KMail allows you to manage several e-mail addresses (such as your private e-mail address and your business address). When writing an e-mail, select one of the identities previously defined. To create a new identity profile, select ‘Settings’+‘Configure KMail…’ then ‘Identities’+‘New…’, which opens a dialog. Give the new identity a name (such as “private” or “office”). Click ‘OK’ to proceed to a dialog in which to enter some additional information.

Under the ‘General’ tab, enter your name, organization, and e-mail address. Under ‘Encryption’, select your keys to send digitally signed or encrypted messages. For the encryption features to work, first create a key with KGpg, described in 11. Encryption with KGpg.

Under ‘Advanced’, you can enter a reply-to and a blind carbon-copy address, choose a dictionary, select the folders for drafts and sent messages, and define how messages should be sent. Under ‘Signature’, decide if and how each of your messages should be signed with an extra piece of text at the end. To activate this, select ‘Enable Signature’ and decide whether the signature should be taken from a file, from an input field, or from the output of a command. When you are finished with all your identity settings, confirm with ‘Ok’.

The settings under ‘Network’ (opened with ‘Settings’+‘Configure KMail…’) decide how KMail receives and sends e-mail. There are two tabs, one each for sending and for receiving mail. Many of these settings vary depending on the system and network in which your mail server is located. If you are not sure about the settings or items to select, consult your ISP or system administrator.

Create outgoing mail boxes under the Sending tab. Add lets you choose between the server types SMTP and sendmail. SMTP is the right choice in most cases. After making this selection, a window appears in which to enter SMTP server data. Provide a name and enter the server address (as given to you by your ISP). If the server wants you to authenticate yourself, enable Server requires authentication.

Security settings are under the ‘Security’ tab. Specify your preferred encryption method here. If uncertain about which one to choose, click ‘Check What the Server Supports’. The respective settings are then tested and applied. If necessary, consult your system administrator.

Make settings for receiving e-mail under the Receiving tab. Use Add to create a new account. Choose between different methods for fetching mail, such as local (Mbox or Maildir format), POP3, or IMAP. Usually POP3 is suitable. After making your selection, a window appears in which to enter the POP3 server data. Enter the name of the server in the field at the top. In the other fields, enter the values provided by your ISP or your system administrator. The fields User, Server, and Password are required.

The ‘Security’ tab offers several methods for encryption and authorization. If you are uncertain about which options your server provides, try Check What the Server Supports.

Under ‘Appearance’, customize KMail according to your preferences. Use the ‘Fonts’ tab to configure the fonts for the various displays, such as the message text and first-level quoted text. To do this, activate Use custom fonts.

To customize the colors, activate Use custom colors in the Colors tab. Double-click an entry to access a dialog in which to select the colors. The Layout tab offers options for splitting the KMail window and for displaying a MIME tree. A MIME tree shows all the attachments to a message.

The ‘Header’ tab provides options for general settings, like displaying the file size or encryption symbols. Also, customize the date display and message grouping. ‘Profiles’ is responsible for the configuration of the appearance. Some standard profiles are provided with the program, like those for users who prefer high contrast. Selecting a profile overwrites the current layout settings.