User Defaults

The job of the system administrator is to make sure that the SmarterMail server runs as efficiently as possible. Part of that responsibility is putting measures in place to limit the potential for system abuses and "user error" that could cause problems.

SmarterMail gives system administrators the ability to create a default template that's used as the starting point for every domain's own user defaults. Whenever a new domain is added to the server, SmarterMail copies the values on this page into that domain's User Defaults settings (the same page a domain administrator sees under Domain Settings). From there, a domain administrator can further adjust the template for their own domain, or a system administrator can push updated values down to existing domains at any time using the Propagate feature described below.

The settings on this page are functionally identical to the fields found on a domain's own User Defaults page, and largely identical to the fields found when adding or editing an individual user — things like mailbox size, service access, webmail behavior, email handling and throttling. For more information on the equivalent per-user fields, refer to the Managing Users page.

You can make whatever changes you want to the settings on this page, and any NEW domain that's added to the server afterward will have these values applied to its own User Defaults automatically. Editing this page, however, has no effect whatsoever on domains that already exist — not even after clicking Save. To roll a change out to existing domains (and, optionally, straight to their existing users), the change must be explicitly propagated.

• Account
• User
• Service Access
• Webmail
• Email
• Throttling
• Propagation

Account

Mailbox Size Limit – This is the default mailbox size, in megabytes, that will be assigned to new users. Out of the box, SmarterMail sets this to 1000MB (1GB), but it can be changed to whatever value makes sense for your server. Entering "0" removes the size limit entirely for any new user created under any new domain — a setting most administrators avoid, since it removes a safeguard against a single mailbox consuming an unbounded amount of disk space. For example, a shared hosting provider running many small business domains might lower this to 500MB to conserve disk space, while a provider that hosts a handful of large enterprise domains might raise it to 5000MB (5GB) or more.

User

• Language – The language selected here becomes the default for every new user of every new domain. This setting is more than just a display preference: it determines the language used for webmail labels, folder names, calendars and appointments, contact groups, log entries and system-generated email content, as well as what's returned to a connected email client (Outlook, eM Client, iOS Mail, etc.). Because the available languages are limited to whatever translation files have been added to the server, and because SmarterTools does not warrant the accuracy of community-provided translations, it's worth confirming the chosen default is both installed and reasonably accurate before rolling it out broadly.
• Time Zone – The default time zone applied to a new user's account. This determines how timestamps are displayed throughout the interface, such as when a message was received or when a calendar appointment occurs. Selecting Use Server Time Zone ties the user to whatever time zone the mail server itself is set to, which is a sensible default for a server whose domains are concentrated in a single region.
• Plus Addressing – Plus addressing lets a user generate an unlimited number of variant email addresses — for example, user+newsletter@example.com — that still deliver to their own mailbox, optionally being auto-filed into a folder based on the text after the plus sign. This setting controls what happens by default for new users:
  • Disabled – Plus addressing is turned off by default.
  • Move to Folder – Mail sent to a plus address is filed into a folder matching the text after the plus sign, creating the folder automatically if it doesn't already exist. Using a "/" in the plus address creates subfolders (e.g., myname+Newsletters/ACME@example.com creates a Newsletters folder, then an ACME folder underneath it), and an underscore in the folder name inserts a space (myname+acme_newsletters becomes a folder named "Acme Newsletters").
  • Move to Folder (If Exists) – Behaves the same as above, except that if the target folder doesn't already exist, the message is left in the Inbox rather than creating a new folder.
  • Leave in Inbox – Mail sent to a plus address is simply delivered to the Inbox.
Note: To prevent abuse, no more than 10 folders can be auto-created via plus addressing during any six-hour period, regardless of how many users are affected.
• Disable Password Changes – When enabled, new users will not be permitted to change their own login password from within webmail. This is useful on servers where password resets are meant to be handled exclusively by a domain administrator or system administrator, such as when passwords are synchronized from an external directory.
• Show in Global Address List – Controls whether new users appear in their domain's Global Address List (GAL) by default. Some organizations prefer that generic or role-based mailboxes (hr@, billing@, etc.) stay out of the GAL to keep it focused on real staff members, in which case this default would be turned off.
Note: MAPI requires use of the Global Address List in order to work properly. Regardless of this setting, or whether a domain's own GAL feature is disabled, Outlook using MAPI will always show the GAL directory and offer it for autocomplete when a user types a recipient's address.
• Mail Forwarding – Enables or disables a new user's ability to configure automatic forwarding of incoming mail to another address. Disabling this by default is a common security measure, since unmonitored mail forwarding rules are a frequent target of account compromise (an attacker who gains access to a mailbox will often set up a silent forward to exfiltrate future messages).
• Enable Greylisting – When your antispam settings allow greylisting to be overridden on a per-user basis, this switch appears and controls whether greylisting is bypassed for new users by default. (If the system-wide antispam configuration does not allow user-level overrides, this option will not be shown here at all.)

