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Friday August 2nd, 2013

OIT > Email > LDAP > Mail OS X

Configuring LDAP for Mail on Mac OS X

Summary: You can use Mail to access UCI's electronic phonebook through LDAP. Once configured you will be able to search for anyone's email address at UCI from Directory Services. The following directions were written using Mac OS 10.4.8's version of Mail. Your version may differ slightly.

Related Information

Note: Unauthenticated connections to the LDAP server only work on campus or from the VPN. If you are at home or traveling and want to use the LDAP server, you will need to authenticate with your UCInetID and password.

On Campus Use

  1. Launch OS X Mail.
  2. Select Preferences under the Mail menu. (See Figure 1)
    Figure 1: Preferences Menu
    Figure 1

  3. In the Preferences window, select Composing. (See Figure 2)
Figure 2: Mail Preferences
Figure 2
  1. In Addressing: check the Automatically complete addresses box.
  2. Click the Configure LDAP... button.
  3. In the window that drops down, click the Plus button at the bottom left to create a new entry. (See Figure 3)
    Figure 3: Plus button
    Figure 3
  4. In the Server Info window, fill in the following information. ( See Figure 4)
    1. Name: UC Irvine (This can be any name you choose to identify this server connection.)
    2. Server: ldap.service.uci.edu
    3. Search Base: ou=University of California Irvine,o=University of California,c=US
    4. Scope: Subtree
    5. Leave everything else at the default settings if you are connecting on campus or through the VPN. If you are connecting from off campus, go down to "Off Campus Use."
  5. Click Save
    Figure 4: Server Info
    Figure 4

Using the Directory Lookup in Apple Mail

When you type a name or email address, Mail will search your address book and then the UCI Directory. If the server only finds one name, it will fill in the field automatically. If the server finds multiple names, Mail first suggests one you use frequently, and a second or two later a list of other matches will appear. (See Figure 5)

For example, if you type "smith", Mail will search your address book first then query the LDAP server finding Smiths on campus. Choose the correct person from the list and continue with your message.

Figure 5: Querying the LDAP server
Figure 5

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Off Campus Use

Unauthenticated connections to the LDAP server only work on campus or from the VPN. If you are at home or traveling and want to use the LDAP server, you will need to authenticate with your UCInetID and password.

  1. Follow steps 1 - 6 above.
    (Note: If you are editing a previous LDAP configuration, choose your UCI Directory connection and click the Edit button in step 6 above.)
  2. In the Server Info window, check the Use SSL box. (See Figure 6)
  3. Change the port back to 389.
  4. In the Scope drop down menu, select Subtree.
  5. In the Authentication (optional) section:
    1. Select Simple from the Auth Type drop down menu.
    2. In the User name field, type uid=ucinetid,OU=University of California Irvine, O=University of California, C=US
      Replace "ucinetid" with your UCInetID.
    3. In the Password field, type your UCInetID password.
  6. Click Save.
    Querying the LDAP server should now work off campus.

Figure 6: Authenticated
Figure 6

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