AppSuite:EM Client for OX App Suite

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eM Client for OX App Suite

Open-Xchange’s eM Client for OX App Suite is a full-featured email client with a modern and easy-to-use interface for Windows users. In addition to user-friendly email functionality, this application offers several integrated features: a calendar, tasks, contacts, and even chat. Additionally, eM Client for OX App Suite can be used offline with full OX App Suite synchronization. This new product uses open and proven industry-standard protocols such as IMAP, SMTP, and CardDAV/CalDAV for safe and hassle-free connection to OX App Suite.

The application stores data locally on the client machine. This guarantees that end users can access their data even when offline. Any changes made in offline mode are automatically synchronized: when the user is online again, they are sent back to the OX App Suite server.

eM Client for OX App Suite supports the latest versions of Windows and is compatible with all available versions of eM Client.

Key features

The Essentials for Mail

  • Advanced email rule management
  • Spell-check across the application
  • Templates, signatures, tags and categorizations

The Essentials for Calendar

  • Various calendar views
  • Share calendars and tasks with other people
  • Full text search in appointments and tasks
  • Schedule meetings using free / reserved

The Essentials for Contacts

  • Custom contact views
  • Unlimited number of data fields
  • Categorization and folder support
  • Easy merging of contacts
  • Communication history

The Essentials for Tasks

  • Create and manage tasks
  • Add attachments
  • Recurring tasks
  • Assign tasks and set status

A more detailed overview of eM Client for OX App Suite features can be found at

http://software.open-xchange.com/products/emclient/doc/Product_Guide_eM_Client_for_App_Suite.pdf

Comparison eM Client for OX App Suite and eM Client

eM Client for OX App Suite eM Client
Availability Available via provider (e.g. On-boarding Wizzard) Obtained from eM Client directly
License check Capability of being set on OX server – no handling of license keys required Use of a license server from eM Client – need for a license key at the user site
Branding Either the OX brand or, for a fee, provider branding eM Client brand
Margin Additional revenue potential with the usual revenue-sharing Need for an additional reseller agreement
Support Full support for OX App Suite no support from Open-Xchange

Pricing and availability

In order to evaluate eM Client for OX App Suite please contact Open-Xchange Sales. Your Open-Xchange Sales rep can provide you with pricing information and license keys.

System requirements

The requirements are listed at eM Client for OX App Suite and Platform Requirements.

Download and installation of eM Client for OX App Suite

Installation packages for eM Client for OX App Suite are available for download at the following URL: https://software.open-xchange.com/products/emclient/stable/emclient/ (The package is available for all customers with a valid Open-Xchange eM Client for OX App Suite license)

After download is complete, you can start the installation by double clicking on the package. The first screen presents information about the eM Client for OX App Suite product. Then, the wizard guides you in the steps for installation. Please be sure to read the license agreement with Open-Xchange carefully.

Please Note: The automatic update via eM Client (client triggered update) will be available only a few days after Open-Xchange released a package officially.

Download and Installation of eM Client for OX App Suite for UCS

If you have purchased the Open-Xchange App Suite for UCS, the eM Client for OX App Suite is part of the offering. Installation of the client with the following steps:

  • eM Client for OX App Suite is provided via the Client Onboarding Wizard inside the web frontend
  • The wizard trigger button is displayed in the setting menu. It is called “Connect your device”. If you click on this menu entry then the Onboarding Wizard will start.
  • Inside the Wizard you can choose which app device you want to configure. The Wizard will then display the different mobile, or desktop, systems that are available to the user. For eM Client for OX App Suite, please select Windows.

Server-side configuration

This section describes what needs to be configured on the OX App Suite server back end in order to support use of eM Client for OX App Suite.

Prerequisites

Use requires Open-Xchange App Suite v.7.8.1 or above (“open xchange core”).

Configuration

As many other clients are, the original eM Client is able to connect to OX App Suite without any additional server-side configuration, if you allow access to IMAP, SMTP, CardDAV, and CalDAV. For that reason, eM Client for OX App Suite requires only a little configuration work at the back end. Besides using the standard protocols listed above, you need to use a “user capability” setting (described below) and must decide whether to offer the product via the On-boarding Wizard.

Auto-Configuration for Mail Clients

[| This article] explains a solution for auto-configuration for a set of mail clients which can be configured against a mail system automatically by just entering email address and password.

Enabling eM Client for OX App Suite for users

To eliminate the need for any handling of license keys on the user side, we have decided to use a “capability” setting and thereby check whether a user is entitled to access the client. To enable a user for eM Client for OX App Suite, you must have set either the capability 

com.openexchange.capability.emclient_basic

or 

com.openexchange.capability.emclient_premium

The “basic” capability needs to be set for systems which are on a yearly pricing plan, and the “premium” capability should be set for systems on one of the monthly plans.

More details about capabilities can be found on the “App Suite: Capabilities” page, at http://oxpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=AppSuite:Capabilities. Furthermore, these capabilities can be used in the Config Cascade. For information, please see http://oxpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=ConfigCascade.

Autodiscovery for partners and customers

End users don’t want to bother with server settings or port numbers. For that reason, the on-boarding experience has to be made as smooth and trouble-free as possible for them. To enable the best possible user experience with eM Client for OX App Suite, Open-Xchange requires some additional information. This information will allow us to provide a seamless setup of eM Client for App Suite for your users.

Please download the information form, fill out the parts marked in the XML snippet, and send the completed form to emclient@open-xchange.com.

Your information will then be included in the next update of eM Client for OX App Suite. Customers and partners, that don't want to include their information to that mechanism need to apply a workaround at this point of time. Further information can be found here. Please contact your support if you need any further details.

The On-boarding Wizard and updates

We recommend making eM Client for OX App Suite available to end users via our App On-boarding Wizard. For this, you must install and configure the wizard for eM Client for OX App Suite users.

To make the app download available via the On-boarding Wizard, you need to enable the corresponding scenario. Open the file /opt/open xchange/etc/client-onboarding-scenarios.yml for editing. In the emclientinstall section, you have to set the value for the “enabled” property to “true”; then, save the file.

You have to specify the download URL of the client at /opt/open-xchange/etc/client-onboarding-emclient.properties by changing the value for "com.openexchange.client.onboarding.emclient.url". This property available via the ConfigCascade and for that reason can have different values for different contexts/users.

After installation, eM Client for OX App Suite will automatically check for the latest updates on the central server (or the corresponding branded update server).

A custom branded version

eM Client for OX App Suite can be purchased with custom branding. This will also include the software for a custom update server.

With a custom branded version, you can choose your own name for the product (please remember that we will not perform any trademark checks). In addition to the name, you can change the logo shown in all parts of the product, from the installation process to the desktop icon.

The branding/customization process

For customization, you need to provide specific information such as the following:

  • Confirmation that you are running OX App Suite 7.8.1, including the latest patch.
  • The full information from the autodiscovery XML sheet
  • Two test accounts in your OX App Suite service, with which we can verify that the OX App Suite system works as expected.
  • A “logo” and “name” for your service. This information will be used in the client itself.

Note that the “logo” needs to be delivered in certain formats and resolutions.

Please contact Open-Xchange Sales for further information and pricing details.

Known Limitations

For known issues please have a look at the eM Client for OX App Suite FAQ

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