Community Knowledge Base

New Features Available in SmarterMail

New Features Available in SmarterMail 10.x

Protection from Downtime with Failover

Mail servers have become the hub of communication for both individuals and organizations. With failover functionality, a hot standby can be put in place as a safeguard against downtime and to ensure the integrity and reliability of all communication. SmarterMail Enterprise licensing and the End User Licensing Agreement now include the ability to have a secondary mail server in standby mode at no additional cost.

New Mobile Interface for Smartphones

A light, yet fully-functional interface created exclusively for smartphones that makes managing email, calendars, contacts, tasks and notes on Android, iPhones and Windows phones easier than ever. The new mobile interface is perfect for times when you can't use a mobile email client, like when you need to check your schedule on a colleague's iPhone or want to check your email on your spouse's Galaxy II.

Support for Multiple Contact Email Addresses

Expanding on SmarterMail's already robust contact management tools, users can now add additional email addresses for every contact in their address book. These additional contact email addresses will even sync across multiple devices when using technologies such as SyncML, Microsoft ActiveSync, SharepointSync, Exchange Web Services and others.

Support for Auto-Discovery

Auto-discovery means that only an email address and password are needed to configure new accounts on most desktop clients and mobile devices that use IMAP, SMTP, POP, Exchange Web Services and Microsoft ActiveSync. Using just these two pieces of information, all other configuration settings are automatically configured, making it easier for users to set up their own accounts and dramatically reducing the amount of administration and support needed from a company's IT department.

Outlook Availability Checking

Users who sync their mailboxes with Outlook 2011 for Mac via Exchange Web Services can now check the availability of meeting attendees right from within the Outlook interface using Outlook's Scheduling Assistant. That means users will never double-book appointments and that they'll always be able to see who's available and when.

Conference Room Scheduling

Just like with Microsoft Exchange, it is now possible to set up conference room resources that can be shared across an organization. This allows users to schedule time in conference rooms and means they no longer need to manage separate documents or calendars for conference room availability. In addition, users can see conference room availability and conflicts when setting up appointments just as they see attendee conflicts and availability.

Support for Remote Wipe of Mobile Devices

Mobile devices are used more and more, both personally and professionally. That means they end up storing vast amounts of critical information, including contact information, bank account information and even personal and professional documents. Therefore, a lost or stolen mobile device can mean disaster for the device owner. System administrators now have the ability to reset any mobile device that is synced with SmarterMail back to factory default settings. This can be done quickly, easily and securely, from anywhere at any time, right from the webmail interface.

New Features Available in SmarterMail 9.x

Improved Synchronization with Microsoft Outlook and Apple Mail

SmarterMail 9.x includes support for Exchange Web Services, a newer data synchronization protocol that will eventually replace the outdated MAPI protocol, as Exchange Web Services allows for faster communication between an email client and the mail server. Available as an optional add-on at the server level, Exchange Web Services seamlessly syncs SmarterMail messages, contacts, calendars and tasks to third-party email clients like Microsoft Outlook 2011 for Mac, Outlook 2012 for Windows and Apple Mail on Snow Leopard and Lion.

Instant Messaging

Allow users to chat with other users on the same domain with SmarterMail's built-in instant messaging server. Whether they use webmail or another XMPP-supported IM client to communicate, a user's chat history is archived and searchable, so it complies with Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and other regulatory requirements.

Interface Enhancements for Desktops and tablets

SmarterMail 9.x improves the user experience when accessing the Web interface from any desktop or tablet. Page speed is significantly increased and all features of SmarterMail are fully compatible with touch screens, so users can access their messages, contacts, calendars, tasks and notes from anywhere on an Apple, Android or Windows tablets and computers.

Outgoing Message Validation

Decrease the likelihood that your users' messages are flagged as spam with SMTP authentication. Validating users' “From” addresses against their SMTP authentication credentials lets other servers know the message is from a valid user.

Outgoing Spam Quarantine

System administrators can quarantine outgoing messages that have been flagged as spam by SmarterMail's spam checks. Quarantining such messages allows administrators to investigate why certain messages are blocked as spam and make appropriate adjustments, if necessary. In addition, system administrators can easily resend any outgoing messages that should not have been quarantined.

Outgoing Virus Quarantine

System administrators can quarantine outgoing messages that have been flagged as containing viruses by SmarterMail's ClamAV implementation or the Cyren Zero-hour Antivirus add-on. Quarantining such messages allows administrators to investigate false positives and make appropriate adjustments or notify the developer of the virus scanner, if necessary.

Administrative Enhancements

SmarterMail 9.x includes additional administrative enhancements such as webmail logging for domain and system administrators, new Web services and an MSI installer for automated installations.

