Web Information Solutions Releases FlexMail 2006

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.webis.net/products_info.php?p_id=mail&dir=wm' target='_blank'>http://www.webis.net/products_info...._id=mail&dir=wm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"FlexMail is a full fledged email client for your Pocket PC. It supports reading and replying to ActiveSynched email for basic operations or through its infinitely more powerful POP3/IMAP4 services to your email server. With support for industry standard SSL and SOCKS proxies, you can connect to almost any email provider including GMail! With FlexMail's many options you can customize your email usage much more than any the Pocket PC Inbox allows. Receive your email via ActiveSync and respond via your POP3/IMAP4 SMTP account. Have FlexMail only hold the last 5 days of your IMAP folders. Create local folders and server folders. Synchronize by age, size, and synchronizations status."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20060313-FlexMail.jpg" /><br /><br />The old WebIS Mail is no more. Enter WebIS FlexMail 2006, which features a revised interface, a new spell checker based on <a href="http://www.phatware.com/phatspell.html">PhatWare's PhatSpell</a>, and many <a href="http://www.webis.net/whatsnew.php?type=flexmail&version=547&Product_Version=FlexMail%202006">under-the-hood changes</a> that make the application more functional than ever before. Good news for previous Mail users - FlexMail is a free upgrade for you (simply download the application and apply your existing registration code). If you're new to FlexMail, you can download a free trial version from our <a href="http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=48295&productType=2">affiliate software store</a>, as well as purchase the full version for $19.95.

[Menneisyys]

Cool! Now, I'll re-run my tests/update my mailer client roundup (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46747) with the latest info :)

[Clinton Fitch]

I've been beta testing what was Mail 2 v2.2 for some time now and I've been most pleased with it.

If you use your device seriously for email, you should look at this application. Personally my favorite.

[Theo]

A cracking app, from a cracking developer.

Gets a big thumbs up from me.

[PhilH]

Does FlexMail support mail synched via Exchange server?

[Theo]

Does FlexMail support mail synched via Exchange server?

Yes - I've just replaced the native Inbox app with FlexMail; still uses Activesync to connect to the Exchange server.

[Chairman Clench]

Since FlexMail supports multiple inboxes (sweet) I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for me. I am OTA syncing with the Exchange server at work and that works fine. I would also like to sync with my Outlook desktop / Exchange server at home to get e-mail, but AS only supports 1 Exchange account at a time. I really don't want to enable IMAP4 on the home Exchange server because IMAP4 isn't very secure. On the home machine I have multiple e-mail accounts and they are run through a spam filter on my desktop. Is there any way to get the e-mail from home? I don't want to use all independent POP3 accounts because then they won't be run through the spam filter.

Or, is there a program out there that will sync your Exchange account with GMail?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Janak Parekh]

I really don't want to enable IMAP4 on the home Exchange server because IMAP4 isn't very secure.
IMAP-over-SSL is actually quite secure, so I would consider using that first. You can use a self-signed certificate, copy the certificate file to the Pocket PC, and it should work (although I haven't tried FlexMail).

--janak

[Chairman Clench]

I really don't want to enable IMAP4 on the home Exchange server because IMAP4 isn't very secure.
IMAP-over-SSL is actually quite secure, so I would consider using that first. You can use a self-signed certificate, copy the certificate file to the Pocket PC, and it should work (although I haven't tried FlexMail).

--janak

I though IMAP transmits everything, including your password in plain text?

[Janak Parekh]

I though IMAP transmits everything, including your password in plain text?
While that's true in a default setup, that's not the only option. There are two ways of encrypting the password; I've used #2 primarily.

1. Tell your IMAP client to encrypt passwords (assuming the server supports it). You may have noticed the "Secure Password Authentication" in Outlook Express, for instance. This uses NTLM password encryption, while leaving the rest of the communications plaintext. Not sure if the Messaging applet or FlexMail supports NTLM passwords over IMAP (I think I read the MS client does, but I've never tried it, and there's no explicit option for it).

