Configure Email Settings without Office 365

Ability to Use Your Own Mail Server

In the past, Centerbase provided mail server authentication for all Clients. This would sometimes cause e-mails sent by a firm to be blocked by spam filters. Now, Centerbase provides the ability for users to specify their own mail server settings. 

System Admins can set up server-level settings with a default mail server and account to use when sending mail. Additionally, users can set up their own mail server settings (just like when they use Outlook) to use their own credentials when they send e-mails.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Mail Server Settings within the System Settings are just the default. The only reason you would ever want to fill in JUST the System Setting default and not for each user will be if their email server supports emails being sent with just one login with different usernames. If this is the case, the email will be sent using the System Settings server settings, but the FROM email field will be whichever one is associated with the logged-in user. However, most email servers do not function this way.

Most System Admins will want to have the "Require User Email Settings" checked so that users will have to enter their own information instead of using the default settings. However, even if it's not checked, a majority of the time users will still also need to put in their username and password so they can send emails with their login instead of the default. Users also have the ability to use a completely different email server than what is set up in the System Settings.

Additionally, and most importantly, if you're setting up individual email settings, make sure you click Save once you've verified that the credentials entered work. Otherwise, the changes won't stick. The Save button is located in the top right corner of the user email settings page.

Individual User Level Settings

To configure individual email settings, first, navigate to your user level settings from the link in the bottom left of your Centerbase window.

In Users Settings>Email, if the Enable Outgoing Mail Settings box is checked, the new user mail server settings will be displayed. Initially, since the user has no settings saved, it will load with the default server-level mail settings. The User Name field is where you'll enter your email, and the Password field is for your password.

The Enable TLS checkbox allows the user to choose whether or not to use encryption when sending out emails.

The Test Email button allows the user to send out a test email to the same User Name entered to verify if the entered mail server settings are successfully authenticated or not.

Below is an example of the test email sent to verify that the server settings were successfully authenticated. 

Once your settings are configured, make sure to hit Save in the top right corner.

If your firm is using Office365 for your mail server, please refer to the article on Configuring Email Settings with Office 365.

Server Level Settings

System Admins can configure the system-wide mail server in System Settings > Mail Server Settings. This lets you configure a default authentication user for users who have not yet configured their mail settings. 

Checking the Require User Mail Settings checkbox will ensure that the emails are always sent out using the user mail server settings rather than the server defaults specified here.  If these settings don’t exist, the user will be prompted to save them first.

When a user attempts to send an email and does not have individual settings saved (and the Require User Mail Settings box checked as shown above), a dialog will appear allowing the user to save the user mail server settings first before sending out the email.

Bypassing Two-Factor Authentication 

If you are using 2FA on your mail server, you won't be able to sign in using your normal password through Centerbase. You'll need to set up an app password with your mail provider that allows 2FA to be bypassed.  A couple of links to common mail providers support articles showing the process of setting up an app password on their sites are listed below:

Office365: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/user-help/multi-factor-authentication-end-user-app-passwords

Google: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en

Once you have that app password, you'll enter it in the Password field, along with entering your email in the User Name field.