Configuring your Email Authentication Settings

Ability to Use Your Own Mail Server 

We've introduced a new way for users to utilize the Centerbase Mail Server with their own settings. 

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. With our new release, Centerbase provides the ability for users to specify their own mail server settings. 

Users may now set up server-level settings with a default mail server and account to use when sending mail. Also, users can set up their own mail server settings (just like when they use Outlook) so that they can use their own credentials when they send e-mails.

Setting up your individual user level settings

To set up the new 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.  Enter your full server email authentication settings in the fields provided. 

 *Please note: if Office365 is being used, the outgoing mail server is smtp.office365.com.

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 that will be sent to verify that the server settings were successfully authenticated. 

New Server Level Settings

With this new update, we've also added a new tab in System Settings called Mail Server Settings.  This lets you configure a default authentication user for any users that 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 then the server defaults specified here.  If these settings don’t exist, the user will be prompted to save them first.

Going forward, when a user is attempting to send email and does not have individual settings saved (and the Require User Mail Settings box checked as shown above), a dialog will appear allow the user to save the user mail server settings first before sending out the email.

* Please 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, would be if their email server supports emails being sent with just one login with different usernames, however most email servers do not function this way. If this is the case, it will send the email using the server settings setup entered in the system settings, but the FROM email field will be whichever one is associated with the logged in user sending the email.

For most users, they will need to have the "Require User Email Settings" checked, so that they enter in their own information since the System Setting server information is just a default. Each user will still need to enter in their own username and password so that they can send emails with their login, not just the default, since that is not applicable for most email servers. Users can also set their own specific and completely different email servers than what is in the System Settings if they wish. Any time an email is sent, it will be using the logged in users From email field.

Bypassing 2-Factor Authentication 

If you are using 2-FA on your mail server you will not be able to sign in using your normal password through Centerbase.  You will need to set up an app-password with your mail provider that allows 2-FA 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://support.office.com/en-us/article/create-an-app-password-for-office-365-3e7c860f-bda4-4441-a618-b53953ee1183

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