How to use Zimbra webmail

Objective

With the OVHcloud MX Plan, you can send and receive emails from an email client (Thunderbird, Outlook, Mac Mail) or via webmail in your device's web browser.
OVHcloud provides a webmail service called Zimbra to access MX Plan email accounts. On this page, we will cover the essential features for using this webmail.

Find out how to use Zimbra webmail for your OVHcloud MX Plan email accounts.

Requirements

• You have an OVHcloud MX Plan email solution, included in our web hosting plans, included in a 100M free hosting hosting plan, or ordered separately as a standalone solution.
• You have the login details for the MX Plan email account you would like to use. For more information, please read our guide on Getting started with the MX Plan solution.

Instructions

Content overview

• Log in to Zimbra webmail
• General interface of Zimbra webmail
• Manage your email account folders
  • Special folders
  • Create folders
• Email processing
  • Action on a selected email
  • Searching emails
  • Restore deleted emails
• Write an email
• Configure Zimbra interface preferences
• Contacts
  • Folder management
  • Managing lists
  • Import/Export contacts
• Calendar
  • Calendar management
  • Tasks
• Storage
  • Add a file
  • Share a file/folder
  • Edit a document
• Filters
  • How to set filters
  • Create a filter
  • Create a redirection
• Delegations
• Signature
• Automatic Replies

Log in to Zimbra webmail

Go to the page Webmail. Enter your email address and password, then click Login.

You will then be redirected to the Zimbra interface.

General interface of Zimbra webmail

Once you have logged in to your email account, you will have access to the main Zimbra window, which consists of 3 areas:

Manage your email account folders (left-hand column)

In this area, you will see the folders stored on your email account. You will find the special folders already there (in orange) and the folders you have created (in green).

Special folders

Special folders are created automatically by the email server, and they make up the main part of an email account.

• Inbox: Emails are delivered to this folder by default (excluding filters applied).
• Drafts: Emails that are written but not sent are saved in this folder.
• Sent: Sent emails are automatically stored in this folder.
• Archive: The default folder for classifying processed emails.
• SPAM: A folder where emails considered unwanted are stored.
• Trash: Deleted emails are stored in this folder before they are permanently deleted.

Create folders

To organize your emails according to your needs, you can create your own folders.

To create a folder, click the + Add a folder button at the bottom of the column.

You can also create a subfolder by right-clicking the folder you want, and then clicking Create subfolder.

Email processing

When you select a folder or subfolder in the left-hand column, the list of emails contained in it appears in the middle column. Then click on the email of your choice to display its contents in the window on the right.

It is possible to sort and display emails based on certain criteria by clicking on the existing filter (by default, Date) at the top of the email list.

Action on a selected email

When you select an email is selected, many actions are available:

• 1.Reply: Reply directly to the sender.
• 2.Reply all: Reply directly to all recipients in the “To” and “Cc” fields.
• 3.Forward: Forward the selected email to one or more recipients.
• 4.Archive: Move the email to the "Archive" folder of your email account.
• 5.Move: Move the email to one of the folders in the email account.
• 6.Delete: Place the selected email in the "Trash".
• 7.SPAM: Place the selected email in the spam folder.
• 8.More
  • Mark as Read
  • Mark as Unread
  • Star: Assign a "star" to your email to highlight and identify it more easily.
  • Clear Star: Remove the "star" assigned to this email.
  • Show Original: Display the raw email with the header.
  • New Filter: Create a filter based on the sender and subject of the selected message.
  • Print: Print the selected conversation or email.
• 9.View: Select one of the 3 layouts to view your folders and emails.

You can access these options by right-clicking on each email in the middle column.

Searching emails

If you would like to find an email, use the search bar at the top of your interface. You can then do a simple search or an advanced search, as described in the tabs below:

Recover deleted emails

When you delete emails, they are placed by default in the trash.
If you delete emails from your trash or empty it, they are placed in retention. They can still be recovered for 30 days.

We will review the steps to recover an email in retention by going through its deletion and restoration process:

1. Deleting an email: When you view an email in the inbox or one of the folders and click delete, it will go by default to the trash.
2. Empty the Trash: When you Empty the Trash or delete an email from it, the email no longer appears in the trash and enters its 30-day retention period.
3. Access restoration: To recover an email deleted from the trash within 30 days, right-click on Trash, then click Recover deleted mail.
4. Choose emails to restore: From this window, you can view emails that have been emptied from the trash. Select the email(s) you want to restore. Click Next, choose the folder where you want to restore the emails, then click Save.