Service Access

These toggles determine which connection protocols a brand-new user will be permitted to use. For example, you could leave Webmail and IMAP enabled by default while leaving Outbound SMTP disabled, forcing new accounts to be explicitly enabled for outbound sending once a domain administrator has verified the account is legitimate.

• Webmail – Allows the user to log into SmarterMail through the webmail interface.
• POP – Allows the user to download mail to an external client using POP3.
• IMAP – Allows the user to maintain a two-way sync between SmarterMail and an external client using IMAP.
• Incoming SMTP – Allows the user to receive mail from senders outside their own domain (e.g., from Gmail).
• Outgoing SMTP – Allows the user to send mail to recipients outside their own domain (e.g., to a Gmail address).
• Chat – Activates SmarterMail's built-in Chat feature for the user.
• WebDAV – Allows the user to sync calendars (CalDAV) and contacts (CardDAV) to mobile and desktop clients that support those protocols.
• EAS (Enterprise Only) – Allows the user to configure the account as an Exchange ActiveSync mailbox on mobile mail, contacts and calendar apps.
• MAPI/EWS (Enterprise Only) – Allows the user to configure the account in Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, Apple Mail or eM Client using MAPI/EWS.

Webmail

These settings control the default webmail experience for new users — things like compose formatting, message previewing, receipts and how remote images are handled.

• Compose Font and Font Size – The default font and size applied to newly composed messages.
• Preview Pane – Determines whether new users see a reading pane (to the right of the message list) by default, or whether messages must be opened individually (None).
• Search Language Indexer – The Lucene indexing profile used for full-text search. Generic Indexer, the default, covers English and common accented/umlaut characters well. If most of your users on newly created domains will run the interface in a language like Chinese, Japanese or Korean, changing this default improves search accuracy for those languages.
• Use received address from message on reply (Reply From To Field) – When enabled by default, replying to a message sent to one of a user's alternate addresses (a domain alias, an email alias, an SMTP account, or a plus address) will send the reply from that same address rather than the user's primary address.
• Request read receipts by default and Request delivery receipts by default – When enabled, every outgoing message a new user sends via webmail will automatically request a read and/or delivery receipt. Most administrators leave these off by default and let individual users opt in, since requesting receipts on every message can be seen as intrusive by recipients.
• Draft auto-save – When enabled, drafts composed in webmail are automatically saved every two minutes.
• Hide email avatars in the message list – When enabled, avatars (uploaded images, monograms, Gravatar pictures, etc.) are hidden from the message list across all folders by default.
• Email Classification – When SmarterMail's message classification feature is enabled at the system level, this switch controls whether new users have their inbox automatically sorted into Primary, Transactions, Updates and Promotions categories by default.
• Show images from external websites (Allow Remote Content) – When enabled by default, remote content — images, embedded video, animated GIFs, etc. — referenced in an email will load and display automatically rather than requiring the user to manually choose to display it. Leaving this disabled by default is generally the safer choice, since automatically loading remote content can confirm to a spammer that an address is active.

Email

These settings determine the default handling of deleted mail, junk mail actions and outbound send behavior for new users, and apply both to webmail and to any connected desktop or mobile email client.

