From Heinz Tschabitscher,
Your Guide to Email.
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All that mail in Gmail is nice, and it is also readily available via its web interface. But Mozilla Thunderbird is nice, too, and maybe they are even nicer together.

Fortunately, setting up a Gmail account in Mozilla Thunderbird 1.x for sending and receiving messages is easy. (It is even easier in Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0 and later, though.)

Access a Gmail Account with Mozilla Thunderbird 1.x

To download mail from a Gmail account in Mozilla Thunderbird and send messages, too:

• ›› Step by Step Screenshot Walkthrough

• Make sure POP access is turned on for your Gmail account.
• Select Tools | Account Settings... from the menu.
• Click Add Account....
• Make sure Email account is selected.
• Click Next >.
• Type your name under Your Name:.
• Enter your Gmail address under Email Address:.
• Click Next >.
• Make sure POP is selected under Select the type of incoming server you are using..
• Type "pop.gmail.com" under Incoming Server:.
• Click Next >.
• Enter your full email address ("john.john@gmail.com", for example) under Incoming User Name:.
  • You'll just have to append "@gmail.com" to what Mozilla Thunderbird has already entered for you.
• Click Next >.
• Give the Gmail account a name (something like "Gmail", for example) under Account Name:.
• Click Next >.
• Now click Done.
• Highlight Server Settings under the new Gmail account.
• Make sure SSL is selected under Use secure connection.

Let's set up the outgoing mail server specifically used for the Gmail account:

• ›› Step by Step Screenshot Walkthrough

• Highlight Outgoing Server (SMTP) in the list of account on the left.
• Click Add....
• Type "smtp.gmail.com" under Server Name:.
• Type "587" under Port:.
• Make sure Use name and password is checked.
• Type your Gmail address under User Name:.
• Make sure TLS is selected under Use secure connection:.
• Click OK.
• Highlight the Gmail account we created before.
• Under Outgoing Server (SMTP):, make sure smtp.gmail.com is selected.
• Open Server Settings under the Gmail account.
• Select TLS under Use secure connection:.
• Click OK.