Write an email

To create a new email, click the New Message (1) button in the top left of your Zimbra window.

After you have written your email, before you click Send, you can attach an attachment to it by clicking the paperclip icon next to the Send button.

Configure Zimbra interface preferences

Your Zimbra interface has 2 configuration menus:

• (1) Profile: Click on the name of your email account in the top right-hand corner of your interface. From this menu, you have the options "Change password", Change Profile Image and you can log out of the account by clicking on Logout.

• (2) Settings: Click on the cogwheel icon in the top right-hand corner of your interface to change the Language of your interface. In the Help section, you can read the official Zimbra documentation. In Settings, you will find all of the configuration elements described in the following tabs:

Contacts

Click Contacts in the top bar to access the address book. It is divided into 3 parts:

• (1) Folders (left): In the address book, you can create folders to organize and group contacts.
• (2) Contact list (center): View the contacts in the selected address book or folder.
• (3) Contact Properties or New Contact (right): This window appears when a contact is selected or is being created. You can read or modify a contact's information there.

To create a new contact, click the New Contact button at the top of the left-hand column.

Fill the fields with the information of your contact. You can add an image to it by clicking the profile icon in the upper right of the form.

Then click Save.

Manage contact folders

As with emails, special contact folders are automatically created by the email server.

• Contacts: Contacts are stored in this folder by default.
• Trash: Deleted contacts are stored in this folder before they are permanently deleted.
• Emailed Contacts: The contacts you have exchanged with are saved in this folder.

You can create folders and subfolders. They can be used to organize contacts into subsets. This makes it easier to find a contact in a folder you have created, rather than in your entire address book.

To create a folder, click the + Add a folder button at the bottom of the left-hand column.

You can also create a subfolder by right-clicking the folder you want, and then clicking Create Subfolder. The "Emailed Contacts" and "Trash" folders cannot contain subfolders.

To move a contact to one of the folders, select the contact in the middle column and then, in the contact window that appears on the right, click the Move button. Then select the folder you want to assign to the contact.

List management

You can associate a contact with one or more lists. Lists are used to group contacts, so emails can be sent to all of the list members. For example, to send an email to a large number of regular recipients, simply add the name of your list as a recipient, instead of adding the contacts in a list one by one.

To create a list, click in the box labeled New List at the bottom of the left-hand column and type a name for your list.

To assign a contact to one of your lists, select the contact in the middle column, and then in the window that appears on the right, click Assign to Lists. Select the list(s) you want to assign to the contact. Alternatively, enter a new list name and click Add.

Import Contacts / Export Contacts

Select one of the following two tabs:

Calendar

Click on the Calendar icon in the top bar to access the address book. It is divided into 3 parts:

• (1) List of calendars (left): Manage your different calendars and sub-calendars.
• (2) Calendar Content (center): View the content of selected calendars and sub-calendars.
• (3) Task List (right): Manage your tasks and task lists.

Calendar management

By default, in the My Calendars list, you have a Calendar created by default. This default calendar cannot be deleted, but you will see that you can create your own calendars in the next paragraph.

1 - Create a calendar

• (1): To create a calendar, move your cursor over My Calendars in the left-hand column and click the + button. Enter a name and colour, then click Save.

You can also create sub-calendars.

• (2): To create a sub-calendar, move your cursor over the calendar for which you want to create one, then right-click to display the drop-down menu. Click Add sub-calendar. Enter a name and colour, then click Save.

2 - Add an event

• (1): Click on New event in the top left-hand corner.
• (2): Click on the time condition of your calendar in which you want to add an event. For a simple addition, simply define a title for the event and a location then click Save. To add more details about your event, click Add more details.

• Start: The date and time your event starts. If you tick All day, you will not have to enter a start and end time because the whole day will be taken into account.
• End: The end date and time of your event.
• Repeat: If this is a recurring event, define the frequency.
• Location: The location where the event will take place, such as the name of a meeting room.
• Equipment: By clicking Show equipment, you can display this line to define a shared equipment that you will use for your event.
• Guests: The email addresses of the event participants.
• Notes: Message that will be sent to the event guests.
• Remind: Be notified before the event begins.
• Show as: Define if the event makes its guests available or unavailable during its progress.
• Calendar: Define the calendar associated with the event.

Once you have defined your event, click Save.

