I've searched high and low and can't seem to find any documentation on the differences between a Mail IMAP vs Exchange IMAP account. If no one has this info, I could possibly set up both account types and then compare their preference settings. Thanks for any info.
MacBook Pro (13-inch Late 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
Thanks for the link, but I am looking for the actual account differences. Why does Apple list both account options without any info on their differences? With basic Mail IMAP, must the user click the "Get new messages" button to refresh the message list? With Mail Exchange IMAP, is Active Sync used and thus no interaction by the user is required to refresh the message list? Very confusing account options without explanation.
IMAP and Exchange are two different, but similar animals.
http://www.howtogeek.com/99423/email-whats-the-difference-in-pop3-imap-and-excha nge/
Are you looking for the differences between how Mail configures normal IMAP and Exchange's IMAP interface?
I don't think I can answer that, but there are a few people here that might.
Not to my knowledge all IMAP email is of a Push type where the email program is basically in constant contact with the IMAP server to get mail as it arrives on the servers inbox for your account. Now maybe Mac Mail handles that differently but as I don't use Mac Mail I'm not sure. I use Thunderbird and if I have my Mac running with Tbird open and my PC right next to it on my desk with Tbird open and a new message comes into one of my IMAP accounts it show up on both system at the same time.
Have no idea how MS Exchange works but I would think it is very similar. Exchange is Exchange. It is Not Exchange/IMAP. As far as I know.
The desktop version of Mail does not use ActiveSync. The iOS devices do.
I believe the OS X version uses Exchange Web Services.
While you can let Mail check periodically for you, I don't think the email is pushed across the exchange server to Mail. It must be fetched/synced.
Makes sense, but again why doesn't the Mail Help list this, assuming it's true? Mail Help could say something like Exchange IMAP uses Exchange Web Services (EWS) instead of the IMAP protocol. Still could be confusing to users, but would at least be more detailed.
When trying to set up an exchange account in Mail, the Exchange IMAP type asks for an Outlook Web Access server address. There is also an Exchange type, and it doesn't specify the server type.
And, given that none of us work for Apple, we can't possibly know why Mail help doesn't state anything like that.
I set up IMAP and Exchange IMAP accounts. Other than what Barney-15E says about the Outlook Web Access Server setting in the Exchange IMAP account, I'm not sure what the differences are. In fact, the Exchange IMAP account also lists the standard SMTP server along with the Outlook Web Access Server. I'm not sure why Mail lists both and where one is used over the other. I haven't done that much testing and note taking, so I could be missing something major about the differences.
Both IMAP and IMAP Exchange use IMAP for mail, but IMAP Exchange improves integration with Calendar and Contacts. According to support at a third-party Exchange-compatible mail server company (Kerio, makers of Connect), it is always preferred to use IMAP Exchange when talking to an Exchange-compatible server. I'm getting the specifics and will update to include a link to them.
I'd be keen to see what Kerio say. I'm configuring OS X 10.8.4 clients on a Kerio Connect server at present. Used EAS but hit a problem were some users mail would disappear then it would resync. Have switched to IMAP. All fine. Wondering if I should switch to Exchange IMAP.
Ian
IMAP vs Exchange IMAP Differences
