who have questions regarding installation and configuration should first consult the online documentation available at http://atmail.nl/docs/ before consulting the @Mail team via Email

1.8 Where is there any more information available on @Mail?

• See the main @Mail web site for a demonstration of the system
  
• Documentation is available at http://atmail.nl/docs/
  
• Product download/pricing information can be found at https://netbasedsoftware.com/atmail/

1.9 Where can I purchase @Mail?

You can find out how to download the source for @Mail at the Purchase Page.

1.10 Who develops @Mail?

CalaCode are the providers of the @Mail software. The company started off as 'CGIsupport' , with a head office in Sydney Australia. As the company grew, management changed hands and is now an international organization.

1.11 Can I have a demo version of @Mail?

Yes, you can download a fully functional version of @Mail for both Unix and Windows platforms at:

http://webbasedemail.com/eval.ehtml

An online demo is also available at:

http://atmail.nl/

2. General Technical Questions

2.1 Which Hardware do I require: CPU, harddisk, memory etc.

@Mail will run under any operation system that supports Perl 5 and that is configured with a webserver. We recommend that you use at least at Pentium II 500mhz+ with 64MB+ ram, and 6GB + harddrive to store emails.

If the option is available we recommend you use a Linux server configured with Mod-Perl for maximum performance .

2.2 How much harddrive space do I need?

That all depends on how much mail is stored by your clients. Because you have the power to adapt @Mail to your needs, you can restrict the size of user mailboxes. Therefore the space needed is flexible to suit your hard-drives capacity. The formula is as follows:

number of users x user quota = hard disk space required for @Mail

2.3 What can I do in case of problems

If you are having trouble with your @Mail server software, you should take the following steps:

Check your webservers errorlog.

@Mail tries to be helpful when it encounters a problem. In many cases, it will provide some details by writing one or messages to the webservers error log. Sometimes this is enough for you to diagnose and & fix the problem yourself (such as file permissions or the like). The default location of the error log is /usr/local/apache/logs/error_log, but see the ErrorLog directive in your webservers config files for the location on your server.

Check the FAQ.

The latest version of the @Mail Frequently-Asked Questions list can always be found at the main @Mail web site.

Email the developers of the software

A lot of common problems are addressed in the @Mail Online Documentation and FAQ - The developers are available via Email at info@calacode.com but we ask you to first consult the online documentation before contacting us as your question may already be answered.

2.4 How compatible is @Mail with my existing webserver setup?

@Mail attempts to offer all the features and configuration options under any HTTP WebServer.

The software is developed under the Apache WebServer and is our choice HTTP-Server for use with the software. Although, any Webserver that supports Perl can be used with @Mail, including IIS for Windows.

Any version of Sendmail will comply, however we recommend using the more recent versions for @Mail to run at its full potential. @Mail supports other Mail Transport Agents such as Exim, PostFix, and qMail.

2.7 What does @Mail use to read emails?

@Mail works using an SMTP agent to receive emails for your domainname. This allows @Mail to internally receive user emails, which can be stored in an SQL database server or flat text file for later retrieval. @Mail also has the ability to read external POP3 accounts on the Internet.

2.8 Does the software require Cron or Crontab?

@Mail does not require cron or crontab to run, although you can choose to run a cron job each day to purge inactive users or old email messages.

2.9 How do I submit a patch to the @Mail Group?

The @Mail Group encourages patches from outside developers. There are 2 main "types" of patches: small bugfixes and general improvements. Bugfixes should be submitting using the @Mail bug report page. Improvements, modifications, and additions should follow the instructions below.

To submit your patch, send Email to info@calacode.com with a Subject: line that starts with [PATCH] and includes a general description of the patch. In the body of the message, the patch should be clearly described and then included at the end of the message. If the patch-file is long, you can note a URL to the file instead of the file itself. Use of MIME enclosures/attachments should be avoided.

2.10 May I include the @Mail software on a CD or other package I'm distributing?

Yes, but first with written permission from CalaCode.com . If you would like to bundle a demo version of @Mail contact info@CalaCode.com

2.11 How do I get the most out of my @Mail Web server?

@Mail will run under any Operating System that supports Perl5 and is configured with a webserver. This includes popular OS's like Linux, Windows 2000/XP and all flavors of Unix. We recommend the WebEmail system to be setup under a Unix Operating system due to the performance and stability over Windows servers.

The webserver which runs the @Mail system should be optimized for the single purpose of hosting the WebEmail system, the webservers configuration files should be clean and compact without any unnecessary modules and configuration values defined.

For sites which host a great number of user accounts the system should be spread out over multiple machines. The @Mail system can be setup so all user-emails are stored on a central server which hosts the SQL database server, all incoming user emails and user configurations details are stored in the database server while incoming HTTP requests by users are handled by separate machines on the network.

3. Installing @Mail

3.1 What do I need for @Mail to run?

@Mail is written 100% in pure Perl. This allows you to run the application on any system which supports Perl. @Mail has been successfully installed under Linux, FreeBSD, Sun Solaris, Irix, LinuxPPC for Macintosh, Windows 2000/XP systems and MacOS-X.