3 - Edit an event

Tasks

Tasks are items that are detached from your calendars. Their purpose is to list the tasks to be performed without attaching an execution date or a temporality to them. These tasks are complementary to calendars.

The "Tasks" list exists by default, it cannot be deleted, but you can create your own task lists.

• (1): To create a task, click the ... button, then New task or simply click the + button next to your task list.

• (2): To create a new task list, click the ... button, then click Create List....

When you create a task, you can set a due date and priority so that you can rank them according to their importance, as well as a drop-down menu to select the corresponding task list.

Then click Save to finish creating your task.

Storage

Click the Briefcase icon in the top bar to access your storage space. You can upload your files and share them there.

1. In the left-hand column, you will see the folders for your storage space.

   • To create a new folder, click + Add a folder at the bottom of the column. Enter the name you want, then confirm by pressing the Enter key.
   • To create a subfolder, right-click on one of the folders, then click Create subfolder. Enter the name you want, then confirm by pressing the Enter key.

2. In the center column, you will see a list of the files in the selected folder.

3. In the right window, depending on the file type selected in the center column, a preview of the content is displayed. The top bar of the preview displays the possible actions on the file or files you selected.

Add a file

To add a file to your storage space, follow the steps below:

1. Click Upload in the left column.
2. From the File Browse window, select the file(s) to upload to your storage space.
3. Click Open to upload the item(s) to your storage space.

Share a file/folder

Sharing allows you to give access to a folder or file on your storage to a third party, outside your Zimbra account.

The guest receives an email inviting them to create a Zimbra account with a username and password. This account provides access to a Zimbra interface limited to the shared content only.

Edit a document

From your Zimbra account's Briefcase, you can edit your text files, spreadsheets or presentations with the integrated ONLYOFFICE suite. To edit a document:

• Click the Briefcase icon in the top bar to access your storage space.
• Select the file you want to edit.
• In the top bar, click Edit.

• The ONLYOFFICE editor opens in a new tab.

Changes you make in the editor are automatically saved during editing or when you close the tab.

Filters

How to set filters

Setting up filters on your email account is an important parameter that allows you to set up an automatic sorting system when your emails are received.

A filtering rule in Zimbra is made up of 4 elements:

1 - Comparison field: On which part of the email the filter will apply.
2 - Comparison operator: How precisely should the filter be applied.
3 - Value: Which words/elements of the email will be targeted by the filter.
4 - Filter Actions: What will the filter do on the email.

Example: If the Subject (1) field of the email contains (2) the word invoice (3), then Forward to (4) billing@example.com.

In the following paragraphs, you will find the details of each of the elements of a filtering rule.

1 - Comparison field

The comparison field is the section of the email to check for the comparison operator. Comparison fields can include the following fields:

• From: Specify a sender in the “From” field of the email.
• To: Search for recipient names in the "To" field.
• CC: Search for copied recipient names in the “CC” field.
• Subject: Specify items in the subject of the email.
• Header named: When selected, an additional input field appears before the comparison operator. Use this field to enter any element of an email header. You can specify the standard fields "From", "To", "Subject", or other fields that may be present in the email header. For example, some email servers might add specific fields to the header that you can include in your filter rule, using this comparison field.
• Body: Refers to the words contained or not in the body of the email.

2 - Comparison operator

Depending on the comparison field designated above, the comparison operator will determine the level of correspondence to be applied to the value.

• Matches exactly / Does not match exactly: What you enter must match exactly.
  For example, by indicating that the subject of the email corresponds exactly to “house”, the filter will only match with “house” and not with “houses” or “a blue house”.

• Contains / Does not contain: What you enter must be present in the field(s).
  For example, by specifying that the subject of the email must contain “house”, the filter will match with “house”, “houses” and also “a blue house”.

• Matches wildcard condition / Does not match wildcard condition: Specifies that the subject must match the specified string, which includes wildcards.

• Exists / Does not exist: Specifies that the specified comparison field must exist or must not exist in the message. This comparison operator is used with the comparison fields named header.

Using wildcards in filters

Wildcards can be used in the input field for comparison using the comparison operator “Matches wildcard condition / Does not match wildcard condition”. The available wildcards are * and ?.

• The wildcard * is a placeholder for any number of characters of any type, including spaces.
  
  For example, the search string “blue*house” would return the matches “blue house”, “houses” or “blue wooden house”. However, it would not return "lightning blue house".
  
  Another example: The search string "w*house" would return the matches "white house" and "watch TV in your house". However, it would not return “watch TV in your house with a friend”.