• Delete Email Action – Controls what happens by default when a user deletes a message (this does not apply to deleted folders, whose contents always go to the Deleted Items folder):
  • Move to Deleted Items folder – Deleted messages land in the Deleted Items folder, which the user must periodically empty.
  • Permanently Delete – Deleted messages are immediately and irreversibly purged.
  • Mark as Deleted – Messages are flagged for deletion but remain in place until the folder is purged.
Note: Messages deleted from the Junk Email folder are always permanently deleted, regardless of the Delete Email Action default configured here.
• Move to Junk Action – Controls what happens by default when a user marks a message as junk: Move to Junk Only, Move to Junk and Block Sender, or Move to Junk and Block Domain. The latter two also add the sender's address or domain to the user's Blocked Senders/Domains list.
• Remove from Junk Action – Controls what happens by default when a user removes a message from the Junk Email folder: Remove from Junk Only, Add to Trusted Senders, or Remove from Junk and Remove from Block.
• Delay Send – Adds a default built-in delay (5, 15, 30 or 60 seconds, or Disabled) before an outgoing message actually leaves the server, giving a user a brief window to catch mistakes — a missed attachment or an incorrect recipient, for example — before the message is truly sent.
• Mark messages downloaded by POP as read – When enabled by default, any message a user downloads via a POP3 connection is immediately marked as read on the server.

Throttling

Throttling caps the number of messages and/or the amount of bandwidth a single user can send outbound per hour, which helps prevent a compromised account or a runaway script from getting an entire domain — or the whole server — blacklisted. The values set here become the default per-user throttling limits applied to every new user created on every new domain.

• Outbound Messages per Hour (Default = 1000) – The default number of messages a new user may send per hour. Entering "0" removes the limit entirely for new users.
• Message Throttling Action – The default action taken once a user reaches their outbound message limit: do nothing, Delay, or Reject additional outbound messages until the count drops back under the threshold.
• Outbound Bandwidth (MB) per Hour (Default = 100) – The default total number of megabytes a new user may send per hour. Entering "0" removes the limit entirely for new users.
• Bandwidth Throttling Action – The default action taken once a user reaches their outbound bandwidth limit: do nothing, Delay, or Reject additional outbound messages until usage drops back under the threshold.

Propagation

Simply changing a setting on this page and clicking Save only updates the template itself; it has no effect on any domain that already exists on the server. It only determines the starting values used the next time a new domain is created. To roll a change out to domains — and, optionally, straight through to their existing users — the change must be explicitly propagated. To do so:

1. First, make any changes you want on this page, then click the Save button.
2. Next, click on the Propagate button. A modal window opens up.
3. Scroll down the list of settings, placing a check mark next to each individual setting you want to push out. Only the settings you check are propagated; anything left unchecked is not touched on the receiving end.
4. Once all items have been selected, choose how you want the changes propagated:
   • Apply to – Determines where the checked values are written:
     • User Defaults – Overwrites the target domain's own User Defaults template (the same page a domain administrator edits). This does not touch any user who already exists in that domain — it only changes what will be used for that domain's own future new users.
     • Users – Overwrites the checked settings directly on every existing user account within the target domain(s). This bypasses the domain's User Defaults template entirely and immediately changes real, active accounts.
     • Both – Performs both operations at once: it updates the target domain's own User Defaults template and pushes the same values out to every existing user in that domain.
   • Push to – Determines which domains are affected:
     • All Domains – Propagates the checked changes to every domain on the server.
     • Specific Domains – Lets you type in the specific domain name(s) you want the changes propagated to. Only the domains you list are affected; every other domain on the server is left alone.
   • Domain – Available only when Specific Domains is selected; this is where you type each domain name you want to target. Each domain you enter is added to a running list, so you can target several domains in a single propagation.
   Note: The modal does have a scrollbar, so after a domain is entered you may need to scroll down to see the next line to add in a second domain.
5. Once you've selected your changes, and added the specific domains you want to propagate the changes to, click the Propagate button.

Because propagation to an entire server can affect a large number of domains and users, SmarterMail runs the operation as a background task and returns control to you immediately; you do not need to keep the modal window open while it completes. For example, if you decide to raise the default Mailbox Size Limit from 1000MB to 2000MB for every domain on the server, you would check only the Mailbox Size Limit item, choose Both for Apply To, choose All Domains for Push To, and click Propagate — every existing domain's own User Defaults template and every existing user on the server would be updated to the new 2000MB limit in one pass.