Although for the correct operation of @Mail the system depends on a HTTP-WebServer and a SMTP mail-delivery agent.

We recommend running the @Mail service under a Unix machine with the Apache webserver and for the Email delivery we suggest you use the popular Exim daemon available at www.exim.org

3.1.1 What modules do I need for @Mail to run? And where do I get them?

@Mail requires 3rd party-modules for SQL database access, URL parsing, POP3 fetching & Misc modules for Date/Time manipulation. These modules are all included within the atmail/libs directory on your installation. No extra modules are required to install, if you have a up-to-date version of Perl running.

If @Mail reports an error that 'XXX module could not be loaded, @INC path is ...' you need to visit the CPAN website to download the modules missing on your system. Once you have download the required module from CPAN, simply uncompress the archive and:

perl Makefile.PL; make ; make test ; make install

This will make the module for your system and install it into the library path for Perl5

3.2 Can you remotely install the software for me?

For a small fee a member of the @Mail staff can remotely install the @Mail software on your server. Pre-configured and ready for use.

To request a remote-installation on your server visit the installation page at:

https://netbasedsoftware.com/install/

3.3 Does @Mail run under Windows Platforms?

Yes, @Mail has support for Windows Platforms. The @Mail system runs under Windows 2000 / XP . The installation of @Mail is very easy under Windows. The software comes pre-configured with all the components required to use @Mail

The following components come pre-configured with @Mail :

• Apache WebServer
• Exim SMTP Server (optional)
• mySQL Daemon (optional)
• @Mail POP3 Daemon

3.4 What MTA does @Mail support?

To setup @Mail as the email-server (to handle user accounts and email delivery) you must setup one of the following SMTP servers:

Sendmail (Unix, Windows) Exim (Unix, Windows) Postfix (Unix) qMail (Unix)

For more information on configuring the SMTP server consult the above links.

If you are just running @Mail as the WebMail interface for existing POP3/IMAP accounts, no MTA configuration is required.

3.5 How do I configure sendmail?

For @Mail to receive emails for accounts created on the system your Mail Transport Agent (MTA) needs to be configured to deliver all emails for the domainname to the @Mail saveemail.pl script in the base installation directory. Click here to read the Installation documentation on how to setup @Mail under Sendmail.

3.6 How do I configure my WebServer to execute @Mail?

@Mail requires your webserver to execute .pl files as CGI-scripts and to allow CGI scripts to be executed in the @Mail directory. To persuade Apache to execute scripts you must tell it how to recognize them - and also that it's okay to execute them. For this, you need to use something like the AddHandler directive in the Apache configuration.

In an appropriate section of your server configuration files, add a line such as



AddHandler cgi-script .pl

The server will then recognize that all files in that location (and its logical descendants) that end in ".pl" are script files, not documents.

Make sure that the directory location is covered by an Options declaration that includes the ExecCGI option.

For further information on how to setup the Webserver to execute @Mail read Step2 of the Installation Documentation

4. @Mail Feature Questions

4.1 How do I setup Email to SMS gateways under @Mail?

For more information on the SMS service of @Mail consult the SMS guide

4.2 Advantages using an SQL database to store user emails

Firstly, you should consider how large a userbase you want to support. If you wish to use @Mail to host a large number of active user-accounts it is highly recommended you use an SQL database server to store all incoming Email.

By using SQL @Mail can access user emails with ease and speed. The performance is dramatically increased and allows 'multi-serving' of the WebEmail service. The @Mail software can be setup on multiple machines which distribute the load of the system.

Recommended Setup for large sites
Use a Unix Server to host the core SQL database; using a fast/stable/free SQL database server like mySQL to store all incoming emails for user accounts. The machine should be setup for the task of maintaining the SQL database server, do not use the machine to run any other services. Setup 1+ Linux machines with a stripped-down kernel especially for the task of http-serving. Load @Mail onto the server and configure the software to communicate with the SQL database server to access user emails. @Mail allows you to distribute the load over multiple machines, insuring a reliable Email service for users.

4.3 Which languages can it support? Can it be modified to support another language?

@Mail has been translated into many languages, please Email us . @Mail has been designed on a multilingual template so that conversion to the language that best suits you is quite possible. Since the source-code and HTML files are separated, all that needs to be done is to translate the Language file. We are constantly looking for people to translate @Mail into other languages, and we welcome you to do this. In returns we will may give you a discount on the price of the @Mail you have purchased.

For more information about translating @Mail, please see our Translation Guide

4.4 Can we use our own branding and remove '@Mail' in the script and pages?

Using the WebAdmin utility in @Mail click the menu Configuraiton -> Branding . Here you can define the BrandName of your email-service, and remove all references to @Mail.

We appreciate if you can keep the

'@Mail by CalaCode.com'

On your login page.