2. Run the IMAP session over SSL. This encrypts everything, much like HTTPS (or Server ActiveSync, which I believe is based on HTTPS). IMAP-over-SSL has broad support; Exchange supports it, as does most desktop clients as well as Pocket PC clients (including the built-in Messaging applet). The only hassle is that you need to configure an SSL context on the server and (in the case of self-signing) copy the certificate over to the device. In fact, it's possible to use both IMAP and SMTP over SSL; the latter is just as important if you plan to authenticate outgoing email.

--janak

[Chairman Clench]

I though IMAP transmits everything, including your password in plain text?
While that's true in a default setup, that's not the only option. There are two ways of encrypting the password; I've used #2 primarily.

1. Tell your IMAP client to encrypt passwords (assuming the server supports it). You may have noticed the "Secure Password Authentication" in Outlook Express, for instance. This uses NTLM password encryption, while leaving the rest of the communications plaintext. Not sure if the Messaging applet or FlexMail supports NTLM passwords over IMAP (I think I read the MS client does, but I've never tried it, and there's no explicit option for it).

2. Run the IMAP session over SSL. This encrypts everything, much like HTTPS (or Server ActiveSync, which I believe is based on HTTPS). IMAP-over-SSL has broad support; Exchange supports it, as does most desktop clients as well as Pocket PC clients (including the built-in Messaging applet). The only hassle is that you need to configure an SSL context on the server and (in the case of self-signing) copy the certificate over to the device. In fact, it's possible to use both IMAP and SMTP over SSL; the latter is just as important if you plan to authenticate outgoing email.

--janak

I'll give it a try... THANKS!

[Edgar_]

You could also run a VPN connection to your home network. This would provide not only secure mail access but things like remote desktop, remote printing etc. Of course, the VPN client cost more but Antha has released it's Winmo5 client. Not sure of other solutions.

www.anthavpn.com - this is the former Certicom MovianVPN client. I do know it has had some problems with certain devices, so check their webpage for compatability.Of course, from home you can easily setup PPTP as well.

-Edgar

[Jon Westfall]

Kudos to Alex &amp; Crew for making this a free upgrade to existing mail users. No doubt this will bring a lot of people back to them who may have stopped using Mail for whatever reason in the last year or so.

Downloading now... ;)

Jon.

[Underwater Mike]

I don't want to jack the thread, but would you need to install some sort of VPN server on the desktop, or would the XP VPN wizard handle everything? I don't know much about tunneling.



You could also run a VPN connection to your home network. This would provide not only secure mail access but things like remote desktop, remote printing etc. Of course, the VPN client cost more but Antha has released it's Winmo5 client. Not sure of other solutions.

www.anthavpn.com - this is the former Certicom MovianVPN client. I do know it has had some problems with certain devices, so check their webpage for compatability.Of course, from home you can easily setup PPTP as well.

-Edgar

[k_kirk]

Looks great! How does this new client play in the MSFP / AKU2 / Pushmail with Exchange front? Any ideas?

[ipaq_wannabe]

i was wondering if FlexMail already supports 2-byte character sets (Korean, Chinese, Japanese, etc)...

they have been promising this since WebIS Mail - and now that it is FlexMail...?

does anybody know?

[Jerry Raia]

I was just looking at the email I got on 1-24-03 with the reg code when I tried the first incarnation of this app. It didn't work right then and it still doesn't work for me. When I try to open SMS messages on my 8125 it just vapor locks. I'm sure it's me but I give up.

[Kash76]

How's the performance?? WebIS Mail used to be VERY slow!

[mbranscum]

This program takes forever to start up on my 8125...not sure I'll run it. After it gets going it's a very powerful app.

[Kash76]

Any word on push email support? My biggest problem with moving to the 700 is no more chatter :(

[Jerry Raia]

It was slow too, the parts that worked anyway, on my 8125. I think 3 years is enough. I'm done trying this thing.

[Edgar_]

I don't want to jack the thread, but would you need to install some sort of VPN server on the desktop, or would the XP VPN wizard handle everything? I don't know much about tunneling.



