Mac Email Client

mikev99 · 11 Oct 2018, 12:39 AM

Any recommendations for an email client for the Mac desktop/laptop that has the same functionality as the Fastmail client on an iPad/iphone that is separate from the Mac Mail app?

Thanks

misc · 11 Oct 2018, 03:25 PM

Hi mikev99

Well, this depends on what you mean by “same functionality”, but I’ve tried Airmail and Postbox so far. Both of them look pretty, but both of them have their oddities you won’t might like.

Airmail creates some imap folders on your mail server which are used for its features like snoozing, to-do, etc. Those might be disturbing when you access your mails by the web or other imap clients. Besides this I’ve heard that it runs into trouble when you have a really large amount of emails, but this I can’t confirm.

Postbox some kind of needs getting used to, but it runs quite reliable also with a big number of mails. But there are some little glitches with the interface, e.g. sometimes the contacts suggestion list simply won’t pop up when typing something in the address field.

Well, and of course you can give the free and open-source Thunderbird a try.

Cheers,
Michael

[EDIT] P.S. For my FastMail account, I definitely prefer the FastMail web client.

xyzzy · 11 Oct 2018, 04:05 PM

I use Thunderbird. No complaints. But then I'm retired and don't get that much email either.

Isn't postbox a derivative of thunderbird?

mikev99 · 12 Oct 2018, 02:55 AM

Thanks all.

I forgot to mention that I use Thunderbird with a different provider and wanted a client that only connected to Fastmail. I have tried figuring out a way to have two different profiles defined for Thunderbird, but have not been able to do it. May just use Fastmail web client since it is very much like the Fastmail on my iPad and iPhone.

Regards,

Mike

xyzzy · 12 Oct 2018, 05:15 AM

Of course you can do it. What good is a email client where it doesn't support allowing multiple email accounts? I have a number of email accounts set up in TB, both POP and IMAP.

One way to do it is in the Tools menu click Account Settings. From there you can add another account.

mikev99 · 12 Oct 2018, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xyzzy

Of course you can do it. What good is a email client where it doesn't support allowing multiple email accounts? I have a number of email accounts set up in TB, both POP and IMAP.

One way to do it is in the Tools menu click Account Settings. From there you can add another account.

Actually, I figured out how to do it using the profile manager which is sort of a hidden feature, However, I then had to add the Lightening and CardBook extensions to get them to link with Fastmail. Also, one can have only one profile active at a time which is not that big an issue except profile switching is not possible within TB - one has to quit and restart. Finally decided the web client is not all that bad.

xyzzy · 12 Oct 2018, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikev99

Also, one can have only one profile active at a time which is not that big an issue except profile switching is not possible within TB - one has to quit and restart.

Using a distinct profile for each account is not the way to use TB since, as I said previously TB supports any number of profiles and they are straight forward to create.

FWIW, using the profile manager you can have multiple instances of TB (or FF) running at the same time. I sometimes do this with FF when trying to chase down a misbehaving addon or comparing a clean profile with my current profile for one reason or another. Never had the occasion/need to do it with TB though.

mikev99 · 13 Oct 2018, 12:06 AM

Do you know of anyway to set up a symbolic link with a switch that tells TB which profile to open?

xyzzy · 13 Oct 2018, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikev99

Do you know of anyway to set up a symbolic link with a switch that tells TB which profile to open?

As I keep saying, using separate profiles for each account is not the way to use TB.

If you insist on using different profiles then you should use the TB profile manager. Like FF, while all profiles are distinct from one another, they are all kept grouped in a single folder indexed by a file that the profile manager accesses (profiles.ini) in order to properly launch the TB app with the intended profile.

If you want to have separate launches for different profiles then all I can suggest is to create separate shell scripts for launching TB (or a single script with an appropriate argument) that launches TB with the command line arguments which specify the desired profile. I'll leave that up to you to research.

11 Oct 2018, 12:39 AM	#1
mikev99 Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 658	Mac Email Client Any recommendations for an email client for the Mac desktop/laptop that has the same functionality as the Fastmail client on an iPad/iphone that is separate from the Mac Mail app? Thanks

11 Oct 2018, 03:25 PM	#2
misc Essential Contributor Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Germany Posts: 251	Hi mikev99 Well, this depends on what you mean by “same functionality”, but I’ve tried Airmail and Postbox so far. Both of them look pretty, but both of them have their oddities you won’t might like. Airmail creates some imap folders on your mail server which are used for its features like snoozing, to-do, etc. Those might be disturbing when you access your mails by the web or other imap clients. Besides this I’ve heard that it runs into trouble when you have a really large amount of emails, but this I can’t confirm. Postbox some kind of needs getting used to, but it runs quite reliable also with a big number of mails. But there are some little glitches with the interface, e.g. sometimes the contacts suggestion list simply won’t pop up when typing something in the address field. Well, and of course you can give the free and open-source Thunderbird a try. Cheers, Michael [EDIT] P.S. For my FastMail account, I definitely prefer the FastMail web client. Last edited by misc : 11 Oct 2018 at 03:33 PM.

11 Oct 2018, 04:05 PM	#3
xyzzy Essential Contributor Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 474	I use Thunderbird. No complaints. But then I'm retired and don't get that much email either. Isn't postbox a derivative of thunderbird?

12 Oct 2018, 02:55 AM	#4
mikev99 Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 658	Thanks all. I forgot to mention that I use Thunderbird with a different provider and wanted a client that only connected to Fastmail. I have tried figuring out a way to have two different profiles defined for Thunderbird, but have not been able to do it. May just use Fastmail web client since it is very much like the Fastmail on my iPad and iPhone. Regards, Mike

12 Oct 2018, 05:15 AM	#5
xyzzy Essential Contributor Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 474	Of course you can do it. What good is a email client where it doesn't support allowing multiple email accounts? I have a number of email accounts set up in TB, both POP and IMAP. One way to do it is in the Tools menu click Account Settings. From there you can add another account.

13 Oct 2018, 12:06 AM	#8
mikev99 Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 658	Do you know of anyway to set up a symbolic link with a switch that tells TB which profile to open?