Setting Up Apple Mail for Use with Google Apps at USC (Mac OS X)

This page provides instructions for configuring Apple Mail to use with your Google Apps at USC email account.

Requirements

• A connection to the Internet
• A USC username and your Google password

• Apple Mail, which comes pre-installed on all Apple computers running Mac OS X

You will need to enable IMAP or POP access on your Google Apps at USC email account in order to check your email through Apple Mail. ITS strongly recommends the use of the IMAP protocol and provides configuration documentation for that protocol only. For information about POP3 and IMAP, see the IMAP and POP Comparison page.

Setting Up IMAP Access

1. Go to google.usc.edu and click Gmail.
2. Click Settings at the top the Gmail page.
3. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
4. Choose Enable IMAP in the IMAP Access section.
5. Click Save Changes.

Opening Apple Mail

On the Go menu, select Applications.

Double-click the Mail icon.

Setting Up Email for the First Time

If you are using Apple Mail for the first time, follow the instructions below.

1. After you have launched the Apple Mail program, the New Account window will appear.
2. In the Full Name field, enter your name as you wish it to appear on your outgoing email messages.
3. In the Email Address field, enter your Google Apps at USC email address.
4. The Password field can be left blank. If a password is not entered and saved, you will be prompted to enter it later when checking your email.








5. Click Continue and the Incoming Mail Server screen will appear.

6. From the Account Type dropdown menu, select IMAP.
7. In the Description field, enter a name for the account, i.e. USC Google Apps.
8. In the Incoming Mail Server field, enter imap.gmail.com.
9. In the User Name field, enter your full USC email address. For example, if your email address were ttrojan@usc.edu, your username would be ttrojan@usc.edu.
10. The Password field can be left blank. If a password is not entered and saved, you will be later prompted to enter it when checking your email.





11. Click Continue and the Incoming Mail Security screen will appear.

12. Check Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
13. From the Authentication dropdown menu, select Password.




14. Click Continue and the Outgoing Mail Server screen will appear.

15. In the Description field, enter a name for the account, i.e. USC Google Apps.
16. In the Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server field, enter smtp.gmail.com.
17. Check Use only this server.
18. Check the box marked Use Authentication and enter your full USC email address in the username field. The password field may be left blank.




19. Click Continue and the Outgoing Mail Security screen will appear.

20. Check Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
21. From the Authentication dropdown menu, select Password.




22. Click Continue and the Account Summary screen will appear.





23. Verify these settings then click Continue and Done to finish the account creation process.

Setting Up a New Account

If you currently use the Apple Mail program and would like to configure it for use with your Google Apps at USC email account, follow the instructions below.

Under the Mail menu, select Preferences. The Accounts window will appear.

1. Under Accounts, on the left-hand side, you will see a list of all of your existing email accounts within Apple Mail. To edit the settings of an existing account, highlight the account name in the list to see the current account settings on the right panel. To create a new account, click the + button below the Accounts field.
2. In the Account Type dropdown menu, select IMAP.
3. In the Description field, type a name for the account. This name will be used to distinguish this account from others within Apple Mail.
4. In the Email Address field, enter your USC email address.
5. In the Full Name field, type in your name. Recipients of messages from this account will see the name as the message sender.
6. In the Incoming Mail Server field, enter imap.gmail.com.
7. In the User name field, enter your full USC email address. For example, if your email address were ttrojan@usc.edu, then your username would be ttrojan@usc.edu.
8. The Password field can be left blank. If a password is not entered and saved, you will be later prompted to enter it when checking your email.





9. From the Outgoing Mail Server dropdown menu, select Edit Server List. You should now see the SMTP Server Options window.
10. Click the Advanced tab.
11. Select Use custom port and enter 587.
12. Select the Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) checkbox.
13. From the Authentication dropdown menu, select Password.
14. In the User Name and Password fields, enter your username and password as above.
15. Click OK to close the SMTP Server Options window.





16. Close the Accounts preferences window. When prompted to save account settings changes, click Save.

Getting Help

Apple Mail includes online help guides to assist you with address book creation and other aspects of reading email, which can be found within the Help menu. If you are experiencing application errors or crashes, please contact Apple for further support.

If you have questions regarding these settings, please contact the ITS Customer Support Center at 213-740-5555 or email consult@usc.edu.