4 ms·

Is the new Thunderbird compatible with Microsoft's Exchange email service? If memory serves, I think that was what forced me to switch to the Evolution Mail cli

Is the new Thunderbird compatible with Microsoft's Exchange email service? If memory serves, I think that was what forced me to switch to the Evolution Mail client (which uses "Exchange Web Services") since my workplace uses Exchange. With regard to the Photon UI, I'm weary of the calendar button being in the application header like that. It's just not where I would look for it, and I don't see what's different between it and the other buttons that would merit some of them being in the header and some of them not. Either way, I'm happy that Thunderbird isn't dead. Even version 52 has some nice features that I couldn't find in other clients.

cbcoutinho 9y ago
That's my only constraint as well, and last time I checked ews wasn't supported
hendersoon 9y ago
Not natively, but you can sync exchange email through IMAP which works fine. Contacts and calendaring come through addons that do work with OWA.
semi-extrinsic 9y ago
You can do EWS very well through a plugin called ExQuilla. You have to pay some small fee for a license, but you can try it for free. Otherwise, you can go through DavMail, but it's more of a hassle.
- phillc73 9y ago
  I recently paid for Hiri[1], which very smoothly connected with my corporate Exchange server. I haven't used it extensively yet, but the interface is interesting and they seem to be trying to do something different with email. [1] https://www.hiri.com https://www.hiri.com
  - nblavoie 9y ago
    Sounds great. The problem, when I play the video on their website and I close it while it's still playing, I continue to hear the video's sound.
  - sushisource 9y ago
    This is neat. Gonna try this out now, thanks for the heads up.
freedomben 9y ago
This is my story as well. It's especially the case in a corporate environment when you're the love Linux insurgent holding ground in a sea of Macs and Windows
mcdan 9y ago
The exchange integration ( we use outlook 365 ) for mail works fine, just set it up as IMAP. The calendar stuff is a bit rockier, but there is project to keep it alive here: https://github.com/ExchangeCalendar/exchangecalendar/ https://github.com/ExchangeCalendar/exchangecalendar/
- dwheeler 9y ago
  I hope that someone will add native Exchange and calendar. Many organizations do not enable IMAP on Exchange (I know at least one that disabled it). So supporting the native Exchange API would be a big win. For many people "lack of calendar" means "can't use it".
  - weaksauce 9y ago
    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/exquilla-exchange-web-services/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/exquilla-... seems to be a solution but not free ($10/year/user) and some reviews say that the extension is broken recently.
    - Shoothe 9y ago
      I'm using it and can recommend. It works for me. Maybe it's broken for some configurations?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
Sir_Substance 9y ago
>Is the new Thunderbird compatible with Microsoft's Exchange email service? If memory serves, I think that was what forced me to switch to the Evolution Mail client I see this very much as a Microsoft problem rather than a Thunderbird problem, although I appreciate that doesn't make your situation better. I use davmail[1] to solve this problem at work. Davmail sits in your tray, connects to exchange and turns the exchange traffic into standards-compliant mail traffic for your email client. Of course, you lose some features in the process. About once a month I have to remind HR that the "vote" buttons in exchange are not part of any email client except outlook. Still, it works well for sending/receiving mail and tolerably for handling calendar invites. [1] http://davmail.sourceforge.net/ http://davmail.sourceforge.net/
- smarx007 9y ago
  Can you see the calendar availability of everyone who you invite as Outlook shows?
  - Sir_Substance 9y ago
    I have no idea, I mostly use the calendar for receiving invites to meetings. Try it and let me know?
- syshum 9y ago
  >>I see this very much as a Microsoft problem rather than a Thunderbird problem, In a away yes, but is also a Standards Problem. the Email Standards are shit and have needed to be updated for atleast 2 decades now but no one can agree on what should replace them. For all of Microsoft failings, EWS and even ActiveSync is superior for syncing a users Mailbox, Calendar and other communication data between a central mail server and many clients...
dboreham 9y ago
Exchange supports IMAP and has done for decades. I remember being interviewed by the developer working on IMAP support at the time, in 1996.
- noselasd 9y ago
  The issue is if you are not the exchange admin. In most IT departments the default answer to everything, including "please turn on IMAP" is No.
  - frik 9y ago
    Unfortunate enterprise IT reality. They are often stuck in their Microsoft-land as decided by their boss and a third party sales guy, and the selected employees know little and only MS-software and got trained to just do their job, and have little interest in doing anything beyond. It will get interesting when there is no need for them, when get get replaced by the cloud, the mail server is often the first that gets outsourced to the cloud.
  - muxator 9y ago
    So true. If you happen to be a power user, your life can be miserably limited by standardized configurations.
- krylon 9y ago
  Unfortunately, this means you can use email, but not the calendar. (In a slight twist of dramatic irony, we have had the same problem with Outlook 2016 trying to talk to an Exchange 2007 server... ;-) Upgrading the server is on our TODO list for 2018, but for the moment, we have to live with it.)
INTPenis 9y ago
Just adding my voice to the cacophony of enterprise users, hoping Mozilla takes note. I'd love to be able to ditch Evolution for Thunderbird but without Exchange it won't happen. I can manage without built-in calendar since Gnome calendar works well and I have my tablet too.
afranchuk 9y ago
I've had good success with using davmail[1] with the exchange server at work. It's still hosted on sourceforge, but some extended/community repositories have it as well (like Arch's AUR). It's Java, so relatively portable and easy to get working. It even works with the calendar! [1] http://davmail.sourceforge.net http://davmail.sourceforge.net
- jesse_m 9y ago
  +1 for davmail
- quiquex 9y ago
  Been using davmail for almost two years, and it works flawlessly. I could finally ditch Outlook at my workplace

cbcoutinho 9y ago

That's my only constraint as well, and last time I checked ews wasn't supported

hendersoon 9y ago

Not natively, but you can sync exchange email through IMAP which works fine. Contacts and calendaring come through addons that do work with OWA.

