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Configuring Mail Connector settings

Updated in 2021.1

MAPI support is being deprecated and will not be available in future versions. Please use EWS for Exchange on-premises or migrate your mailbox to Exchange Online.

You create or modify Mail Connector jobs using the Mail Connector window. Mail Connector settings, which are available on the Settings tab, include the following sections:

  • Mail Server - Mail server settings are mandatory to start using the Mail Connector. Other settings are optional, you have to configure them only if you need to customize the default Mail Connector behavior.

  • Schedule - In this section you can customize the default schedule according to which the Mail Connector runs.

  • Profile Account (for MAPI only) - Here you can configure the Mail Connector job to run under a dedicated Windows account.

IMPORTANT: Mail Connector jobs run on the Automation Server, which must be properly configured and started beforehand. For details, see Starting and stopping the Automation Server.

To access the Mail Connector window, from the Sidebar, navigate to the E-mail Processing > Mail Connector section and click New to create a new job or double-click an existing one to modify it. The Mail Connector window appears.

If you have multiple jobs and you want to change their default names (such as "Mail Connector", "Mail Connector (1)", "Mail Connector (2)", etc), assign a special name for each job on the Settings tab.

Configuring mail server settings for the Mail Connector job

Each Mail Connector job integrates with a single e-mail account for incoming messages. You can use a POP3, IMAP4 e-mail account, use an Microsoft Exchange e-mail account (MAPI and EWS protocols are supported) or Microsoft Exchange Online account (MS Graph and EWS API integration is supported). Depending on the type of your account, specify the mail server settings as follows:

  • ClosedTo configure POP3 or IMAP4 mail server settings:

    Before you begin:

    • If you plan to use an IMAP server, choose which folder the Mail Connector will monitor for incoming messages. By default, it is "INBOX", but you can create a subfolder, such as "INBOX.Support" or "INBOX/Support". Your mail server must be configured to route incoming e-mail messages to that folder.

    • If you plan to use an IMAP server for working with MS Office 365 mailboxes (e.g. outlook.office365.com), you can use only slash characters for the subfolders, such as "INBOX/Support".

    To configure POP3 or IMAP4 mail server settings:

    1. On the Settings tab of the Mail Connector window, under Mail Server, choose the account type for incoming mail: Post Office Protocol v3 (POP3) or Internet Message Access Protocol v4 (IMAP4).

    2. In the Server Name field, type in the name of your incoming mail server. If the mail server uses a non-default port number, specify this port number in the Port field.

    3. For IMAP4: The Mail Box field is initialized with the default INBOX value. If you created a special subfolder the Mail Connector will be pulling e-mail messages from, type in its name.

    4. Enter the mailbox user name and password to connect to the mail server.

    5. If your mail server requires Security Password Authentication, select the Require Secure Password Authentication (SPA) check box.

    6. In the Secure Connection section, select one of the following options:

    IMPORTANT: The current version of Alloy Navigator can establish a secure connection to a mail server using SSL 3.0 up to TLS 1.2.

      • None - This establishes an insecure (plain text) connection.

      • STARTTLS, if available - This establishes a secure connection using the STARTTLS extension if it is supported by the mail server. If the server does not support STARTTLS, an insecure connection is established.

      • STARTTLS - The Mail Connector will attempt to establish a secure connection using the STARTTLS extension. If the mail server does not support STARTTLS, a connection is not established.

      • SSL/TLS - The Mail Connector will attempt to establish a secure connection. If the mail server does not support SSL/TLS, a connection is not established.

    1. If you want to prevent communication with the mail server via a secure connection when a certificate validation error occurs, select the Reject invalid certificates check box.

    2. Click Test Connection to verify that the Mail Connector can connect to the specified mail server.

Before you begin:

  1. Choose which Microsoft Exchange account the Mail Connector will use. This must be a Windows account with sufficient permissions to access the Microsoft Exchange mailbox you want to use for the Mail Connector. You can create a special Exchange mailbox account for this task, or use an existing one.

  2. On the Automation Server computer, start the Alloy Automation Server Manager and change the Automation Server startup account to your Microsoft Exchange account. For details, see Configuring the Automation Server.

  3. If you plan to use MAPI:

    Create an e-mail profile for the Microsoft Exchange account. The profile must be created using a 64-bit edition of Microsoft Outlook. For details, see E-mail profile for integration with Microsoft Exchange.

To configure Microsoft Exchange Server settings:

  1. On the Settings tab of the Mail Connector window, under Mail Server, choose which service to use for integrating with the Microsoft Exchange Server:

    • Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) - MAPI is a standard method of e-mail integration for all versions of Microsoft Exchange. Using this method requires an e-mail profile for the Microsoft Exchange account on the Automation Server computer. For details, see MAPI e-mail profile for integration with Microsoft Exchange.

    • Exchange Web Services (EWS) - EWS are an enhanced method of e-mail integration for newer versions of Microsoft Exchange, introduced in Exchange 2007 SP1. EWS are installed and configured by default if Outlook Web Access is enabled in your environment.

  2. Specify the connection details:

    • ClosedFor MAPI:

      MAPI support is being deprecated. Please use EWS for Exchange on-premises or migrate your mailbox to Exchange Online.

      • Specify the Outlook profile that you have created for the Microsoft Exchange account:

        • If the Automation Server computer has a single mail profile or when Microsoft Outlook on the Automation Server computer is configured to always use the profile you want to use, select the Use default profile check box.

        • If you want to specify a non-default profile, clear the Use default profile check box and select the profile from the Mail Profile list.

        IMPORTANT: The profile must be created using a 64-bit edition of Microsoft Outlook. For details, see E-mail profile for integration with Microsoft Exchange.

