IMAP vs POP

Topic

I have a question that I cannot find the answer for which is kind of critical.  I understand the difference between IMAP and POP and on one hand I like that IMAP synchs with my Yahoo account and I don’t have go through and manually delete emails from the Yahoo web client when I was using POP.  IMAP automatically does this.  Since I have only used POP in the past which preserved all my emails locally, I need to know whether Outlook does this in the OST file that is created via IMAP.  I don’t want to find out that an email in my inbox suddenly disappears because it was no longer on the Yahoo server.

Normally, I have a number of work folders in Outlook where I keep things but since IMAP is new to me, I want to make sure it’s configured correctly.  Thanks in advance!!

Replies

Have a look at this

OST vs PST | Differences between OST and PST files

https://www.nucleustechnologies.com/blog/ost-vs-pst/

You can always send a test email to your account and play

around with that, to see what outcomes you are looking for

then you will know what happens.

 

 

 

 

POP downloads the emails to your PC and stores the emails you want to keep on your PC in a PST file. Mail servers that download to POP often have a setting and policy to delete all emails after a certain time period. Thus the only copy of an older email is in your PST file stored on your PC.

IMAP displays the emails in that it “downloads” to display in Outlook, but the “downloaded” is not saved in Outlook or anywhere on your PC. This is like viewing a web page that downloads to your browser. The OST file for IMAP accounts stores settings and indexes to display the emails and other data depending upon the IMAP account being IMAP or Exchange MAPI in the mail server and does NOT store the emails on your PC. The information in the OST is just for connecting to the mail server and displaying the emails and other data kept on the server. Because all your emails are on the mail server these mail providers do not delete emails from any folder except the Trash (Deleted emails) and the Spam (Junk E-Mail). Note: If you delete an email from a folder in Outlook it will be deleted from that folder on the mail server, but mail servers for IMAP and MAPI accounts will keep a copy of the email even after you delete it.

If you wish to continue to store your emails on your PC just like you did with the POP account, you can do so with Classic Outlook and the solution is very simple:

After you set up the IMAP account in Classic Outlook cancel the POP account that was there. The PST file for that old POP account will still be on your PC. Add that old POP PST file to Outlook as a Data file. A Data file contains data (emails), but does not connect to a mail server as an email account. This PST dat file will load below the IMAP account and say Outlook rather than an email address. This data file has all your old emails and folders just like it was when you were using it as the email account. Now after you “download” emails to the Inbox of the IMAP account, any email you want to save simply move it the the folder in the Outlook data file like you used to do. It will be saved in your PST file on your PC and you will be able to open that email offline. Note: Moving the email from the IMAP Inbox will remove that email from the mail server (but the mail server copy will still be there). Also if you want to keep a copy and leave the email on the mail server use Copy rather than Move.

All in all it will function much like you are used to.

Please ask if you need detailed instructions on setting this up in Outlook. I have mine set up this way except I remove all emails from the mail server.

HTH, Dana:))

3 users thanked author for this post.

Cybertooth, John, agoldhammer

@Drcard:))   Many thanks, this solves my problem.  Right after the install, I set up a separate data account with my old PST file.  I just checked to see how easy it was to transfer an email to the PST account, and it was quite simple.  I think this will solve my problem and allow me to keep the synch feature that IMAP provides.

 

I saw that site when I was researching this the other day.  I do understand the major differences between the two types of service.  My question has to do with the synching.  At some point an email in my Yahoo inbox will be deleted from the Yahoo server.  Will this email disappear from my OST file when it synchs or will it remain?  If I am using IMAP, how do I preserve critical emails?

Got the answer I needed!!