New Features Available in SmarterMail 8.x

New Message Notifications

With new messages notifications, users receive a notification that they've received a new message no matter which section of the interface they are viewing. Users can click on the notification to open the message or view the message from their inbox.

Improved Contact Sharing

Users can now download, save or send contact details in .CSV or vCard format, making it easy to share the email address or phone number of a friend or colleague in their SmarterMail address book.

Touch-and-go Functionality

Emailing a contact, mapping an address or adding an email address to your contacts list has never been easier. SmarterMail 8.x introduces clickable addresses, phone numbers and email addresses for click-to-map, click-to-call and click-to-mail functionality in messages, contact details, calendar items, tasks and notes.

Improved synchronization

SmarterMail 8.x includes support for vCalendar 1.0, so users can download the latest version of the Funambol SyncML clients to sync their mailboxes with Outlook, Thunderbird and mobile devices.

Synchronization Center Translation

The synchronization center now detects the browser language and automatically translates the sync info into that language, making it easier to provide info about available sync protocols to international users.

Attachments View

The new attachments view makes searching for a file hassle-free by displaying all incoming and outgoing messages with attachments in a single location.

Improved Message Management

SmarterMail 8.x has built-in filters to help users view read messages, unread messages, replied to messages or forwarded messages with the click of the mouse. Plus, users can now forward multiple messages at once.

Enhanced Signature Options

Users with multiple signatures can now select the signature they want to use when composing a message. System administrators that want to enforce corporate governance across webmail and email clients can configure domain-wide or system-wide footers with disclaimer text or any other information that's needed.

Password Compliance

SmarterMail 8.x helps system administrators enforce password rules and increase the security of a user's mailbox. Use the new password compliance report to identify accounts that don't meet the specified password requirements and send them a request to change their passwords.

Password Retrieval

Make it easy for users to regain access to their account when they forget their password with the new password retrieval option in SmarterMail. When enabled, users that can't remember their password will receive an email to their backup email address with instructions on resetting their password.

Improved Performance

Numerous optimizations to SmarterMail 8.x reduce disk I/O by an average of 25%. This includes better grid controls, improved charting and an update to the Microsoft .NET 4.0 Framework.

Improved Administration

With better spool management, enhancements to IP binding settings, hard limit throttling and support for SPF RR lookups, mail server administration is easier and more convenient. Plus, system administrators have access to even more Web services.

New Features Available in SmarterMail 7.x

Improved Searching

SmarterMail's search function has been enhanced with a new indexing engine to return faster, more accurate results. Now users can find any message, appointment, attachment, contact, task, or note from anywhere in the interface. System administrators will also notice that the improved indexing reduces server utilization.

Synchronization Center

To help users determine which desktop applications and mobile devices can be synced with SmarterMail, SmarterTools developed the synchronization center. When users access the synchronization center from the webmail interface, they'll be able to see the available synchronization protocols for each application/device and view a list of their current sync connections.

Redesigned Webmail Interface

The new webmail interface is visually pleasing and focuses on improving the user experience by reducing the amount of time and number of clicks it takes to access mailbox data. In addition, SmarterMail 7.x includes dozens of UI enhancements, including smaller page sizes, less JavaScript, and more advanced interface rendering that help improve page load times.

File Storage

Files that are too large to be attached to messages can now be uploaded to the server and shared through public links—making it easier for users to share files and easing the load on the mail server spools.

CalDAV and CardDAV Support

SmarterMail 7.x introduces support for CalDAV and CardDav, giving users with Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other clients that utilize the technology additional options for synchronizing contacts and calendars.

Follow-up Flagging

To help users easily identify email messages that need follow-up action, SmarterMail 7.x introduces follow-up flagging. Emails marked for follow-up display a red flag icon within the message header and can be easily accessed from the special follow-ups view within webmail, ensuring that important emails can be identified at a glance.

Linked Tasks

Because email exchanges often result in new tasks, SmarterMail 7.x includes the ability to link a message to a task. Linked tasks display their start and due dates on calendars just like regular tasks do, but they're also available from a special linked tasks view. By linking emails and tasks together, users can ensure relevant communications regarding a task are always easily accessible and available.

Weather Forecast

SmarterMail 7.x users in the United States can plan for outdoor events when they view 7-day weather forecast on their calendar, courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Auto-saved Email Addresses

Because most users send email to the same recipients, SmarterMail 7.x automatically pulls email addresses from the Sent Items folder and saves them separately from emails in the contacts list. These auto-saved email addresses are then used to auto-complete the To and Cc fields when applicable and can easily be deleted if necessary.

