Today we focus on Distribution Lists and Contact Groups.

Distribution Lists can be created by Zimbra domain administrators to handle a bevy of needs such as email forwarding, team lists, customers lists and more.

Contact Groups allow Zimbra web interface and Zimbra Desktop users to create email groups specific to their needs from their address books.  End users with popular mail clients, such as Outlook, can still use this feature by logging in to the web interface and setting up the Group from the Mail tab.

Distribution Lists

Let’s tackle domain based Distribution Lists first. We are commonly asked by domain administrators if there is a way to forward Zimbra domain email addresses without requiring an additional Zimbra account. Luckily, with distribution lists you won’t require a separate account just to forward email. This simple feature is quick and easy to setup.

Here is how Zimbra domain administrators can setup a Distribution List:

Steps:

* Log in to the Admin Console as domain administrator. https://zimbraadmin.xmission.com

* Click on “New” then scroll down and select “Distrubution List” to create a new list. We will use this list to setup the desired email forward.

* Set the target email destination as a “Member” of the list. This would be the target email address, such as zimbra_tips@xmission.com or whatever you need.

* Now click on “Save”

Done! Proceed with your happy dance then get back to work.

Gotchas? Yep. You cannot set a distribution list with the same name as an existing account on the domain. You must rename or remove the Zimbra account first and then create the Distribution List. Renaming the account provides time to clear out any messages before deleting the account.

Contact Groups

Now we will cover Contact Groups for Zimbra end-user accounts. You do not need to be an administrator to access this feature. Here are the steps:

* To create lists, click on New and scroll down to Contact Groups from the pop-up menu.

* Enter a name for your list and then enter email addresses in the “Add Members to this Group” box. You can search your Contacts folder, the Global Address List, and your Personal and Shared Contacts folders for email addresses to add to your list or enter them manually in the form field located at the bottom of the “Add Members to this Group” box.

This is very slick. I use this to create custom invite lists for events and my other email broadcast needs. Distribution Lists have limitations of 1000 addresses allowed as large lists can unduly tax the mail server.

Etiquette Tip: It is an essential courtesy to always use BCC when sending to large email lists. Simply enter your email address in the To: field so they know it is from you. Sharing is caring, but not in the case of personal email addresses in group settings.

There you go, those are the basics of Distribution Lists and Contact Groups using the XMission Zimbra Suite.

I hope you had as much fun with this as I did. Zimbra is a great product with an ever expanding list of useful features that can save you time and effort. As always, please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or suggestions for future Zimbra Power Tips.

- John

Zimbra Product Manager for XMission

For more help click the Zimbra Help button within the web interface or Zimbra Desktop application, or visit XMission’s Zimbra Support page on the XMission Support Wiki. You may also email support@xmission.com or chat with a representative at https://livesupport.xmission.com.

Features include over-the-air synchronization of mail, address book, and calendar in the native BlackBerry UI
; the ability to search messages by content; management of calendar events, including meeting accept or decline; and attachment view.

While beta testing this product, XMission will give the first 50 Blackberry subscribers three months for FREE just by mentioning this post. Plus, no setup fee and no monthly fees means you keep $20 in your pocket per user.

If you already have XMission’s Standard or Base Email Hosting, we will upgrade you to Premium for one month, for free. This offer applies to any of our current customers. New customers get their first month of Premium Email Hosting for free as well.

BlackBerry integration requires “Enterprise Data” on the BlackBerry phone plan, and XMission’s Premium Email Hosting service (powered by Zimbra).

Please call (801-539-0852 / 877-964-7746) or email our sales team with any questions you may have about XMission Email Hosting or BlackBerry services.

Find useful tips, tricks, and how-to videos on XMission’s Zimbra Hosted Email support wiki.

I check into the #Stackable support channel and what do I see? Big kudos from a developer using XMission‘s Stackable.com hosting platform for a Magento ecommerce site.

