As users are slowly migrating data to The Cloud, having a webmail account has become a given, with Google Mail being the top choice. Unimpressed by these developments, Windows continues to link email hyperlinks (a.k.a. mailto: links) to the default desktop mail client, such as Windows Live Mail or Outlook. Not even the Google browser Chrome challenges this practice.

The only way to stop mailto: links from opening in a desktop mail client is the use of third party applications (global), browser settings (Firefox), or browser extensions (Chrome). This article will show you how you can set Gmail as your default email client in Chrome, Firefox, or any other default browser.

Send From Gmail (Chrome)

To open mailto links that you click inside Google Chrome in a new Gmail tab, you can use the Send from Gmail extension. Send from Gmail will also add a toolbar button. Clicking the button will open a separate compose window with the current tab / page title as the subject and selected text plus the page link pasted into the message body.

For some reason the button doesn’t work on the extension’s own page in the Chrome web store.

I had to restart Chrome before the extension worked.

This extension will override the global Windows solutions provided further below. This is handy if Google Chrome is not your default browser, but you still want to open mailto links locally, rather than in a second browser.

GmailByDefault XP

If you’re running Windows XP, you can use this tool to make Windows open any mailto links in Gmail. Windows will launch your default browser and then open Gmail in a new tab.

I had to run the tool twice for it to work, even though it seemed to have installed successfully the first time. Changes were visible under > Internet Options (see below).

To reverse the changes made by GmailByDefault XP, go to > Control Panel > Internet Options, switch to the > Programs tab and select your preferred > E-Mail program from the respective pull-down list.

Affixa

Affixa provides similar functionality as GmailByDefault. However, it is also compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7, and comes with a bunch of extra features. Instead of launching Gmail in your default browser, if you are clicking on a mailto link elsewhere, Affixa will log into your account and drop a draft to the email address you clicked.

If your default browser is Firefox, it will first install an extension to handle login cookies. Affixa also supports Yahoo! Mail and Zimbra and you can theoretically add a desktop mail client. The free version only allows you to add one webmail account.

You have to make Affixa your standard mail program. The changes will only affect the settings under > Internet Options as described above for GmailByDefault XP. To use the attachment baskets, Affixa must launch with Windows. However if it doesn’t, mailto links will still open in your default mail client (i.e. Gmail) and browser.

To learn more about Affixa’s additional features, read my article How to Send Big Files & Auto-open mailto Links in GMail or Yahoo. Meanwhile, Affixa replaced the cooperation with drop.io with its own file server to offer the Drop feature.

Firefox Option

If you’re using Firefox, you won’t have to install anything to make mailto links open in your favorite webmail client. Go to > Tools > Options, switch to the > Applications tab and type > mailto into the search field. You can now select an > Action for mailto links from the drop-down menu.

Apart from Gmail, you can also set Yahoo! Mail or an application of your choice.

If you’re a die-hard Gmail fan, also check out 7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client.

How have you been handling mailto links up to now? Is anyone actually using desktop email clients anymore?

More articles about: browsers, email, email management, email tips, Gmail

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" />Awesome free email services like Gmail have made it possible to exchange multiple emails with attachments (almost) without the fear of exceeding the storage space. As a result, we have lots of important files and documents saved online in our inboxes.

This post will show you how to extract and save some (or all) of those attachments without the need to open each individual email. The following two tools will let you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-email-attachments-gmail/">manage your email attachments more efficiently, back-up your files stored online and save on your email storage space (if you have managed to exceed it).

1. Attachment Extractor (Thunderbird Plugin)

If you are using Thunderbird, you are lucky because there is a handy, flexible and easy-to-use addon called class="vt-p" href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/attachmentextractor/">Attachment Extractor that lets you easily extract and save attachments from the selected messages. The addon has already made one of Make Use Of’s lists: class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-must-have-thunderbird-addons-25-more/">10 must-have Thunderbird Addons (+ 25 more).

• The first step to take after installing the addon is to set the default folder (the tool won’t work without that!). Go to Tools -> Attachments Extractor Settings and select the default folder you want all the attachments to be extracted to.

Now whenever you want, just select the messages containing the attachments you need to extract, right-click and select one of the following options:

• Extract from Selected Messages (to a default folder);
• Extract from Selected Messages (to a custom folder);
• Extract with a custom filename pattern (to automatically intelligently rename files to avoid replacing existing files)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-01.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="535" height="197" />

The same set of features is available for extracting all the attachments from any folder (just right click on any folder in the right-hand panel).

The addon offers you quite a few options to save on your Thunderbird and email space. For example, you can set it to:

• Delete the message after the attachment is extracted;
• Delete the attachment after downloading it (while keeping the message):

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-02.png" alt="extract multiple attachments" width="428" height="255" />

The addon can also be configured to extract attachments automatically on email receipt. To configure this option, go to Tools -> Attachment Extractor Settings -> Auto-Extract and there:

• Set when the attachments need to be extracted (the tool can be set to wait until all messages are downloaded before starting to extract);
• Specify the default folder to save the attachments;
• Set up the filter (Extract only messages tagged …);
• Choose what to do if the file with the same name already exists:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-06.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="540" height="383" />

2. Mail Attachment Downloader (Windows only)

class="vt-p" href="http://gearmage.com/maildownloader.html">Mail Attachment Downloader is a desktop client that connects to your email account, extracts all the attachments and saves them to the specified folder.

