IT Help Center
Boston University
 

forwarding MAIL (AND MOVING MESSAGES) to another account

Many people have Web-based e-mail accounts (hosted by services like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) that they want to use in conjunction with their BU e-mail account. Here are some general guidelines to help you do that, featuring Google's Gmail service as an example.

These instructions assume that you have an active BU ACS e-mail account, and an account at a service like Gmail.

Set (or unset) forwarding from BU (to Gmail)

You can set and unset forwarding from your BU e-mail account using the utility at www.bu.edu/computing/email/forwarding/. When you set up forwarding, mail sent to yourusername@bu.edu and/or yourusername@acs.bu.edu will be passed on yourusername@gmail.com so you can read it at Gmail.

If you later decide to turn off forwarding from acs.bu.edu you will need to return to www.bu.edu/computing/email/forwarding/ where you should delete the forwarding address(es) on the first page of the forwarding interface. Most people will also then need to repeat that step on the second page, to turn off forwarding from @bu.edu. 

See the next section for information on how to best configure your forwarding scheme.

Whether or not to keep a copy on the BU server

When setting up forwarding, you will have to decide whether or not to keep a copy of the message on the BU mail server. We encourage you to read through both of the options described below, since each has its pros and cons.

I still want to be able to read e-mail with my BU account (i.e. with Horde or a desktop mail program):

If you choose to keep a copy of forwarded messages on the BU server, you will have the messages in both places. This can be good, since, sometimes, (Gmail) will filter out a message (thinking it's spam) that BU might not have filtered. However, you do have to remember to purge your BU e-mail periodically, or you will go over quota.

To set up forwarding that leaves a copy on the BU mail server, go to www.bu.edu/computing/email/forwarding/, and (if you have not already done so) put in the Gmail account using "Add Recipient." You should then select "Yes, keep a copy so I can read it on ACS." Then click on Continue and (on the second page) leave your bu.edu forwarding unchanged, so it continues to point to your BU e-mail account. The end result is that mail sent to yourusername@bu.edu will first go to your BU account, drop off a copy, and then travel on to Gmail.

I don't want to read mail using my BU account -- just at (Gmail):

In many ways this is easier. If you don't leave a copy of messages on the BU server, you can just forward everything to (Gmail), manage your messages there, and not worry about going over your BU quota. One downside, however, is that there won't be a copy on the BU servers, should you ever need a back-up. For example, it could be the case that (Gmail) would direct something into a trash/spam/junk folder that BU would have kept in your Inbox.

Some people also prefer to keep a copy on ACS because they want to keep the @bu.edu address. However, at least some of these mail services, including Gmail, will allow you to set your From address as @bu.edu instead of @gmail.com. (Usually, though, the "sender" address in the header will still be @gmail.com, which means that your use of Gmail is not entirely hidden from the recipient.) It's worth noting that you can set up Gmail this way and Gmail's instructions on how to use @bu.edu as the From address are pasted below.

To set up forwarding from BU without leaving a copy, go to www.bu.edu/computing/email/forwarding/, and (if you have not already done so) put in the Gmail account using "Add Recipient." You should then select "No, just forward the mail without keeping a copy on ACS." Then click on Continue and (on the second page) set your bu.edu forwarding to gmail.com.

Be sure you are forwarding. Don't use POP.

One alternative to forwarding is to have (Gmail) POP your mail from BU into the (Gmail) Web client. Although this works functionally on some of the ACS mail servers, it is strongly discouraged. You should never provide your BU login name and Kerberos password to a non-BU resource. If BU's Office of Information Technology notices this kind of activity on your account, it will disable your password and you will be forced to choose a different one.

If you are considering use of POP in order to move your ACS messages up to Gmail, you wouldn't be able to move folders via POP anyway, and so are better off doing the move via IMAP, as described below.

Can I do the reverse and forward (from Gmail) to BU?

Yes, Gmail and some other such services will allow you to forward to BU from (Gmail). So, for example, you could set it up in the (Gmail) interface such that mail sent to yourusername@gmail.com gets forwarded to yourusername@bu.edu. Just make sure you are careful -- don't set up forwarding from both to the other or your mail will be lost in a loop.

It's also worth noting that, instead of forwarding, some desktop mail clients will allow you to download your Web-based mail into a desktop mail client. You'd be able to set that up as a new "Account" within the desktop client, allowing you to still keep the two accounts separate, but manage them with one tool. Read the next section for more details.

Read Gmail with a desktop mail client using IMAP *and* use this feature to drag (move) messages and folders from ACS to Gmail

Gmail and, perhaps, some other such services, allow you to use IMAP to work with your mail (using a desktop mail program) as an alternative to using (Gmail's) Web-based interface. To do that, you would first need to "Enable IMAP" within your Gmail settings and make sure to Save that change. Then, use Gmail's provided configuration instructions to set up a second "Account" within your desktop mail program that goes to imap.gmail.com over SSL (port 993).

In addition to the convenience that this offers, it's also an excellent way for people to transfer messages and folders between their BU ACS e-mail account and Gmail. Once you have set up the second (Gmail) account in your desktop mail program, you could then move messages and folders between BU and Gmail simply by dragging them. Things moved to Gmail this way would then be available whenever you do login to Gmail through the Web interface.

What about spam?

By default, you are opted in to BU's spam filtering and mail that goes through the BU gateway will be filtered accordingly. However, BU is not in control of forwarded mail once it leaves and goes on to (Gmail). (Gmail) will have its own set of spam filtering criteria that you should work with through the provided interface. If you are forwarding mail and you find that messages sent to you @bu.edu are not getting through, check your (Gmail) spam/bulk/trash folder to make sure it didn't get filtered on that end.

 

How to use @bu.edu as the From address in Gmail

Pasted from Gmail's Help Center: How do I use a different 'From:' address to send mail?

If you'd like your outgoing Gmail messages to display another one of your email addresses in the 'From:' field (instead of your Gmail address), just follow these easy steps:

1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. Click Settings along the top of any page, and then select the Accounts tab.
3. Click Add another email address in the Send mail as section.
4. Enter your full name in the Name field, and the email address you'd like to send messages from in the Email address field.

*Keep in mind that each time someone replies to a message you send using a custom 'From:' address, the reply will be delivered to the 'From:' address rather than your Gmail address. If you'd like replies to be delivered to another account, you'll need to enter a 'reply-to' address. Just click Specify a different reply-to address to enter this information.

5. Click Next Step >> and then click Send Verification to complete the process. Gmail will send a verification message to your other email address to confirm that you'd like to add it to your Gmail account. You'll need to click the link in that message, or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your Gmail account, to complete the process. Once you've verified that you'd like to add the address to your account, you can start sending messages using your custom 'From:' address.

Note: your Gmail address will still be included in your email headers in the sender field, to help prevent your mail from being marked as spam. Most email clients do not display the sender field, though some versions of Microsoft Outlook may display "From yourusername@gmail.com on behalf of customaddress@mydomain.com."

Tip: If you have a number of different email addresses, enter all of them in your Gmail account, and then select a different address to send each of your messages from, depending on what you're sending. You can also choose to send all replies from the email address to which a message was sent.