Configuring Evolution on Linux for OSU Email

Summary

Evolution with EWS is the only Linux email client (other than OWA) approved by OCIO for use with the OSU email service. This is a brief overview of how to configure it.

Body

Overview

As OTDI transitions to Modern Auth/Duo for OSU email many Linux clients will stop working.

OTDI has selected Evolution for their officially supported Linux client. Since OTDI provides the email service this is also the client ASCTech will support.

Outlook Web App (OWA) is always an option, and a fallback should you have issues.

The official OTDI documentation for configuring Evolution for use with OSU email is here:

https://osuitsm.service-now.com/selfservice/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=kb07119

Contents

Configuring

Requirements

You will need Evolution and Evolution-ews 3.27.91 or higher to successfully connect to Office 365.

Evolution-ews provides Exchange Web Services and modern authentication support, required to access Office 365 email with BuckeyePass/Duo MFA.

ASCTech supported computers running ASCTech Standard Linux (ASL) should have these installed already. Contact ASCTech if your ASCTech supported computer does not, or you need guidance.

Procedure

  1. Open Evolution​​
  2. Use File -> New -> Mail Account
  3. Enter your full name and email address (lastname.#@osu.edu or lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu)
  4. Uncheck to look up the settings (OSU email requires a manual configuration process)
  5. Click Next
  6. Choose Exchange Web Services as the server type
  7. Use your email address as the username (lastname.#@osu.edu or lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu)
  8. Set the Host URL to https://outlook.office365.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx
  9. Change the Authentication type to OAuth2 (Office365)
  10. Check Override Office365 OAuth2 settings box, which will let you set additional values
  11. Set the Tenant to eb095636-1052-4895-952b-1ff9df1d1121
  12. Set the Application ID to fd3eee33-941e-495e-a1c1-588fb8b60670
  13. The Redirect URI should be left empty
  14. Finish the new account wizard

Once done, a window to log in to Office 365 will open. If the window does not open close and re-open evolution.

FAQ

I have old mailboxes can I still read them?

There are several choices:

  • If your email is all on the OSU email server, you will see all your old email and folders as before.
  • You can continue to use the old client to access old local mailboxes.
  • You can transfer old mailboxes up to the server, folder by folder, before the transition. (Or after with Evolution.)
  • You can have Evolution read local mailboxes.

Many Linux clients use mbox as the mail format, and Evolution can read this format. (Technically, if it's an infrequently accessed archive, mbox is plain text and is readable in any editor.)

What is the procedure to have Evolution see my old Thunderbird local files?

  1. Open Evolution
  2. Use Edit -> Accounts -> Mail Accounts -> Add -> Mail Account
  3. Click Next
  4. Uncheck "Look up mail server details based on the entered e-mail address"
  5. Click Next
  6. Server Type: Standard Unix mbox spool directory
  7. Spool directory: Other
  8. Type path to your old thunderbird mbox folder. This will be something like: "/home/<USERNAME>/.thunderbird/<RANDOM STRING>/ImapMail/<SERVERNAME>"
  9. Click Next
  10. On "Sending Email" step, set Server Type: None
  11. Click Next
  12. Name the account something different than your email address to avoid confusion with your regular EWS account, e.g. "Thunderbird mbox"
  13. Click Next
  14. Click Apply

OTDI and ASCTech encourge keeping all mail on the server, not locally.

Quotas are 100GB and an unlimited 'online archive'. Note this is not the 'Archive' folder, but separate and only visible in webmail and Windows Outlook.