Check it out:

[macnewbold:#stackable] : Well, in case anyone here is interested… last night we did a little comparison of load times for a Magento install (community edition) on Stackable vs. a client’s previous Magento (enterprise) store hosted on a “dedicated” colocated server.

Page loads on the other server were 7-15 seconds. Page loads on Stackable were 2-7 seconds. Needless to say, that made us quite happy, because they were paying over $500/month for the server. On Stackable, with a 512MB container ($70), they outperformed it quite easily with all the same products, orders, customers, etc. Plus, they can scale that container at any time to accommodate growth.

I was pretty happy about it. They have 30k customers in there and about 10k products so it isn’t your average Magento site either.

Mac is the lead developer for MagentoMavens.com, and as you can see, he is also a huge fan of Stackable.com.

We are big fans too! Thank for the great input, Mac.

Magento‘s ecommerce solution is heavy code and Stackable is an elegant solution.

If you have Magento hosting needs, try an account today and get your first month of hosting (at 256M or 512M) for free!

Please note, we find that many Magento sites operate optimally on a 1 G container, which is only $140 p/mo. Results may vary based on the build and activity on your site.

Reach me directly with any questions.

-John
john@stackable.com / 801-303-0805 direct / “john” in #stackable on ircd.xmission.com

site: http://stackable.com

sales: info@stackable.com
twitter: @stackable

We are pleased to announce XMission Voice for Business. Currently providing competitive residential voice services, XMission expands the same reliable advantages into the business market.

Many businesses hope to lower costs without reducing quality. XMission’s SIP trunking helps you realize substantial savings by replacing expensive PRI lines and long distance plans, all without compromise.

No need to sink resources into a costly new phone system – XMission Voice for Business works with most existing business telephone systems utilizing VoIP (Voice over IP) technology. XMission staff will assist with the initial hardware setup and necessary configuration. You will not see any interruption in service; plus, your phones will work as reliably as they always have.

Virtually all IP-based PBX phone systems support XMission SIP services or we can provide an affordable gateway device compatible with most office PBX systems. This means your business can transparently manage SIP calling on your existing phone system while maintaining the same functionality such as call routing, voice mail, interactive voice response menus and conferencing without additional training or downloads.

XMission can deliver voice alongside Internet on a single circuit; or based upon your networking needs, over a secondary data connection. With XMission SIP, call traffic can be prioritized with minimal impact on your office Internet connection. We can optimize your network for call volume and call quality with a variety of the latest industry standard codecs.

Benefits:

• Single bill from XMission
• Proven support staff for all your Voice, Data, and Hosting needs
• High value, low cost using Voice over IP (VoIP) for local and long distance calls
• Reduce recurring cost of separate Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and data circuits
• Consolidate voice and data over a single Internet connection
• Maximize ROI by utilizing the phone system you already have in place
• Little or no up front costs, realize savings almost immediately

Call me, John Webster, (801-303-0805 or toll-free 877-964-7746 ext 105) for a free audit of your current phone services to see how much money XMission can save you.

Talk to you soon.

You likely noticed something a bit different about your Zimbra email and collaboration tools. That is the new Zimbra 6.0.4!

XMission’s Hosted Email users receive the following new features and benefits:

Tabbed email compose – This is one of our favorites here at XMission. Compose a new email, and then create or search for a second email at the same time in a new tab. This eliminates the need to save and retrieve drafts of emails.

Three-pane reading view - If you prefer to have your reading pane on the right side of the screen instead of the bottom, you will love this feature. Enable this feature from the View option on the main toolbar.

Calendar fish-eye view – Mouse over a calendar item for a summary of the calendar item. This will save you the hassle of clicking on individual items for details.

Read receipts – Love them or hate them, read receipts do ensure that your mail reaches its target destination. With a simple preference configuration, you can verify if someone has opened and read your email. You can access this feature from the Preferences > Mail folder.

Existing email filters – Run filters over existing emails to delete, flag, or organize them after they have arrived.