Enhanced Contacts View

Along with a totally redesigned contacts view, SmarterMail 7.x also provides users with a list of the most recent messages, appointments, and attachments related to each contact in one, convenient location.

Free-Busy Scheduler and Availability Checking

SmarterMail 7.x includes two new features to help users schedule time to communicate and collaborate. With the free-busy scheduler, users can now note important events on their calendars without appearing as unavailable to meet at that time. Redesigned appointment invites include the option to check availability before accepting the invitation, ensuring users never double-book appointments again.

Multiple System Administrator Accounts

SmarterMail 7.x fulfills a request to allow hosting companies and businesses to provide system administrator access to the mail server without having to share the same login information. Now SmarterMail installations can have multiple System Administrator accounts, each with separate login credentials.

New Features Available in SmarterMail 6.x

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Add-on

The addition of Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync as an optional SmarterMail add-on for brings the speed of the leading over-the-air synchronization technology to SmarterMail customers. Exchange ActiveSync reduces sync time, extends the battery life of mobile devices, and delivers better syncing for collaboration features than any other platform.

Enhanced Outlook Synchronization

SmarterMail 6.x introduces two-way syncing with Microsoft Outlook 2007 without the use of any third party tools, making managing and maintaining calendars, contacts, tasks, and notes faster and more efficient for users.

Hassle-free Mailbox Migration

SmarterMail 6.x makes mailbox migration simple with open source converters and a built-in mail server conversion tool. The built-in mailbox migration feature gives users the ability to import email and collaboration items from most email platforms and services—making it easier and more cost-effective to acquire new customers and manage migrations.

SpamAssassin-based Pattern Matching Engine

Based on SpamAssassin technology, this powerful pattern matching engine can process substantially higher volumes of email per day than previous versions of SmarterMail without the need for a distributed antispam server.

Improved Message Archiving

Email archiving and retrieval is taken to a new level in SmarterMail 6.x. The new archiving section allows for the more effective search and retrieval of archived email. Businesses required to save emails due to legal and regulatory requirements will find SmarterMail an ideal solution, for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other regulatory requirements.

New Antispam Measures

SmarterMail 6.x strengthens out-of-the-box spam protection with additional antispam measures, including DKIM spam check, additional greylisting rules, POP message filtering. These additions help to ensure that SmarterMail is the leader in out-of-the-box email spam protection—blocking 97% of spam.

Improved Mailing Lists

SmarterMail 6.x greatly enhances mailing list functionality with advanced features normally only found in stand-alone mass mailing applications. The additions of bounce detection with automatic removal, double opt-in, subscriber custom fields, mail merge, logging per subscriber, message prioritization, and much more, not only provide tools to successfully manage large mailing lists, but when used in conjunction with the throttling and prioritization features it can help protect the server from being saturated.

Manage All Email Accounts from One Interface

With the combination of POP importing, IMAP importing, SMTP identities, and multiple signatures—Webmail users can now effectively use one SmarterMail account to manage all of their email accounts. Users can reply using multiple SMTP identities with ease and have immediate access to primary SmarterMail calendars and contacts—allowing full access to all of SmarterMail's collaboration tools, synchronization features, and more from one Web interface.

Enhanced Webmail and Administration Interface

Dozens of new features have been added to SmarterMail 6.x to improve the user and administrator experience, including Silverlight reports and charts, new message attachment and attachment thumbnail views, and user-definable columns for contacts, calendars, and tasks.

New Features Available in SmarterMail 5.x

Over-the-air Synchronization with BlackBerry, iPhone, and Windows Mobile Devices

SyncML technology available to facilitate over-the-air synchronization of calendars, contacts, tasks, and notes with a variety of mobile devices. Not all functionality is available on all devices.

Greatly Expanded and Enhanced Web Services

SmarterMail has always been at the forefront of automation through Web services (SOAP/API). SmarterMail 5.x adds dozens of additional user and administrative operations that can be accessed via control panels and other external applications.

New Optimized Interface Design

SmarterMail 5.x introduces the entirely new STInterfaceFramework, a fully skinnable Web interface with drag and drop, right mouse click support, and optimized AJAX controls bringing desktop application performance to the Web.

Enhanced Antispam

SmarterMail 5.x delivers up to 97% spam protection out-of-the-box. SmarterMail 5.x antispam features now allow users to customize the level of protection with flexible configurations on multiple antispam processes.

Prioritization of Domains and Messages

SmarterMail 5.x gives System Administrators the ability to prioritize domains and messages in the spool, allowing administrators to ensure critical emails are delivered before non-critical messages or messages with a large mailing list. This feature also gives System Administrators the ability to create automated actions based upon that priority.