It works with popular email clients like Gmail, Hotmail/Live, AOL and Y!Mail – and it looks like it can be configured to work with other services as well. The tool keeps your mail untouched: the messages won’t be marked as read.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-03.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="488" height="599" />

The “Basic” and “Advanced” Filters give you some flexibility over which type of attachments you want to download:

• You can filter email attachments by size (“greater than”)
• You can filter email attachments by file type (movies, pictures, music, documents)
• You can choose to check all mail or selectively check new messages only.
• You can filter emails by the sender of recipient, the keyword in subject or in the body;
• You can also specify the time frame:

Basic Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-05.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="463" height="183" />

Advanced Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-04.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="454" height="188" />

I am sure there are other great ways to download multiple email attachments (for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/microsoft-outlook/">Outlook, for example) I am not aware of. Please let me know which ones you have tested and had success with! />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/&title=How To Extract & Download Multiple Email Attachments In Bulk&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/attachments/" title="attachments" rel="tag">attachments, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email/" title="email" rel="tag">email, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-management/" title="email management" rel="tag">email management, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-tips/" title="email tips" rel="tag">email tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/" title="Gmail" rel="tag">Gmail />

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" />Awesome free email services like Gmail have made it possible to exchange multiple emails with attachments (almost) without the fear of exceeding the storage space. As a result, we have lots of important files and documents saved online in our inboxes.

This post will show you how to extract and save some (or all) of those attachments without the need to open each individual email. The following two tools will let you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-email-attachments-gmail/">manage your email attachments more efficiently, back-up your files stored online and save on your email storage space (if you have managed to exceed it).

1. Attachment Extractor (Thunderbird Plugin)

If you are using Thunderbird, you are lucky because there is a handy, flexible and easy-to-use addon called class="vt-p" href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/attachmentextractor/">Attachment Extractor that lets you easily extract and save attachments from the selected messages. The addon has already made one of Make Use Of’s lists: class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-must-have-thunderbird-addons-25-more/">10 must-have Thunderbird Addons (+ 25 more).

• The first step to take after installing the addon is to set the default folder (the tool won’t work without that!). Go to Tools -> Attachments Extractor Settings and select the default folder you want all the attachments to be extracted to.

Now whenever you want, just select the messages containing the attachments you need to extract, right-click and select one of the following options:

• Extract from Selected Messages (to a default folder);
• Extract from Selected Messages (to a custom folder);
• Extract with a custom filename pattern (to automatically intelligently rename files to avoid replacing existing files)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-01.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="535" height="197" />

The same set of features is available for extracting all the attachments from any folder (just right click on any folder in the right-hand panel).

The addon offers you quite a few options to save on your Thunderbird and email space. For example, you can set it to:

• Delete the message after the attachment is extracted;
• Delete the attachment after downloading it (while keeping the message):

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-02.png" alt="extract multiple attachments" width="428" height="255" />

The addon can also be configured to extract attachments automatically on email receipt. To configure this option, go to Tools -> Attachment Extractor Settings -> Auto-Extract and there:

• Set when the attachments need to be extracted (the tool can be set to wait until all messages are downloaded before starting to extract);
• Specify the default folder to save the attachments;
• Set up the filter (Extract only messages tagged …);
• Choose what to do if the file with the same name already exists:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-06.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="540" height="383" />

2. Mail Attachment Downloader (Windows only)

class="vt-p" href="http://gearmage.com/maildownloader.html">Mail Attachment Downloader is a desktop client that connects to your email account, extracts all the attachments and saves them to the specified folder.

It works with popular email clients like Gmail, Hotmail/Live, AOL and Y!Mail – and it looks like it can be configured to work with other services as well. The tool keeps your mail untouched: the messages won’t be marked as read.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-03.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="488" height="599" />

The “Basic” and “Advanced” Filters give you some flexibility over which type of attachments you want to download:

• You can filter email attachments by size (“greater than”)
• You can filter email attachments by file type (movies, pictures, music, documents)
• You can choose to check all mail or selectively check new messages only.
• You can filter emails by the sender of recipient, the keyword in subject or in the body;
• You can also specify the time frame:

Basic Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-05.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="463" height="183" />

Advanced Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-04.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="454" height="188" />

I am sure there are other great ways to download multiple email attachments (for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/microsoft-outlook/">Outlook, for example) I am not aware of. Please let me know which ones you have tested and had success with! />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to join href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof" target="_blank">MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already!

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/&title=How To Extract & Download Multiple Email Attachments In Bulk&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/attachments/" title="attachments" rel="tag">attachments, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email/" title="email" rel="tag">email, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-management/" title="email management" rel="tag">email management, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-tips/" title="email tips" rel="tag">email tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/" title="Gmail" rel="tag">Gmail />

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" />Awesome free email services like Gmail have made it possible to exchange multiple emails with attachments (almost) without the fear of exceeding the storage space. As a result, we have lots of important files and documents saved online in our inboxes.

