Using AOL and AIM mail
Create a new account in Mozilla Suite or Thunderbird and choose IMAP as your server type. Then, use the following information to complete the fields:
Incoming server (IMAP) | imap.aol.com |
Port | Leave it to be set automatically (993 for SSL) |
Security Settings/connection | AOL supports SSL, so you should probably use it. |
Security Settings/Use secure authentication | Do not check; AOL does not support this; password is protected anyway if you're using SSL. |
Username | Your screen name |
Outgoing Server (SMTP) | smtp.aol.com |
Username | Your screen name |
Security/connection | AOL supports SSL, so you should probably use it; use port 465 in this case. |
Port | 587 or 465 for SSL |
Name | Whatever you wish |
You will be asked for the password when you connect for the first time.
You cannot manually add messages to the Inbox or Sent Items folders. Messages will be added to those folders after messages have been sent and received by the AOL server. You should probably use Local Folders if you want to store sent mail, email drafts, and templates. You can configure this under the account settings by selecting "Copies & Folders" under Account Settings. However, if you use Thunderbird/Mozilla (not AOL webmail or the AOL mail client) to create folders with different names (e.g. Drafts--Tbird and Sent--Tbird) and change your "Copies & Folders" account settings appropriately, you may be able to get Thunderbird to save drafts and sent mail in them; I did.