Well you'd need to route it to your system and allow it at your firewall (you do have one, right!), unless your cable modem etc is merely a gateway and not a router. If a router you'll need to setup the ports to route correctly, but yea PPTP and L2TP are both supported on Xp Pro (not sure about home). Read up on the pros and cons though. They have issues just as anything does. Linksys routers do this via the "Applications &amp; Gaming" tab.

-Edgar

[christak]

It was slow too, the parts that worked anyway, on my 8125. I think 3 years is enough. I'm done trying this thing.

I take it that the app is still slow...
:cry:

[Janak Parekh]

Looks great! How does this new client play in the MSFP / AKU2 / Pushmail with Exchange front? Any ideas?
The feature description suggests it can support the Outlook folder hierarchy that's used by ActiveSync. Since Server ActiveSync uses the same folder hierarchy, I'd assume it'd have no trouble manipulating it, and you'd use Server ActiveSync to move the data around. I haven't tried, though.

--janak

[mashtim]

It seems to work nicely with Exchange server (at least through 4Smartphone!).

However, I had the same speed issues, as well. I also had the issue with not being able to open my SMS messages.

This is about the 5th time I've tried WebIS's mail platform and I have been spectacularly unimpressed with it for years now. Every time I install it, I end up uninstalling within days, sometimes hours.

Of course, I will probably try their next one, as well, but as of right now, I am done with @Mail/FlexMail.

[Underwater Mike]

Too bad about the speed. I tried @Mail when it first came out and removed it for that reason, too. Is it any slower or faster depending on the location to which it's installed (i.e., card vs. onboard)?

[eagle63]

Anyone know how the IMAP syncing is on FlexMail with regards to things like reply/forward flags, etc? Pocket Outlook has an absolutely horrible IMAP implementation - if you delete an email in pocket outlook, it doesn't delete it on the IMAP server, replying to a message won't sync the reply flag, forwarding an email doesn't sync the forward flag, etc, etc.

[alex_kac]

Yes, the speed issue we've talked about on our forums for awhile. While it has improved a bit, there was just no possible way to "fix" it using the same technology that FlexMail uses.

Starting with Mail 2.00 we made a decision to use our own database system since at the time it was the only way to store data on a storage card and do some things that CEDB didn't support. However that database system (called SolFS) has some design decisions that have haunted us ever since. One is that it requires the entire file loaded into RAM. Second it requires that it parses every message object as it loads it. This means that startup and large file operations can be very slow and there is just nothing we can do without ditching SolFS and going with sometihng new. That was not going to happen with the 2.x code base. So while things are faster because we've optimized things as much as we could, its not as fast as it needs to be. This has been planned for 3.x for a long long time and I've publicly stated that many times. In fact our dev team already started on this internally yesterday :)

That said, the specific SMS issues seen on this thread were not things that we saw during the months and months of public beta testing. Talking with Jon Westfall I think its something very specific with the way we parse the subject out of the SMS message. So I'll be working with him shortly to see what's going on there.

I'm disappointed that Jerry decided to bail just due to an SMS issue when FM is still primarily an IMAP/POP3 app, though SMS is a selling point so it should work and we'll make sure it will.

[alex_kac]

Anyone know how the IMAP syncing is on FlexMail with regards to things like reply/forward flags, etc? Pocket Outlook has an absolutely horrible IMAP implementation - if you delete an email in pocket outlook, it doesn't delete it on the IMAP server, replying to a message won't sync the reply flag, forwarding an email doesn't sync the forward flag, etc, etc.

We don't handle the flags yet, however you can sync all of those things folder by folder. Check the reference docs so you can see the numerous synchronization settings.

[alex_kac]

Jerry - good news! With Jon's help we figured out the issue. FlexMail does not like email addresses (and possibly any type of linkable address) within the SMS message. I now see that a specific report we *did* get during the beta but could never report was directly attributable to this very same issue. We just never got enough info to direct us to this as the problem.