This post will show you how to extract and save some (or all) of those attachments without the need to open each individual email. The following two tools will let you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-email-attachments-gmail/">manage your email attachments more efficiently, back-up your files stored online and save on your email storage space (if you have managed to exceed it).

1. Attachment Extractor (Thunderbird Plugin)

If you are using Thunderbird, you are lucky because there is a handy, flexible and easy-to-use addon called class="vt-p" href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/attachmentextractor/">Attachment Extractor that lets you easily extract and save attachments from the selected messages. The addon has already made one of Make Use Of’s lists: class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-must-have-thunderbird-addons-25-more/">10 must-have Thunderbird Addons (+ 25 more).

• The first step to take after installing the addon is to set the default folder (the tool won’t work without that!). Go to Tools -> Attachments Extractor Settings and select the default folder you want all the attachments to be extracted to.

Now whenever you want, just select the messages containing the attachments you need to extract, right-click and select one of the following options:

• Extract from Selected Messages (to a default folder);
• Extract from Selected Messages (to a custom folder);
• Extract with a custom filename pattern (to automatically intelligently rename files to avoid replacing existing files)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-01.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="535" height="197" />

The same set of features is available for extracting all the attachments from any folder (just right click on any folder in the right-hand panel).

The addon offers you quite a few options to save on your Thunderbird and email space. For example, you can set it to:

• Delete the message after the attachment is extracted;
• Delete the attachment after downloading it (while keeping the message):

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-02.png" alt="extract multiple attachments" width="428" height="255" />

The addon can also be configured to extract attachments automatically on email receipt. To configure this option, go to Tools -> Attachment Extractor Settings -> Auto-Extract and there:

• Set when the attachments need to be extracted (the tool can be set to wait until all messages are downloaded before starting to extract);
• Specify the default folder to save the attachments;
• Set up the filter (Extract only messages tagged …);
• Choose what to do if the file with the same name already exists:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-06.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="540" height="383" />

2. Mail Attachment Downloader (Windows only)

class="vt-p" href="http://gearmage.com/maildownloader.html">Mail Attachment Downloader is a desktop client that connects to your email account, extracts all the attachments and saves them to the specified folder.

It works with popular email clients like Gmail, Hotmail/Live, AOL and Y!Mail – and it looks like it can be configured to work with other services as well. The tool keeps your mail untouched: the messages won’t be marked as read.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-03.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="488" height="599" />

The “Basic” and “Advanced” Filters give you some flexibility over which type of attachments you want to download:

• You can filter email attachments by size (“greater than”)
• You can filter email attachments by file type (movies, pictures, music, documents)
• You can choose to check all mail or selectively check new messages only.
• You can filter emails by the sender of recipient, the keyword in subject or in the body;
• You can also specify the time frame:

Basic Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-05.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="463" height="183" />

Advanced Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-04.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="454" height="188" />

I am sure there are other great ways to download multiple email attachments (for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/microsoft-outlook/">Outlook, for example) I am not aware of. Please let me know which ones you have tested and had success with! />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to join href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof" target="_blank">MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already!

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/&title=How To Extract & Download Multiple Email Attachments In Bulk&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/attachments/" title="attachments" rel="tag">attachments, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email/" title="email" rel="tag">email, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-management/" title="email management" rel="tag">email management, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-tips/" title="email tips" rel="tag">email tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/" title="Gmail" rel="tag">Gmail />

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" />Awesome free email services like Gmail have made it possible to exchange multiple emails with attachments (almost) without the fear of exceeding the storage space. As a result, we have lots of important files and documents saved online in our inboxes.

This post will show you how to extract and save some (or all) of those attachments without the need to open each individual email. The following two tools will let you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-email-attachments-gmail/">manage your email attachments more efficiently, back-up your files stored online and save on your email storage space (if you have managed to exceed it).

1. Attachment Extractor (Thunderbird Plugin)

If you are using Thunderbird, you are lucky because there is a handy, flexible and easy-to-use addon called class="vt-p" href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/attachmentextractor/">Attachment Extractor that lets you easily extract and save attachments from the selected messages. The addon has already made one of Make Use Of’s lists: class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-must-have-thunderbird-addons-25-more/">10 must-have Thunderbird Addons (+ 25 more).

• The first step to take after installing the addon is to set the default folder (the tool won’t work without that!). Go to Tools -> Attachments Extractor Settings and select the default folder you want all the attachments to be extracted to.

Now whenever you want, just select the messages containing the attachments you need to extract, right-click and select one of the following options:

• Extract from Selected Messages (to a default folder);
• Extract from Selected Messages (to a custom folder);
• Extract with a custom filename pattern (to automatically intelligently rename files to avoid replacing existing files)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-01.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="535" height="197" />

The same set of features is available for extracting all the attachments from any folder (just right click on any folder in the right-hand panel).

The addon offers you quite a few options to save on your Thunderbird and email space. For example, you can set it to:

• Delete the message after the attachment is extracted;
• Delete the attachment after downloading it (while keeping the message):

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-02.png" alt="extract multiple attachments" width="428" height="255" />

The addon can also be configured to extract attachments automatically on email receipt. To configure this option, go to Tools -> Attachment Extractor Settings -> Auto-Extract and there:

• Set when the attachments need to be extracted (the tool can be set to wait until all messages are downloaded before starting to extract);
• Specify the default folder to save the attachments;
• Set up the filter (Extract only messages tagged …);
• Choose what to do if the file with the same name already exists:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-06.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="540" height="383" />

2. Mail Attachment Downloader (Windows only)

class="vt-p" href="http://gearmage.com/maildownloader.html">Mail Attachment Downloader is a desktop client that connects to your email account, extracts all the attachments and saves them to the specified folder.

