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Forwarding email with the configuration tool

You can forward an ITS email address to another Internet account, including non-Yale services such as AOL.com and MSN.com In combination with Automatic Responses (a.k.a. Vacation), this is a powerful way to let people know of a change in address and receive incoming email at that address.

Central and medical campus accounts

Use the email configuration tool to forward email.

Things to consider when using the forwarding feature

Here are some things to think about before setting up server forwarding:

• Email policies - Be certain you are incompliance with all Yale email policies.
• Forwarding is intended to be a temporary means of redirecting email. If you are leaving University for good, your Yale accounts will deactivate according to a schedule. Once the accounts are deleted, forwarding stops. We encourage you use the automatic response feature. It will remind people to record and use your new address.
  
• We do not forward to non-Yale addresses institutionally in order to preserve the integrity of Yale University's unique, non-profit, Internet identity. This University must not be confused with or associated with another commercial service or another University via the Internet. You as an individual, may forward from an account assigned to you to other accounts, on your own responsibility.
• Forwarding is not selective. Once set: all email sent to your address here is redirected to the other one. We cannot guarantee or troubleshoot what happens when your email is sent to another account, unless that account is also a Yale account. Email which is forwarded to another account cannot be recovered if it is lost.
  
• Filters, and anti-spam features on other systems can prevent you from seeing email which you forward from Yale. Check your other account's provider's instructions carefully if you think some email is being lost. Also check what email address the sender has filled in for you. If they make a mistake in addressing, email will not be forwarded by this tool.
  
• You must be careful to avoid creating loops when setting the forwarding email address. If your account is ereshkigal@pantheon.yale.edu and your email alias is betty.boop@yale.edu - setting a forward to ereshkigal@pantheon.yale.edu will create an infinite loop which can fill your inbox rapidly and cause severe problems. The same thing can happen if you forward to non-Yale account, if that account has been set to forward back to Yale.

Setting up server email forwarding

First open the Email Account Management Tool and enter your netid and password where prompted.

Click Continue at the verification screen,

and you will be authorized to use the tool for 5 minutes. The time is deliberately made short to prevent hacking. Most tasks can be accomplished within that time. (Hint: if you think you will be doing something complex; use an editor such as Notepad in Windows or SimpleText on a Mac to prepare text before entering the Email Configuration Tool. Then you can copy and past what you need very quickly).

Here are main menu of the Email Configuration Tool

and the Mail Forwarding option.

Check the address you fill in carefully: avoid creating loops when setting the forwarding email address. Do not include extra characters "<",">","(",")", embedded spaces, or quotes in the address. If you are going to be away from Yale and using another account do not check the box to "keep forwarded mail on my Yale account". Email will go to whatever address you've filled in as soon as you set forwarding and logout.