Manage shared items – A new interface allows you to better monitor the email, calendar, and folders you have shared with others, as well as those shared with you.

Streamlined management tools – This Zimbra 6 offers even more control for the domain administrators such as mandatory spell check and much more. Log in and see the new features!

There are even more new features than we can quickly list here. We would encourage you to log in and see them for yourself!

Zimbra clients should try the web interface or the free Zimbra Desktop application for additional usability.

Let us know what you think. If you have something else you want to see on Hosted Email, please tell us about that too.

If you need email and collaboration services for your business contact our sales team. XMission has solutions for an office of 2 or 20,000.

I recall setting up KRCL as non-profit account with XMission back in 1997. Back then their needs were small but quickly grew. Today, XMission sponsors the KRCL live radio streams and we appreciate the benefits they bring to Utah.

My first memories of KRCL involve listening to a midnight punk show on the weekend. While the rest of the airwaves played remnants of disco or predictable classic rock, KRCL broke new ground and changed my world. I am thankful that KRCL is still here to break new ground.

Happy Birthday. May you have many more.

John Webster

KRCL 90.9FM **** http://krcl.org/listenlive.htm

I can assure you that the Internet did not evolve with your privacy in mind. Did you know that every search you make is recorded and archived by the search company? This is standard practice for every major search engine such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.

A friend pointed me to a Firefox web browser plug-in called Scroogle which would allow me to privatize my searches. Scroogle serves as a Google search proxy making it so Google cannot track searches to build a profile and gather information on you. Scroogle destroys cookies and purges all logs within 2 days.

Scroogle plug-in for Firefox works great and even blocks the ads within your search. The company is run by GoogleWatch.

You may also refer to proxy.org for a list of web browsing proxy sites. Web proxies are not as convenient as a browser plug-in but are ideal for some situations.

XMission is the primary sponsor for tonight’s Twilight Concert Series.

Come on down to the Gallivan Center Plaza to hear Sonic Youth and Awesome Color along with a few thousand of your closest friends.

Click on image to see larger sized version of this poster by Casey Burns (posted by Sonic Youth):

Don’t forget that XMission provides free wifi on the plaza so you can stay connected whenever you are at the Gallivan.

Stop by our booth and say “Hi” to the XMission crew!

What is Prey ?

Prey helps you find your stolen laptop by sending timed reports to your email, including information of its whereabouts. Prey reports the general status of the computer, a list of running programs and active connections, fully-detailed network and wifi information, a screenshot of the running desktop and — in case your laptop has an integrated webcam — a picture of the thief. Pretty cool!

You need to have the software installed on your laptop for it to work. With enough luck you may just get your machine back.

The program runs on Mac OS , Linux, and Windows.

I’ll be installing this on my laptop tonight.

This latest addition to the XMission domain based services makes it even more convenient to manage your online presence. Need to secure your web transactions or an email server? We can help!

Using SSL Certificates reassures your clients that you are doing everything possible to keep their information secure. Your customers can easily spot sites using SSL because the web address contains “https://” and web browsers shows either a lock symbol, key symbol, or specially highlighted navigation bar display.

Like a drivers license, SSL Certificates are issued by a trusted source, known as the Certificate Authority (CA) and the SSL protocol allows applications to communicate across the net in a way designed to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery. All this conveys a level of trust and security to increase your client’s confidence in your online presence.

XMission will handle all your SSL Certificate needs from start to finish. Unlike other companies, we are here to help with real humans that answer the phones and respond to your emails. We will help you every step of the way and with a single bill so you do not have to manage several vendors.

Learn more about SSL Certificates by reading about them on our SSL wiki support page. You can order your SSL online, or simply call someone on our sales team. They will take care of you!

The XMission sales office is open weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM, MST. You can reach us by calling 801-539-0852, 877-964-7746, or by emailing sales@xmission.com. As always, our support staff is here 24×7 to help you with any technical assistance you require.