It works with popular email clients like Gmail, Hotmail/Live, AOL and Y!Mail – and it looks like it can be configured to work with other services as well. The tool keeps your mail untouched: the messages won’t be marked as read.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-03.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="488" height="599" />

The “Basic” and “Advanced” Filters give you some flexibility over which type of attachments you want to download:

• You can filter email attachments by size (“greater than”)
• You can filter email attachments by file type (movies, pictures, music, documents)
• You can choose to check all mail or selectively check new messages only.
• You can filter emails by the sender of recipient, the keyword in subject or in the body;
• You can also specify the time frame:

Basic Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-05.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="463" height="183" />

Advanced Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-04.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="454" height="188" />

I am sure there are other great ways to download multiple email attachments (for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/microsoft-outlook/">Outlook, for example) I am not aware of. Please let me know which ones you have tested and had success with! />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to join href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof" target="_blank">MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already!

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/&title=How To Extract & Download Multiple Email Attachments In Bulk&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/attachments/" title="attachments" rel="tag">attachments, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email/" title="email" rel="tag">email, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-management/" title="email management" rel="tag">email management, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-tips/" title="email tips" rel="tag">email tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/" title="Gmail" rel="tag">Gmail />

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" />Awesome free email services like Gmail have made it possible to exchange multiple emails with attachments (almost) without the fear of exceeding the storage space. As a result, we have lots of important files and documents saved online in our inboxes.

This post will show you how to extract and save some (or all) of those attachments without the need to open each individual email. The following two tools will let you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-email-attachments-gmail/">manage your email attachments more efficiently, back-up your files stored online and save on your email storage space (if you have managed to exceed it).

1. Attachment Extractor (Thunderbird Plugin)

If you are using Thunderbird, you are lucky because there is a handy, flexible and easy-to-use addon called class="vt-p" href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/attachmentextractor/">Attachment Extractor that lets you easily extract and save attachments from the selected messages. The addon has already made one of Make Use Of’s lists: class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-must-have-thunderbird-addons-25-more/">10 must-have Thunderbird Addons (+ 25 more).

• The first step to take after installing the addon is to set the default folder (the tool won’t work without that!). Go to Tools -> Attachments Extractor Settings and select the default folder you want all the attachments to be extracted to.

Now whenever you want, just select the messages containing the attachments you need to extract, right-click and select one of the following options:

• Extract from Selected Messages (to a default folder);
• Extract from Selected Messages (to a custom folder);
• Extract with a custom filename pattern (to automatically intelligently rename files to avoid replacing existing files)

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-01.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="535" height="197" />

The same set of features is available for extracting all the attachments from any folder (just right click on any folder in the right-hand panel).

The addon offers you quite a few options to save on your Thunderbird and email space. For example, you can set it to:

• Delete the message after the attachment is extracted;
• Delete the attachment after downloading it (while keeping the message):

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-02.png" alt="extract multiple attachments" width="428" height="255" />

The addon can also be configured to extract attachments automatically on email receipt. To configure this option, go to Tools -> Attachment Extractor Settings -> Auto-Extract and there:

• Set when the attachments need to be extracted (the tool can be set to wait until all messages are downloaded before starting to extract);
• Specify the default folder to save the attachments;
• Set up the filter (Extract only messages tagged …);
• Choose what to do if the file with the same name already exists:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-06.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="540" height="383" />

2. Mail Attachment Downloader (Windows only)

class="vt-p" href="http://gearmage.com/maildownloader.html">Mail Attachment Downloader is a desktop client that connects to your email account, extracts all the attachments and saves them to the specified folder.

It works with popular email clients like Gmail, Hotmail/Live, AOL and Y!Mail – and it looks like it can be configured to work with other services as well. The tool keeps your mail untouched: the messages won’t be marked as read.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-03.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="488" height="599" />

The “Basic” and “Advanced” Filters give you some flexibility over which type of attachments you want to download:

• You can filter email attachments by size (“greater than”)
• You can filter email attachments by file type (movies, pictures, music, documents)
• You can choose to check all mail or selectively check new messages only.
• You can filter emails by the sender of recipient, the keyword in subject or in the body;
• You can also specify the time frame:

Basic Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-05.png" alt="download multiple attachments" width="463" height="183" />

Advanced Filters:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/multiple-attachments-04.png" alt="download multiple attachments gmail" width="454" height="188" />

I am sure there are other great ways to download multiple email attachments (for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/microsoft-outlook/">Outlook, for example) I am not aware of. Please let me know which ones you have tested and had success with! />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to join href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof" target="_blank">MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already!

