configure hcl notes 12 with gmail, yahoo, hotmail, aol, outlook.com and other POP accounts


HCL Notes and Domino: Tips & Tricks

Configure Notes 12 with Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, Outlook & other POP accounts ⚙️📧
Modified date: Mar 17, 2022

By Lance Zakin, HCL CASA, CAAD
Notes and Domino
NotesMail - HCL BP
Local and server Notes mailboxes can be configured with Gmail / Yahoo accounts to send & receive email via local POP and SMTP Notes client accounts. You must first enable POP mail access and "app passwords" security option in your Gmail / Yahoo web account. Instructions below were tested on Notes 12.0.1, but should work on Notes 9.0.1 FP3 IF2 or higher.

And the instructions are for Notes (Standard), but if you are running Notes (Basic) it should be somewhat similar. Additionally, the instructions are for configuring a Gmail account, but any other POP account including Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and Outlook.com can be configured in a similar manner.

If you are using email marketing software for Notes including Print Merge Reporter (PMR Notes tool) you should understand the recipeint sending limits... Gmail and Yahoo have a a 500 recipient sending limit per day unless you upgrade to a paid subscription account. If you exceed the limit you will not be able to send new messages for up to 24 hours. i.e. Google Workspace paid subscription account has a 2,000 recipient sending limit per day.

Note: As of May 30, 2022, Google will no longer support "Access for less secure apps" security option which has been replaced by "App Passwords" security option as seen in the instructions below. As of Oct 20, 2020 Yahoo no longer supports the existing sign-in functionality in your third-party email client. You must generate and manage the third-party app password using Yahoo Generate and manage third-party app passwords. Optionally, you can configure a Gmail account to receive other POP3 accounts such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc. using Accounts and Import (Import mail and contacts) option.

1. Login to Gmail: Verify "2-Step Verification" is enabled. Click Account - Security - 2-Step Verification. If it is not enabled, then follow instructions to enable it.

2. Login to Gmail: Create an "App Password" for the HCL Notes mail client. Click Account - Security - App Passwords. Click Select App - Other (Custom name), type "HCL Notes" and click the GENERATE button as seen below. Copy the generated password to the Windows clipboard or save in Word / Notepad.



3. Login to Gmail: Click the gear icon - Settings - See all settings - Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Click "Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on" as seen below. WARNING: Do not choose any other options unless absolutely necessary since many emails in your Gmail account can fill up your hard drive and put a strain on your internet bandwidth for many hours.



4. Create a local Notes mailbox: Assuming Notes is already installed... Click File - Application - New.
Note: If Notes is not installed, then you should refer to these old install instructions, but be sure to reference back to this article which has the newer Notes 12 screenshots: Install & Configure the Notes Client with Google Gmail

A. Server: Local
B. Title: Gmail
C. File name: mail\gmail
D. Encryption: Do not locally encrypt this database
E. Server: Local
F. Template: Mail (R12.0.1)



5. Create a Notes Location profile: Click File - Locations - Manage Locations. Click the New button.

A. Location name: Google Gmail
B. Location type: Local Area Network
C. Internet mail address: [enter your gmail address]



Click the Servers tab.

A. Home/mail server: Gmail/Google



Click the Mail tab.

A. Mail file location: Local
B. Mail file: mail\gmail
C. Domino mail domain: Google
D. Internet domain: gmail.com
E. Send outgoing: directly to Internet
F. Transfer outgoing mail if: 1



Click Replication tab. Configure as seen below, then click OK.

A. Enable replication: [Click checkbox]
B. Replicate when Notes starts: [Click checkbox]
C. Schedule: [Click checkbox]
D. Replicate daily between: 08:00 AM - 7:59 AM
E. Replicate every: 5
F. Days of week: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
G. Replicate when Notes ends: [Click checkbox: Replicate when Notes shus down, If oubox is not empty]
H. High priority replication: [Click checkbox]
I. Replicate daily between: 08:00 AM - 7:59 AM
J. Replicate every: 5
K. Days of week: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat



6. Open List: If the "Open" icon displays as seen below, then Right click Open, then left click: Dock the Open List



7. Contacts - Advanced: Click the Contacts icon in the vertical bookmark bar (Open List), then click Advanced as seen below.