semi-extrinsic 9y ago

You can do EWS very well through a plugin called ExQuilla. You have to pay some small fee for a license, but you can try it for free. Otherwise, you can go through DavMail, but it's more of a hassle.

phillc73 9y ago
I recently paid for Hiri[1], which very smoothly connected with my corporate Exchange server. I haven't used it extensively yet, but the interface is interesting and they seem to be trying to do something different with email. [1] https://www.hiri.com https://www.hiri.com
- nblavoie 9y ago
  Sounds great. The problem, when I play the video on their website and I close it while it's still playing, I continue to hear the video's sound.
- sushisource 9y ago
  This is neat. Gonna try this out now, thanks for the heads up.

freedomben 9y ago

This is my story as well. It's especially the case in a corporate environment when you're the love Linux insurgent holding ground in a sea of Macs and Windows

mcdan 9y ago

The exchange integration ( we use outlook 365 ) for mail works fine, just set it up as IMAP. The calendar stuff is a bit rockier, but there is project to keep it alive here: https://github.com/ExchangeCalendar/exchangecalendar/ https://github.com/ExchangeCalendar/exchangecalendar/

dwheeler 9y ago
I hope that someone will add native Exchange and calendar. Many organizations do not enable IMAP on Exchange (I know at least one that disabled it). So supporting the native Exchange API would be a big win. For many people "lack of calendar" means "can't use it".
- weaksauce 9y ago
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/exquilla-exchange-web-services/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/exquilla-... seems to be a solution but not free ($10/year/user) and some reviews say that the extension is broken recently.
  - Shoothe 9y ago
    I'm using it and can recommend. It works for me. Maybe it's broken for some configurations?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

Sir_Substance 9y ago

>Is the new Thunderbird compatible with Microsoft's Exchange email service? If memory serves, I think that was what forced me to switch to the Evolution Mail client I see this very much as a Microsoft problem rather than a Thunderbird problem, although I appreciate that doesn't make your situation better. I use davmail[1] to solve this problem at work. Davmail sits in your tray, connects to exchange and turns the exchange traffic into standards-compliant mail traffic for your email client. Of course, you lose some features in the process. About once a month I have to remind HR that the "vote" buttons in exchange are not part of any email client except outlook. Still, it works well for sending/receiving mail and tolerably for handling calendar invites. [1] http://davmail.sourceforge.net/ http://davmail.sourceforge.net/

smarx007 9y ago
Can you see the calendar availability of everyone who you invite as Outlook shows?
- Sir_Substance 9y ago
  I have no idea, I mostly use the calendar for receiving invites to meetings. Try it and let me know?
syshum 9y ago
>>I see this very much as a Microsoft problem rather than a Thunderbird problem, In a away yes, but is also a Standards Problem. the Email Standards are shit and have needed to be updated for atleast 2 decades now but no one can agree on what should replace them. For all of Microsoft failings, EWS and even ActiveSync is superior for syncing a users Mailbox, Calendar and other communication data between a central mail server and many clients...

dboreham 9y ago

Exchange supports IMAP and has done for decades. I remember being interviewed by the developer working on IMAP support at the time, in 1996.

noselasd 9y ago
The issue is if you are not the exchange admin. In most IT departments the default answer to everything, including "please turn on IMAP" is No.
- frik 9y ago
  Unfortunate enterprise IT reality. They are often stuck in their Microsoft-land as decided by their boss and a third party sales guy, and the selected employees know little and only MS-software and got trained to just do their job, and have little interest in doing anything beyond. It will get interesting when there is no need for them, when get get replaced by the cloud, the mail server is often the first that gets outsourced to the cloud.
- muxator 9y ago
  So true. If you happen to be a power user, your life can be miserably limited by standardized configurations.
krylon 9y ago
Unfortunately, this means you can use email, but not the calendar. (In a slight twist of dramatic irony, we have had the same problem with Outlook 2016 trying to talk to an Exchange 2007 server... ;-) Upgrading the server is on our TODO list for 2018, but for the moment, we have to live with it.)

INTPenis 9y ago

Just adding my voice to the cacophony of enterprise users, hoping Mozilla takes note. I'd love to be able to ditch Evolution for Thunderbird but without Exchange it won't happen. I can manage without built-in calendar since Gnome calendar works well and I have my tablet too.

afranchuk 9y ago

I've had good success with using davmail[1] with the exchange server at work. It's still hosted on sourceforge, but some extended/community repositories have it as well (like Arch's AUR). It's Java, so relatively portable and easy to get working. It even works with the calendar! [1] http://davmail.sourceforge.net http://davmail.sourceforge.net

jesse_m 9y ago
+1 for davmail
quiquex 9y ago
Been using davmail for almost two years, and it works flawlessly. I could finally ditch Outlook at my workplace