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/&title=How To Extract & Download Multiple Email Attachments In Bulk&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/extract-download-multiple-email-attachments-bulk/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/attachments/" title="attachments" rel="tag">attachments, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email/" title="email" rel="tag">email, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-management/" title="email management" rel="tag">email management, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/email-tips/" title="email tips" rel="tag">email tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/" title="Gmail" rel="tag">Gmail />

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbralogo.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="239" height="72" />For a long time, I’ve been searching for a good desktop email client to install on my laptop that is able to integrate all of the various email accounts I have. Gmail accounts are actually pretty easy to connect to, but other email accounts not so much. Matt touched on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-email-clients-windows-7/">three good choices, Thunderbird, Opera and Postbox Express. Tina also covered three of the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/">top clients in the business – Thunderbird, Gmail and Zimbra.

What exactly is Zimbra, you ask? Let’s just say that Zimbra is one of the few email clients that can comfortably claim that it connects to any email account.

id="more-64675"> /> The problem I’ve had for years is that I’ve tried desktop clients that are excellent at connecting with any POP mail accounts or Gmail accounts, but not my Yahoo email account. I’ve found web-based clients that can connect to Gmail and Yahoo without a problem, but struggle to properly pull in some of my POP or IMAP accounts. I eventually resorted to using Thunderbird, checking Yahoo mail via a web browser.

Recently, I gave the Zimbra desktop a test drive and finally discovered an email client that can do it all – Gmail, POP and Yahoo mail all from one central spot. I’m in love.

The Zimbra Desktop Email Client

I believe the reason Zimbra is one of the few desktop email clients that can easily integrate with a free Yahoo account is because Yahoo bought Zimbra in 2007.  So now it’s the client of choice if you have a Yahoo account that you’d like to access from your desktop. When you first download and launch href="http://www.zimbra.com/downloads/zd-downloads.html">Zimbra, the first step is adding your email accounts. As you can see, Zimbra has the bases covered with Yahoo, Gmail, IMAP and POP accounts.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra5.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="469" height="292" />

As you can see below, I’ve got five email accounts configured to pull all new email down into Zimbra – one Yahoo account, three Google accounts, and one POP email account.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64676" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra1.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="566" height="515" />

You can click on any one account to see all of the emails for that account alone, and you can click on any individual email to view the contents of the email in the right panel. You can also reconfigure the display so the preview panel is at the bottom rather than at the side.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64677" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra2.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="561" height="439" />

I love the way Zimbra organizes each email account in the left navigational panel, and you can dropdown each account to view all of the folders. Zimbra is able to bring in all of your folders/labels from both your Yahoo accounts and your Gmail accounts. It really is remarkable how easily Zimbra plugs in.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64681" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra6.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="236" height="325" />

Additionally, even though you’re doing everything from a central client, Zimbra gives you the flexibility to customize certain elements for each account. For example, if you’re responding to someone using one of your work Gmail accounts, you may want one signature appended at the end of the email. If you’re responding to someone with your home Yahoo email account, you may want a different signature. Zimbra lets you customize distinct signatures, personas and filters for each individual account.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra7.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="465" height="436" />

Going Beyond Mail With Zimbra

I only really need Zimbra desktop as an email client, but if you want one desktop app where you can plug into your other online accounts like Facebook or Twitter, Zimbra will do that too. However, it’s only good for checking basic updates and quickly updating your own status.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra3.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="572" height="167" />

I find the friend feeds to be not quite as versatile as other desktop social networking clients, but the social tab is there if you want to use it. It does make it fairly quick and easy to view Facebook and Twitter updates at the same time you’re checking your mail.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra4.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="564" height="516" />

In addition to social networking features, Yahoo is clearly attempting to compete with Google when it comes to the Briefcase tab. Here, you’ll find  a section that’ll remind you of Google Docs. You can create a document, spreadsheet or even a slideshow presentation all from within the application.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64683" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra8.jpg" alt="zimbra mail" width="542" height="404" />

You can create simple slideshows that include text and images, and you can play the slideshow from inside Zimbra, but you can’t save it as an external file. The closest to getting files out of Zimbra is the ability to print the documents that you create. Otherwise, all documents, spreadsheets or slideshows are contained within the app.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64684" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra9.jpg" alt="zimbra mail" width="580" height="381" />

Another area where Zimbra desktop falls slightly short (at least with the free version) is the Calendar. The calendar and task feature within Zimbra is well done and useful, however if you’re like me and you’re already an active Google Calendar user, it would be really nice to be able to sync up the two calendar systems. As far as I can tell, Yahoo is trying to avoid syncing anything from Google to Zimbra. While I can understand the competition, Zimbra would be much more useful to Google users if that syncing was possible.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64685" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra10.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="537" height="402" />

Another nice feature about the free version of Zimbra is that there is a nice collection of add-ons available at the href="http://gallery.zimbra.com">Zimbra gallery. I discovered and downloaded an add-on called Inbox Zero that completely helped me manage my many inboxes and finally empty them out.

If you’ve struggled for a long time, bouncing from one desktop email client to another because they couldn’t access all of your email accounts, you’ll want to give Zimbra desktop a try. It’s flexible, functional, and it’ll finally let you view and manage every last email account you have from one, well-organized interface.