8. Advanced - New Account (POP): Click New - Account as seen below.



9. New Account (POP) - Basics: Configure as seen below, then click Advanced tab.
A. Account name: Incoming Internet mail - Gmail
B. Account server name: pop.gmail.com
C. Login name: [Your gmail email address]
D. Password: [Your password]
E. Protocol: POP
F. Connection Security: Enabled
G. Only from locations(s): Google Gmail
NOTE: Step G above is important since If you switch between multiple Notes Location profiles which link to other Notes mailboxes your Gmail may download to the wrong mailbox if you did not complete this step.



10. New Account (POP) - Advanced: Click Advanced tab and Configure as seen below, then click Save & Close button.
A. Port number: 995
B. Accept SSL site certificates: Yes
C. Accept expired SSL certificates: Yes
D. Send SSL certificates when asked (outbound connections only): No
E. Verify account server name with remote server's certificate: Disabled
F. SSL protocol version: V3.0 with V2.0 handshake



11. Advanced - New Account (SMTP): Click New - Account as seen below.



12. New Account (SMTP) - Basics: Configure as seen below, then click Advanced tab.

A. Account name: Outgoing Internet mail - Gmail
B. Account server name:
smtp.gmail.com
C. Login name:
[Your gmail email address]
D. Password:
[Your password]
E. Protocol:
SMTP
F. Connection Security:
SSL
G. Only from locations(s):
Google Gmail



13. New Account (SMTP) - Advanced: Click Advanced tab and Configure as seen below, then click Save & Close button.

A. Port number: 465
B. Accept SSL site certificates: Yes
C. Accept expired SSL certificates: Yes
D. Send SSL certificates when asked (outbound connections only): No
E. Verify account server name with remote server's certificate: Disabled
F. SSL protocol version: V3.0 with V2.0 handshake



14. Switch to Notes Location profile: Click File - Locations - Switch to Location - Google Gmail - OK.



15. Open local Notes mailbox: Click File - Open - HCL Notes Application - File name: mail\gmail



You are now ready to use the mailbox. Click the New button and test sending and receiving messages.



16. Troubleshooting: Open (A) the Replication & Sync tab, (B) the outgoing internet mail router mailbox and (C) Check your Notes ID expiration date.

A. Replication & Sync: Click the icon displaying 2 circular arrows as seen below.





B. Outgoing internet mail router mailbox: Click File - Open - HCL Notes Application - File name: smtp.box





C. Check your Notes ID expiration date: Click File - Security - User Security, then type your password if prompted. Click Your Identity - Your Certificates.




Reference Sources

STARTTLS support for Notes client SMTP connections
STARTTLS is an extension to the plain text authentication protocols that allows the use of TLS or SSL encrypted connections when connecting to mail servers that support STARTTLS. When STARTTLS is used there is no need to configure a separate port for encrypted communication. This feature requires the IBM® Notes® 10 mail template (mail10.ntf).

TLS 1.2 deliveries for Notes & Domino 9.x
What are the plans for Notes and Domino support of TLS 1.2? As a follow-up to the TLS 1.0 deliveries HCL released in Q4 2014, released TLS 1.2 deliveries in Q1 2015. The TLS 1.2 protocol enhancements are introduced in Interim Fix 2 for Domino 9.0.1 Fix Pack 3 and in Interim Fix 3 for Notes 9.0.1 Fix Pack 3. The same content was released in Notes & Domino 9.0.1 Fix Pack 4 in June 2015. TLS 1.2 will not be available for 8.5.x releases since the TLS 1.2 specification requires updated cryptographic libraries that are available only in Domino 9.0 and above.

Configuring the Notes 8.5 Client with Google Gmail
This article will show you how to configure Notes to download e-mail from your Google Gmail account.

Gmail Account Setup: Things To Check Before Setting Up Gmail In Notes Client
Receiving Protocol Error Messages? Gmail had made changes on their security layer and optimized some settings on their mail preferences. Some identified causes of these errors being returned are: gmail migrated from SSLv3 to TLS, disabled POP3/IMAP on gmail settings and turned off less secure app in gmail.

Notes-only users cannot send mails using SMTP with TLS (SSLv3)
For users accessing a mail provider via secure SMTP/POP3/IMAP using the Notes client (with no Domino involvement), mail can no longer be sent once the provider disables SSLv3 support due to concerns regarding POODLE (Padding Oracle On Downgraded Legacy Encryption) attack vulnerability.

B
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