• The wildcard ? is a placeholder for exactly one character.
  
  For example, the search string “blue?house” would return the matches “blue house”, “blue-house” and “blue_house”.

3 - Value

Once you have selected your field and comparison operator, you will need to enter the value they should match in the corresponding box.

4 - Filter Actions

The Then field defines the action to be taken on the email that meets the filter conditions. Filter actions can include deleting, sorting, and even marking incoming mail.

• Keep in the Inbox: Saves emails to your inbox. If none of the filtering rules match an email, this action takes place by default.
• Move to folder: Moves the email to a specified folder.
• Permanently delete: Deletes the email message, not storing it in any of your folders including "Trash".
• Forward To: Forwards the email to the address you specify.
• Mark as read
• Star: Marks your email with a star.

Create a filter

To create filters, click on the cogwheel icon in the top right-hand corner of your Zimbra interface, then click on Settings. Next, click on Filters in the left-hand column.

If filters exist, you will see the list in the order in which they are applied:

• (1) You can preview each filter by clicking the ... button to the right of the filter and then clicking Details. The Run button launches the action set for this filter.

• (2) This button is used as a handle, allowing you to move the filter in the list to assign an order of application. Each filter is applied in the order that is defined in the list.

Click the + Add a filter button to start creating it. The basic mode window appears by default. You can switch to advanced mode by clicking Switch to advanced to have all comparison operators. Find the details in the section “How to set filters”.

Create a redirection

It is possible to use a filter to redirect incoming emails to another address via a forwarding rule.

To access the filters and create your redirection, follow these instructions:

• Click the ⚙ button in the top-right corner of your webmail window.
• Click Settings.
• Click the Filters section in the settings window.
• Click the Add a filter button.
  • First, click Advanced mode in the top-right corner to set up this rule.
  • Give your filter a name in the Filter name field.
  • Leave the dropdown menu on all in the phrase "If an incoming message meets ... of these conditions".
  • On the next line, select To (To), leave contains, and enter the email address you are logged in to in the field just to the right.
  • Under the "Then" section, select Forward to from the dropdown menu and enter the destination email address.
  • Click + Add an action further down, then select Keep in Inbox.
  • Click Save in your filter window and also in the settings window.

Delegations

To access the delegation setting, click on the cogwheel icon in the top right-hand corner of your Zimbra interface. Next, click on Settings and Writing email in the left-hand column.

You can delegate your email account to another email account. This requires both belonging to the same email service.

(1) Delegates: To delegate your email account to another account, click Add Delegates.

• Send as: The delegate can send an email with your email address, it will apear as if you had sent it yourself. The recipient will not see the delegate's email address.
• Send on behalf of: The delegate can send an email from their email address with your email address included as “on behalf of”. The recipient will then have a record of the two email addresses involved in the exchange.

(2) Delegate send settings: You have the following options when you delegate your email address to another email address.

• Save sent messages to my Sent folder: If the delegated account sends an email from your email address, this email will appear in your "Sent" folder.
• Save sent messages to delegate's Sent folder: If the delegated account sends an email from your email address, this email will appear in the delegate's "Sent" folder.
• Save sent messages to my Sent folder and delegate's Sent folder: If the delegated account sends an email from your email address, this email will appear in the "Sent" folders of both accounts.
• Do not save sent messages: If the delegated account sends an email from your email address, no copy will be saved.

Signature

Click on the cogwheel icon in the top right-hand corner of your Zimbra interface, then click on Settings. Next, click on Signatures in the left-hand column.

You can find the configuration details in the “Configure Zimbra interface preferences” section of this guide (click on the tab Signatures).

Automatic Replies

When you are absent without access to your email account, you can set up a message that will be used to automatically reply to emails. In Zimbra webmail, this feature is called “Out of Office”.

To manage your responder, click on the cogwheel icon in the top right-hand corner of your interface, then click on Settings and then on Out of Office.

By default, the Enable automatic response during these dates (inclusive) option is disabled. Tick this box to enable automatic replies. You can now enter the content of your absence message into the field.

• If you are not sure when you want to stop the automatic reply, select the No end date check box.
• The Send sample copy to me button will send you a preview of this automatic reply in your inbox.
• External Senders: You can define a different message when the sender is external to your domain name and/or address book. By default, all senders receive the same message.

Go further

Getting started with MX Plan

Changing an MX Plan email password

Creating filters for your email addresses

Using email aliases and redirections

Join our community of users.