Give Zimbra a try and let us know what you think. What’s your favorite feature? Do you like other desktop clients better? Share your opinion in the comments section below. />
/>Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to target="_blank" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-share-share-spread-word/">share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/&title=Zimbra – A Faster & Easier Way To Download Email To Your Desktop&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/manage-multiple-signatures-gmail-browser-plugins/" title="Manage Multiple Signatures In Gmail Without Browser Plugins">Manage Multiple Signatures In Gmail Without Browser Plugins (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-gmail-into-a-multitasking-machine-part-iii/" title="How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part III)">How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part III) (12 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-gmail-into-a-multitasking-machine-part-ii/" title="How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II)">How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II) (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-find-the-right-time-to-email-anyone/" title="How to Email Smarter With Buit-In Time Zone Converters">How to Email Smarter With Buit-In Time Zone Converters (8 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-access-hotmail-email-messages-from-your-gmail-account-part-ii/" title="How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account [Part II]">How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account [Part II] (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/organized-year-postbox-2-giveaway/" title="Get Organized in the New Year with Postbox 2 [Giveaway]">Get Organized in the New Year with Postbox 2 [Giveaway] (33 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-simple-steps-gmail-desktop-email-client/" title="7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client">7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/" title="3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook">3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook (27 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/rules-mac-mail-control/" title="2 Simple Apple Mail Rules To Better Deal With Incoming Emails [Mac]">2 Simple Apple Mail Rules To Better Deal With Incoming Emails [Mac] (2 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-yahoo-mail-classic-tips-tricks/" title="Top 5 Yahoo Mail Classic Tips & Tricks">Top 5 Yahoo Mail Classic Tips & Tricks (26 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbralogo.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="239" height="72" />For a long time, I’ve been searching for a good desktop email client to install on my laptop that is able to integrate all of the various email accounts I have. Gmail accounts are actually pretty easy to connect to, but other email accounts not so much. Matt touched on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-email-clients-windows-7/">three good choices, Thunderbird, Opera and Postbox Express. Tina also covered three of the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/">top clients in the business – Thunderbird, Gmail and Zimbra.

What exactly is Zimbra, you ask? Let’s just say that Zimbra is one of the few email clients that can comfortably claim that it connects to any email account.

id="more-64675"> /> The problem I’ve had for years is that I’ve tried desktop clients that are excellent at connecting with any POP mail accounts or Gmail accounts, but not my Yahoo email account. I’ve found web-based clients that can connect to Gmail and Yahoo without a problem, but struggle to properly pull in some of my POP or IMAP accounts. I eventually resorted to using Thunderbird, checking Yahoo mail via a web browser.

Recently, I gave the Zimbra desktop a test drive and finally discovered an email client that can do it all – Gmail, POP and Yahoo mail all from one central spot. I’m in love.

The Zimbra Desktop Email Client

I believe the reason Zimbra is one of the few desktop email clients that can easily integrate with a free Yahoo account is because Yahoo bought Zimbra in 2007.  So now it’s the client of choice if you have a Yahoo account that you’d like to access from your desktop. When you first download and launch href="http://www.zimbra.com/downloads/zd-downloads.html">Zimbra, the first step is adding your email accounts. As you can see, Zimbra has the bases covered with Yahoo, Gmail, IMAP and POP accounts.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra5.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="469" height="292" />

As you can see below, I’ve got five email accounts configured to pull all new email down into Zimbra – one Yahoo account, three Google accounts, and one POP email account.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64676" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra1.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="566" height="515" />

You can click on any one account to see all of the emails for that account alone, and you can click on any individual email to view the contents of the email in the right panel. You can also reconfigure the display so the preview panel is at the bottom rather than at the side.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64677" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra2.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="561" height="439" />

I love the way Zimbra organizes each email account in the left navigational panel, and you can dropdown each account to view all of the folders. Zimbra is able to bring in all of your folders/labels from both your Yahoo accounts and your Gmail accounts. It really is remarkable how easily Zimbra plugs in.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64681" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra6.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="236" height="325" />

Additionally, even though you’re doing everything from a central client, Zimbra gives you the flexibility to customize certain elements for each account. For example, if you’re responding to someone using one of your work Gmail accounts, you may want one signature appended at the end of the email. If you’re responding to someone with your home Yahoo email account, you may want a different signature. Zimbra lets you customize distinct signatures, personas and filters for each individual account.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra7.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="465" height="436" />

Going Beyond Mail With Zimbra

I only really need Zimbra desktop as an email client, but if you want one desktop app where you can plug into your other online accounts like Facebook or Twitter, Zimbra will do that too. However, it’s only good for checking basic updates and quickly updating your own status.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra3.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="572" height="167" />

I find the friend feeds to be not quite as versatile as other desktop social networking clients, but the social tab is there if you want to use it. It does make it fairly quick and easy to view Facebook and Twitter updates at the same time you’re checking your mail.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra4.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="564" height="516" />

In addition to social networking features, Yahoo is clearly attempting to compete with Google when it comes to the Briefcase tab. Here, you’ll find  a section that’ll remind you of Google Docs. You can create a document, spreadsheet or even a slideshow presentation all from within the application.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64683" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra8.jpg" alt="zimbra mail" width="542" height="404" />