Improved Calendaring

New calendar/availability views, an enhanced reminder system, and iCalendar specifications have been added to the calendaring functions to improve usability and appointment notification.

Mass Messaging for Administrators

SmarterMail 5.x gives System Administrators the opportunity to send mass emails and reminders to selected groups alerting them of upcoming changes or news.

All New Events System

SmarterMail 5.x is one of the first mail servers designed to be event-driven. There are now a virtually infinite number of event configurations that can be created and used to provide notifications and—more importantly—cause specific pre-defined actions to be implemented. There is almost no end to the number and types of events that can be defined.

All New Reminders System

Reminders and notifications now have distinctive pop-up displays, available audible chimes, and effective management features.

All New Notification Profiles

Individual users can be informed via SMS text message or email to any address when a specific email arrives in their mailbox, an appointment reminder has occurred, their mailbox is getting full, and much more.

Advanced Reporting System

SmarterMail 5.x introduces the new STReportingFramework, which uses real-time mail server statistics, historical summary reporting, and detailed trend analysis to create one of the most flexible and robust reporting capabilities on the market.

Throttling

Throttling has been added to allow System Administrators to limit the number of messages, amount of bandwidth, and/or the number of bounced messages that will be allowed to or from a domain, user, or mailing list in a given amount of time to prevent system abuse. Actions can be automated based upon the throttling parameters to prevent abuse in real-time.

Advanced Message Composition

Composing and sending a message is easier and more efficient with multiple composition pop-ups, background uploading of attachments, additional editing and formatting options, and much more.

Security Enhanced

The new SmarterMail 5.x interface adds a new security section to support the existing security features and add even more protections. With the introduction of these new features, the security scheme will often be referred to as the "DETECT, PREVENT, and LIMIT" foundation.

New Features Available in SmarterMail 4.x

SmarterMail Sync for Smartphones

SmarterMail Enterprise Edition now includes SmarterMail Sync for smartphones running Windows Mobile 5 operating system. Synchronize all your contacts, appointments, and tasks via your SmartPhone. SmarterMail Sync for smartphones is located within the SmarterMail interface under the Settings menu.

Supports IMAP IDLE

This feature is an extension of the IMAP protocol that allows SmarterMail to send status updates in real-time. This grants users the ability to maintain a connection with the mail server via any client that supports IMAP IDLE (e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird, third-party applications that support mobile devices), in turn, instantly informing them of any changes or updates.

Supports SSL and TLS Connections

SmarterMail 4.x offers SSL and TLS connections for all protocols. This feature allows SmarterMail to accept inbound SMTP, POP3, or IMAP sessions.

Specify User Password Strengths

System administrators can require minimum password strengths for all users, which can help increase the security of your box(es). Letter casing, numbers, symbols, and length are all fully customizable.

New Enhancements and .Net 2.0 Equals Faster Servers

SmarterMail 4.x enhances the performance of all back-end services, web interface code, and supports Microsoft .Net 2.0. This results in better performance and more efficient server operation.

Robust Anti-Spam Improvements

Greylisting, SpamAssassin, and additional spam checks on incoming mail have been added to the existing anti-spam measures of previous versions at no additional charge.

Enhanced Anti-Virus Protection

SmarterMail 4.x includes ClamAV right out of the box for superior, open-source virus protection.

Now Scan Outgoing Mail for Spam

Avoid blacklisting of your domains. Use the new SmarterMail 4.x outgoing spam checks protect your network from abuse.

Real-time Dashboard and Email Reports

SmarterMail 4.x adds new administrative and email reports and features; including a Web-based dashboard displaying real-time server performance.

Improve Performance with Gateways

Using SmarterMail gateways (available with the Enterprise Edition) allows for enhanced load balancing features. Version 4.x also adds round-robin distribution to 3rd-party gateways.

Smart Gateways and Improved Load Balancing

New smart gateways allow mail servers to send through the entire array of outbound gateway servers to better balance loads.

Message Status Icons

Every message in your SmarterMail inbox will now have a corresponding status icon. These icons will inform the user of what actions have been taken for each individual email. The types of status icons include: read, unread, forwarded, and replied.

New Intuitive Webmail and Admin Interfaces

The webmail and System Administrator interfaces have been re-designed with a renewed focus on reduced load speed and better usability. New features like a preview pane, lower-bandwidth component controls, custom skins, and an intuitive Today page.

Synchronize Personal and Shared Outlook Features

Version 4.x includes the new release of SmarterMail Sync for Outlook. Now synchronize shared calendars, contacts, tasks, and now notes; including optional automatic synchronization on startup and exit of Outlook (Enterprise Edition only).

POP Retrieval

Allow users to grab email from external POP accounts and pull them into SmarterMail accounts.