So that focuses our fix in a section of the code and we should have a fix within the next day or two :)

[alex_kac]

I have a test build up that fixes the SMS thing. It was my fault in that I was fixing an SMS bug during release candidate that in all my tests showed that it worked fine. But I found that in some instances it had failed and using Jon's screenshots of what types of messages failed for him, I was able to get around those issues. Now I need some double checking to make sure I haven't introduced anything new so I'm posting build 554 of FlexMail 2006 with only this change in it here:


http://download.pocketinformant.com/FTF/FM

[Underwater Mike]

I thought I'd give the app another try, but when I tried to install it I got the following error. Anyone see something like this before?

http://members.cox.net/mdonatello/Error.JPG

[alex_kac]

That usually is an ActiveSync issue. Its nothing related to our software. Do you have Windows Defender installed (anti-spyware)? We've had some reports of it messing up ActiveSync installs lately.

[Underwater Mike]

That usually is an ActiveSync issue. Its nothing related to our software. Do you have Windows Defender installed (anti-spyware)? We've had some reports of it messing up ActiveSync installs lately.

Nope, nothing like that running except AVG anti-virus. Looking at the .ini file and the contents of C:\Program Files\FlexMail, it seems like everything is there.

Any ideas?

[alex_kac]

You know, not really. When it comes to ActiveSync its up in the air what might be wrong many times.

You can just grab the CAB and copy it down and install that manually. The only other thing I can think of is if you tried the betas, go and uninstall first and then reinstall to make sure ActiveSync isn't caching any old data.

[alex_kac]

Underwater Mike - I did have an idea. With FlexMail 2006 we had signed our WM5 CAB so that the OS would see it as a signed CAB. The problem that I just learned is ActiveSync 3.8 does not like signed CABs for Pocket PC even if its not for your platform. Since we have BOTH a WM5 and WM2003 CAB and both CABs are in the .ini file we pass to ActiveSync, it sees the signed WM5 CAB and goes belly up.

We've re-released FlexMail 2006 this morning as build 558 and it fixes the SMS issue as well as not having the signed WM5 CAB. So you can redownload the installer and grab it. Thanks.

[Underwater Mike]

Thanks Alex! :way to go: I'll give it a try and report back.

Underwater Mike - I did have an idea. With FlexMail 2006 we had signed our WM5 CAB so that the OS would see it as a signed CAB. The problem that I just learned is ActiveSync 3.8 does not like signed CABs for Pocket PC even if its not for your platform. Since we have BOTH a WM5 and WM2003 CAB and both CABs are in the .ini file we pass to ActiveSync, it sees the signed WM5 CAB and goes belly up.

We've re-released FlexMail 2006 this morning as build 558 and it fixes the SMS issue as well as not having the signed WM5 CAB. So you can redownload the installer and grab it. Thanks.

[Underwater Mike]

Unfortunately, it's still a no-go. (Using AS 3.8 and 2003SE, BTW.) But, I did manage to install via the work-around you suggested -- which leads me to another question:

Since I'm not going through the AS install procedure, I have no opportunity to select a target destination for the install. Even though I executed the .cab from a subdir of my storage card, it still installed everything under \Program Files in the device memory. Since I'm using an X5, I'd prefer to install on the SD card if possible.

Is main mem installation mandatory, or is there a work-around for that too? Thanks.

[alex_kac]

Weird. I tried it on both 3.8 and 4.1 and it installed fine. I wish I had a better explanation as I know its occurring to several people. I've even checked the way the CABs are made comparing to PI and FM and I'm not seeing anything noticeable... But I will continue to try to determine that.

As for installing CABs to storage - you'll want this app here that does it:

http://www.pocketpcfreewares.com/es/index.php?download=524

I really am sorry about that and its quite annoying to both of us, I assume.

[Underwater Mike]

Doh! Shoulda thought of CabInstall on my own. :oops:

I got everything set up on the SD card. It is still a bit pokey, but I attribute some of that to the SD install, versus an on-device install, in addition to the factors Alex already mentioned. If this build is more stable than past iterations, I will likely register. I haven't yet been disappointed with a WebIS purchase... :D

[alex_kac]

Just do me a favor and don't buy if you don't like :) I'm a strong believer in our products and just like anything I willingly will tell you its strengths and faults and also will tell you happily what we're doing to improve those strengths and fix the faults. In fact - I'll be posting a blog entry on that later on our forum.