You can create simple slideshows that include text and images, and you can play the slideshow from inside Zimbra, but you can’t save it as an external file. The closest to getting files out of Zimbra is the ability to print the documents that you create. Otherwise, all documents, spreadsheets or slideshows are contained within the app.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64684" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra9.jpg" alt="zimbra mail" width="580" height="381" />

Another area where Zimbra desktop falls slightly short (at least with the free version) is the Calendar. The calendar and task feature within Zimbra is well done and useful, however if you’re like me and you’re already an active Google Calendar user, it would be really nice to be able to sync up the two calendar systems. As far as I can tell, Yahoo is trying to avoid syncing anything from Google to Zimbra. While I can understand the competition, Zimbra would be much more useful to Google users if that syncing was possible.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64685" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra10.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="537" height="402" />

Another nice feature about the free version of Zimbra is that there is a nice collection of add-ons available at the href="http://gallery.zimbra.com">Zimbra gallery. I discovered and downloaded an add-on called Inbox Zero that completely helped me manage my many inboxes and finally empty them out.

If you’ve struggled for a long time, bouncing from one desktop email client to another because they couldn’t access all of your email accounts, you’ll want to give Zimbra desktop a try. It’s flexible, functional, and it’ll finally let you view and manage every last email account you have from one, well-organized interface.

Give Zimbra a try and let us know what you think. What’s your favorite feature? Do you like other desktop clients better? Share your opinion in the comments section below. />
/>Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to target="_blank" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-share-share-spread-word/">share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/&title=Zimbra – A Faster & Easier Way To Download Email To Your Desktop&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/manage-multiple-signatures-gmail-browser-plugins/" title="Manage Multiple Signatures In Gmail Without Browser Plugins">Manage Multiple Signatures In Gmail Without Browser Plugins (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-gmail-into-a-multitasking-machine-part-iii/" title="How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part III)">How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part III) (12 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-gmail-into-a-multitasking-machine-part-ii/" title="How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II)">How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II) (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-find-the-right-time-to-email-anyone/" title="How to Email Smarter With Buit-In Time Zone Converters">How to Email Smarter With Buit-In Time Zone Converters (8 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-access-hotmail-email-messages-from-your-gmail-account-part-ii/" title="How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account [Part II]">How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account [Part II] (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/organized-year-postbox-2-giveaway/" title="Get Organized in the New Year with Postbox 2 [Giveaway]">Get Organized in the New Year with Postbox 2 [Giveaway] (33 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-simple-steps-gmail-desktop-email-client/" title="7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client">7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/" title="3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook">3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook (27 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/rules-mac-mail-control/" title="2 Simple Apple Mail Rules To Better Deal With Incoming Emails [Mac]">2 Simple Apple Mail Rules To Better Deal With Incoming Emails [Mac] (2 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-yahoo-mail-classic-tips-tricks/" title="Top 5 Yahoo Mail Classic Tips & Tricks">Top 5 Yahoo Mail Classic Tips & Tricks (26 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbralogo.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="239" height="72" />For a long time, I’ve been searching for a good desktop email client to install on my laptop that is able to integrate all of the various email accounts I have. Gmail accounts are actually pretty easy to connect to, but other email accounts not so much. Matt touched on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-email-clients-windows-7/">three good choices, Thunderbird, Opera and Postbox Express. Tina also covered three of the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/">top clients in the business – Thunderbird, Gmail and Zimbra.

What exactly is Zimbra, you ask? Let’s just say that Zimbra is one of the few email clients that can comfortably claim that it connects to any email account.

id="more-64675"> /> The problem I’ve had for years is that I’ve tried desktop clients that are excellent at connecting with any POP mail accounts or Gmail accounts, but not my Yahoo email account. I’ve found web-based clients that can connect to Gmail and Yahoo without a problem, but struggle to properly pull in some of my POP or IMAP accounts. I eventually resorted to using Thunderbird, checking Yahoo mail via a web browser.

Recently, I gave the Zimbra desktop a test drive and finally discovered an email client that can do it all – Gmail, POP and Yahoo mail all from one central spot. I’m in love.

The Zimbra Desktop Email Client

I believe the reason Zimbra is one of the few desktop email clients that can easily integrate with a free Yahoo account is because Yahoo bought Zimbra in 2007.  So now it’s the client of choice if you have a Yahoo account that you’d like to access from your desktop. When you first download and launch href="http://www.zimbra.com/downloads/zd-downloads.html">Zimbra, the first step is adding your email accounts. As you can see, Zimbra has the bases covered with Yahoo, Gmail, IMAP and POP accounts.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra5.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="469" height="292" />

As you can see below, I’ve got five email accounts configured to pull all new email down into Zimbra – one Yahoo account, three Google accounts, and one POP email account.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64676" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra1.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="566" height="515" />

You can click on any one account to see all of the emails for that account alone, and you can click on any individual email to view the contents of the email in the right panel. You can also reconfigure the display so the preview panel is at the bottom rather than at the side.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64677" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra2.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="561" height="439" />

I love the way Zimbra organizes each email account in the left navigational panel, and you can dropdown each account to view all of the folders. Zimbra is able to bring in all of your folders/labels from both your Yahoo accounts and your Gmail accounts. It really is remarkable how easily Zimbra plugs in.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64681" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra6.jpg" alt="zimbra email" width="236" height="325" />