4.5 How do I modify the user-interface of @Mail to suit the design of my website?

Since @Mail includes the Full Source-Code you can modify any element of the software to suite the design of your website, or clients project.

We have designed the system on the idea of HTML-templates. The entire user-interface of @Mail can be easily changed by modifying the content of the files located in atmail/html directory, or for quick interface customization, use the Branding feature in the @Mail Admin.

The @Mail system supports multiple languages based on a template system. Using one text file (e.g see http://atmail.nl/lang/languages/english/english.lang) the HTML interface is generated. We use this system to easily manage the languages, without having to modify every HTML page in @Mail for each language.

For more information on how to use the language templates consult the @Mail translation document.

4.6 Can I disable the frames?

@Mail currently includes 3 interfaces, depending on the users browser. We have created a 'Simple' interface that does not depend on frames.

4.7 What does the full site license include?

@Mail Corporate includes the full site license, you can configure the software to run with as many domain names as you like. However, the license is only valid for your own company use. If you are interested in reselling the @Mail program to your clients, you will need to purchase individual licenses. We offer an attractive reseller agreement.

4.8 Do we have to buy any plug-ins?

No, when you download @Mail you receive the entire package, as specified on our website. Depending on your @Mail license you are entitled to future versions, upgrades and patches when they are released.

4.9 Can we send Email messages to mobile phones.

@Mail supports the WAP protocol, allowing users to access email resources on a variety of mobile-phones.

To use the WAP interface of @Mail, point your mobile phone to:

http://atmail.nl/wap.pl

With the event of the new PocketPC's (A Microsoft O/S for handheld devices) you can use the @Mail software to access your mail.

4.10Does @Mail work with MTA's other then sendmail?

@Mail can operate under any MTA which can divert all incoming Email for a domainname to an external binary. We have successfully used Qmail and SMTPd under Unix to configure the @Mail service. Running under Windows Platforms users can choose to use Sendmail, configuration is the same as the Unix versions.

We recommend the use of EXIM under both UNIX and Windows

4.11 Does @Mail run under Virtual Servers?

Yes - Depending on the capabilities of your Virtual Server the configuration will vary. Please see the Virtual-Server installation guide for more information.

4.12 Does @Mail support large user bases?

@Mail heavily depends on the hardware of the server : When using @Mail for a user base over 50 000 we recommend using more than one server, For more information please see The Install Guide and the Large Userbase Information .

5. Configuration Questions

5.1 How do I configure @Mail to host multiple domain-names for WebEmail?

Via the webadmin control panel the administrator can configure extra domain-names for @Mail. For each domain you want @Mail to serve , you must configure your MTA (Mail Transport Agent) to deliver emails to the @Mail saveemail.pl script. Read the installation documentation for more information.

5.2 What is the error 'xxx not available for sendmail programs?'

The sendmail.cf file can be configured to use a feature called Secure Mail Shell ; the smrsh is the only program that prints the "xxx not available for sendmail programs" message. The SMRSH does not permit sendmail to divert Email to an external binary ; although you can allow sendmail to divert Email by making a symbolic link from the /etc/smrsh directory to the saveemail.pl script provided /etc/smrsh is really the directory that your version of smrsh uses, of course, otherwise replace with the proper one

Create a symbolic link from your smrsh directory to saveemail.pl

ln -s /www/atmaildir/saveemail.pl /etc/smrsh/saveemail.pl

This will permit sendmail to divert Email to the saveemail.pl file

If you still can't get it to work, my suggestion would be to not use smrsh at all - its major motivation is to protect against a long-gone bug in sendmail. Just build a new sendmail.cf from a .mc file that doesn't include FEATURE(smrsh) (i.e. it isn't the default to use this in any version of the standard sendmail config).

5.3 Can I use an external SMTP server to send Email?

@Mail can use any external SMTP server on the Internet to send Email via. You may choose to use an external SMTP server the relay all user-emails via; be sure that you have permissions to relay Email via the server first. By using the webadmin control panel you setup @Mail to use an external SMTP server, or modify the atmail.conf file by hand.

5.4 What browser should I use with @Mail?

Any browser which supports frames can use @Mail Although to use some of the advanced feature of @Mail we recommend you have a recent webbrowser such as IE5+ or Netscape 6 and above. Since @Mail uses Javascript and DHTML to spice up the user-interface it is required to use a recent browser to take advantage of these features.

5.5 Why does @Mail send a cookie on every request?

To keep track of user authentication @Mail uses cookies to save user login details. Since @Mail depends on cookies you must use a webbrowser which supports them ; be sure your browser is configured to accept cookies before using @Mail. On each request the browser sends a cookie which contains user-login information and a unique SessionID verifies user-login details.

5.6 Does @Mail support SSL?

Yes, using SSL with @Mail is highly recommended for security reasons. Since the web-server is the upper-layer, @Mail needs no extra modification to run in SSL mode. Simply setup an SSL WebServer (ApacheSSL is recommended) and move the atmail directory into the DocumentRoot of the SSL webserver. SSL @Mail is now enable