    • ClosedFor EWS:

      1. Choose one of the following:

        1. If Autodiscovery is not enabled, click Specify the Exchange Web Services URL or server name and type in the URL path (the default URL is https://hostname.domain.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx). Alternatively, you can type in just the server name, and the system will suggest you the full URL path.

        2. If your EWS server has Autodiscovery configured, click Autodiscover the Exchange Web Services URL using this address and type in the e-mail address of the Microsoft Exchange account.

      2. Provide the user name and password for the Microsoft Exchange account.

      3. By default, Alloy Navigator automatically detects the version of your Microsoft Exchange Server. However, in some situations you may need to manually specify your MS Exchange Server version. To do this, choose the necessary option in the Version field.

      4. If you want to prevent communication with the Microsoft Exchange Server when a certificate validation error occurs, select the Reject invalid certificates check box.

      5. Specify which folder on the server the Mail Connector will monitor for incoming messages. The default folder is INBOX. If needed, you can use a subfolder, such as "INBOX/Support".

  3. Click Test Connection to verify that the Mail Connector can connect to the specified mail server.

Before you begin:

  • Exchange Online is part of the Office 365 suite of products. By Microsoft account here we understand the account you use to work with your Microsoft 365. This account will be used by the Mail Connector so it must have sufficient permissions to work with your Microsoft mailbox. You can create a special mailbox account for this task, or use an existing one.

To configure Microsoft Exchange Online with OAuth authentication settings:

  1. On the Settings tab of the Mail Connector window, under Mail Server, choose Exchange Online with OAuth authentication from the drop-down list.

  2. Choose one of the API options:

    • MS Graph (recommended) - MS Graph is the gateway to data and intelligence in Microsoft 365. Microsoft Graph API usage ensures the latest Microsoft standards in Office 365 Email protocols for very latest in security and connectivity.
    • Exchange Web Services (EWS) - EWS was launched as a part of Microsoft Exchange 2007 as a SOAP based API that allows access to Exchange Online data.

  3. Click the Sign in hyperlink to sign in to your Microsoft account. If you're already signed in with one account, you can change it by clicking the Change hyperlink and choosing another account.

  4. Specify which folder on the server the Mail Connector will monitor for incoming messages. The default folder is INBOX. If needed, you can use a subfolder, such as "INBOX/Support".

  5. Click Test Connection to verify that the Mail Connector can access the specified mailbox.

Customizing the job schedule for the Mail Connector job

Mail Connector jobs has the default schedule, which you can customize as needed.

  1. On the Settings tab of the Mail Connector window, under Schedule, click Change to bring up the Schedule window.

  2. Configure a schedule for the job. You can set the job occurrence (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly), daily frequency, and duration (start and end date). For details, see Setting the schedule.

Configuring the profile account for the Mail Connector job (for MAPI only)

MAPI support is being deprecated. Please use EWS for Exchange on-premises or migrate your mailbox to Exchange Online.

If you use the Microsoft Exchange Server and you want to process several Microsoft Exchange accounts for receiving users’ requests, you must create multiple Mail Connector jobs, providing an individual job for each Microsoft Exchange account. This scenario may require you to configure a profile account for each job. For details, see MAPI e-mail profile for integration with Microsoft Exchange.

  • ClosedTo specify a dedicated Windows account to access the MAPI profile:

    Before you begin:

    Make sure that both the Automation Server startup account and the Microsoft Exchange account meet these requirements:

    Automation Server startup account requirements:

    1. The Automation Server startup account must belong to the local Administrators group on the Automation Server computer.

    2. The Automation Server startup account cannot be the LocalSystem account.

    3. The Automation Server startup account must have the "Replace a process level token" and "Adjust memory quotas for a process" user rights.

    Microsoft Exchange account requirements:

    1. The Microsoft Exchange account must have the ”Log on as a batch job” user right.

    2. If you plan to use MAPI:
    On the computer hosting the Automation Server, you must create an Outlook profile for the Microsoft Exchange account. The profile must be created using a 64-bit edition of Microsoft Outlook. For details, see Creating the mail profile for integration with Microsoft Exchange.

    TIP: You can assign user rights to the account as follows:

    1. Log on as an administrator on the computer where the Automation Server is installed.

    2. Open the Local Security Policy.

    3. In the Local Policies, go to User Rights Assignment and double-click the desired user right.

    4. Add the desired account to the list of users that have this right.

    5. Click OK.

    6. Restart the Automation Server. For instructions, see Starting and stopping the Automation Server.

    To configure the Mail Connector job to run under a dedicated Windows account:

    1. On the Settings tab of the Mail Connector window, under Profile Account select This account, click the Find button and select the Microsoft Exchange account that you have chosen earlier.

    2. Click OK to close the Select User window.

    IMPORTANT: The profile must be created using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Outlook. For details, see Creating the mail profile for integration with Microsoft Exchange.

    1. Click Test Connection to verify that the Mail Connector can connect to the specified mail account.

Next Steps

To understand how your job will work, switch to the Processing tab and view the default processing rules. You can customize them, if needed.

To clean the message from unwanted text, switch to the Preprocessing Rules tab and choose preprocessing rules for your job. Alloy Navigator offers a set of pre-configured rules for the popular e-mail clients. These rules are initially disabled. You can view the rules and change their order.

NOTE: Rules are applied in the order they are displayed.

You can create or modify preprocessing rules in the E-mail Processing> Preprocessing section. For instructions, see Configuring preprocessing rules.

After you have configured Mail Connector settings, you can test the job and check its results to make sure it works correctly. You can test even a disabled job. For instructions, see Checking Mail Connector job results.

Related Information:

Understanding the Mail Connector

Configuring parsing rules

Configuring processing rules

Configuring preprocessing rules