Additionally, even though you’re doing everything from a central client, Zimbra gives you the flexibility to customize certain elements for each account. For example, if you’re responding to someone using one of your work Gmail accounts, you may want one signature appended at the end of the email. If you’re responding to someone with your home Yahoo email account, you may want a different signature. Zimbra lets you customize distinct signatures, personas and filters for each individual account.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra7.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="465" height="436" />

Going Beyond Mail With Zimbra

I only really need Zimbra desktop as an email client, but if you want one desktop app where you can plug into your other online accounts like Facebook or Twitter, Zimbra will do that too. However, it’s only good for checking basic updates and quickly updating your own status.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra3.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="572" height="167" />

I find the friend feeds to be not quite as versatile as other desktop social networking clients, but the social tab is there if you want to use it. It does make it fairly quick and easy to view Facebook and Twitter updates at the same time you’re checking your mail.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra4.jpg" alt="yahoo zimbra" width="564" height="516" />

In addition to social networking features, Yahoo is clearly attempting to compete with Google when it comes to the Briefcase tab. Here, you’ll find  a section that’ll remind you of Google Docs. You can create a document, spreadsheet or even a slideshow presentation all from within the application.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64683" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra8.jpg" alt="zimbra mail" width="542" height="404" />

You can create simple slideshows that include text and images, and you can play the slideshow from inside Zimbra, but you can’t save it as an external file. The closest to getting files out of Zimbra is the ability to print the documents that you create. Otherwise, all documents, spreadsheets or slideshows are contained within the app.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64684" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra9.jpg" alt="zimbra mail" width="580" height="381" />

Another area where Zimbra desktop falls slightly short (at least with the free version) is the Calendar. The calendar and task feature within Zimbra is well done and useful, however if you’re like me and you’re already an active Google Calendar user, it would be really nice to be able to sync up the two calendar systems. As far as I can tell, Yahoo is trying to avoid syncing anything from Google to Zimbra. While I can understand the competition, Zimbra would be much more useful to Google users if that syncing was possible.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-64685" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zimbra10.jpg" alt="zimbra desktop" width="537" height="402" />

Another nice feature about the free version of Zimbra is that there is a nice collection of add-ons available at the href="http://gallery.zimbra.com">Zimbra gallery. I discovered and downloaded an add-on called Inbox Zero that completely helped me manage my many inboxes and finally empty them out.

If you’ve struggled for a long time, bouncing from one desktop email client to another because they couldn’t access all of your email accounts, you’ll want to give Zimbra desktop a try. It’s flexible, functional, and it’ll finally let you view and manage every last email account you have from one, well-organized interface.

Give Zimbra a try and let us know what you think. What’s your favorite feature? Do you like other desktop clients better? Share your opinion in the comments section below. />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof">MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!

href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof"> src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fbfeedfooter.png" />

/>

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/&title=Zimbra – A Faster & Easier Way To Download Email To Your Desktop&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-easier-email-zimbra/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

class="st-related-posts">

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/manage-multiple-signatures-gmail-browser-plugins/" title="Manage Multiple Signatures In Gmail Without Browser Plugins">Manage Multiple Signatures In Gmail Without Browser Plugins (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-gmail-into-a-multitasking-machine-part-iii/" title="How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part III)">How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part III) (12 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-gmail-into-a-multitasking-machine-part-ii/" title="How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II)">How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part II) (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-find-the-right-time-to-email-anyone/" title="How to Email Smarter With Buit-In Time Zone Converters">How to Email Smarter With Buit-In Time Zone Converters (8 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-access-hotmail-email-messages-from-your-gmail-account-part-ii/" title="How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account [Part II]">How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account [Part II] (10 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/organized-year-postbox-2-giveaway/" title="Get Organized in the New Year with Postbox 2 [Giveaway]">Get Organized in the New Year with Postbox 2 [Giveaway] (33 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-simple-steps-gmail-desktop-email-client/" title="7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client">7 Simple Steps To Use Gmail As A Desktop Email Client (13 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-outlook/" title="3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook">3 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Outlook (27 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/rules-mac-mail-control/" title="2 Simple Apple Mail Rules To Better Deal With Incoming Emails [Mac]">2 Simple Apple Mail Rules To Better Deal With Incoming Emails [Mac] (2 comments)

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-yahoo-mail-classic-tips-tricks/" title="Top 5 Yahoo Mail Classic Tips & Tricks">Top 5 Yahoo Mail Classic Tips & Tricks (26 comments)

View full post on MakeUseOf.com

style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/poll2.png" />Last week, we held a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/books-ebooks-read-makeuseof-poll/">showdown between books and eBooks to see what had the most readership in the past six months. And guess what? MakeUseOf readers favour eBooks by a pretty big margin.

From the 328 votes collected, the split was: 38% predominantly read eBooks; 20% only read hard-copy books; 21% predominantly read hard-copy books; 20% only read eBooks; while another 2% hadn’t read any books at all.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.

id="more-63018"> /> Overall, nearly 60% prefer to read eBooks over hard-copy, while 40% prefer to read hard-copy over eBooks.