But I also don't believe in buying for promises on the future. Buy what you like now. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If you're waiting on the future, wait for the future :)

[wrenben]

I tried WebIS Mail a few months ago and declined to purchase because it didn't syncronise locally deleted emails with my pop3 server, which I found inconvenient.

Does this new version address this issue?

[ctmagnus]

I tried WebIS Mail a few months ago and declined to purchase because it didn't syncronise locally deleted emails with my pop3 server, which I found inconvenient.

Does this new version address this issue?

Deleting worked for me. :confused totally:

Did you empty the Deleted Items folder in WebIS Mail before synchronizing with the server?

[wrenben]

Fair point - can't say for sure. I'll download the trial and see fo myself. Thanks for the reply :)

[wrenben]

Yep, this works a treat.....will run the trial then decide if I ditch ProfiMail :wink:

[wrenben]

A couple more questions:

1. How do I change the new mail notification sound?
2. How long does the trial last for?

Cheers!

[ctmagnus]

How do I change the new mail notification sound?

I'd assume Settings -> Sounds &amp; Notifications, then pick the New Message option.

How long does the trial last for?

I was looking on the site, but cannot find it. Probably at least 15 days, if not 30.

[wrenben]

Thanks ctmagnus.

The notification sound is set in that menu, and Flexmail 2006 actually appears on the list :roll:

So, I'm hammering the trial version and I have one major problem....

It's great that I can manage my emails on my PPC - perfect for monitoring my online business when away from the laptop. However, when I return to my laptop and run Office Outlook to download all my emails, the copies stay on my PPC - the next time I sync my PPC with the server the "old" emails aren't automatically removed from my PPC.

I can manually delete "old" emails from my PPC after running Office Outlook, but for convenience is there a setting I can change to sync the PPC with the server and remove any "old" emails locally (it works on Pocket Outlook and ProfiMail)?

[ctmagnus]

for convenience is there a setting I can change to sync the PPC with the server and remove any "old" emails locally (it works on Pocket Outlook and ProfiMail)?

Not that I know of.

[forestflyer]

Thanks, man, for a great product that continues to improve.

[Edgar_]

Wrenben -

The best place to get support and get all your questions answered - directly from Alex Kac - the developer is: http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/

and specifically for Flexmail: http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/index.php?s=799ed477d1954101c6d51a1d0be128a4&amp;showforum=10


Alex is one of the most responsive developers around. He listens to the user and has public betas that he actually makes changes to and corrects.

-Edgar_

[n123]

Has anyone proved if this will work with a cyrus IMAP server?

I'm having trouble getting PocketOutlook to work with a cyrus server so am looking for an alternative. This FlexMail looks like it may do the job.

[wrenben]

Do what I did - download the trial and give it a spin :)

[sting0r]

Anyone know if this supports html email? Looking for something that will allow me to do that. Thanks.

[Craig Horlacher]

It's hard for me to pick a favorite feature of this bad boy...improved vga support, spell checker, PI integration, To:-CC:-BCC: addressing layout, and who knows what I haven't bumped into.

If you own WebIS Mail, install this upgrade! If you're using the builtin "outlook" app, do yourself a favor and buy this program!!!

Thank you WebIS!!!

[Edgar_]

Vector

I think Sting0r asked earlier - do you know if it supports HTML mail or does it still get stripped as it did in Webis mail.

-Edgar

You aren't the DBN vector are you?

[Craig Horlacher]

Vector

I think Sting0r asked earlier - do you know if it supports HTML mail or does it still get stripped as it did in Webis mail.

-Edgar

You aren't the DBN vector are you?

I'm glad you mentioned the html...I'm late to this thread and didn't read all the postings. I tried and it does have an option now when you're viewing a message, just right click and choose "Show all images" and it renders the message pretty well. It's not full html support, I had a support email from a random company that had the message in tables and with some of the background shaded. It didn't seem to support any of that.

But it does seem to load and position graphics well. I don't think I ever got WebIS mail to do that.

No, I'm not the "DBN vector".