Editing WebMail Templates
The advice offered on this page should only be used by users who are confident in the modification of HTML pages. If you are unsure about this process, we recommend that you firstly learn a basic knowledge of HTML before you continue and make any modifications.

What are WebMail Templates?
All the pages used by the WebMail part of Ability Mail Server are generated from actual files contained within the Ability Mail Server folder. These files are simply HTML files and can be edited by any standard HTML editor (Front-page, Dreamweaver, Notepad...etc.). By default Ability Mail Server comes with 3 templates called 'template1', 'template2' and 'template3'. These are the standard WebMail interface templates and are designed to form the base of any modifications. Ability Mail Server also allows the use of any new templates which you may create and you can switch between the templates at any time by using the 'WebMail Settings' dialog.

How Do Templates Work?
Each template is located in a unique folder stored within the 'webmail' folder inside the main Ability Mail Server folder (usually 'C:\Program Files\Code-Crafters\Ability Mail Server\webmail'). The HTML code which makes up the page also contains special 'tags' which inform Ability Mail Server of where to insert additional information (ie the subject of an email). By modifying these template files, you can completely control the appearance of the webmail interface. When a user attempts to access a page using the WebMail service, the template file is loaded into memory, compiled and then sent to the user. This means that WebMail part of Ability Mail Server is in fact a modified HTTP server with full support for POST, GET and HEAD type requests.

How To Modify The Template
The first thing to do when modifying the template is to create a copy of the current template you intend to modify. This means that if you make a serious error or just want to revert back to the original you can without any difficulty. To do this you need to make a copy of a standard template folder and place it in the 'webmail' folder, giving it a new name. Once the copy is made, you then need to go into Ability Mail Server, select the Settings button, the Advanced tab and then select the WebMail button. In the drop down list you should see the name you gave to the folder, select this and select the OK button. Now Ability Mail Server will use this new folder as the webmail template.

A Quick Change
The simplest modification to the template is to remove all 'Code-Crafters' images and replace them with your own. Depending on the template your are attempting to modify there are one or two images on each page. Using your favorite GIF editor, you can modify these images and insert your own logos. We recommend that you don't change the size or the background color of the images, as this will then allow the images to still seamlessly integrate with the rest of the page.

A Complete Change
If you want to completely change the webmail interface, then this will take much more time. We recommend that you study the structure of a standard template folder and learn how the pages work together. It is important that all the current file names of the HTML files are not changed (Ability Mail Server expects these filenames to exist in all template folders). However, there is no harm in adding pages or modifying the code in the current pages.