How to make Eudora 7 work with Gmail servers

Thanks to Hermes

 

Eudora is an old email client. Last updated in 2006, it does not do well on Windows 8/10. It is software that I have been using on my desktop computers since December, 1994, when I first got onto the Internet (from CompuServe). My 96-year-old dad uses it. Today many, who tend to get their email through a Web browser and with free clients like GMail and Outlook, see it as a dinosaur.

 

Eudora's Unique Functions

Except that Eudora does things no modern email client does, and I have tried a dozen alternatives over the years. Here are some of the functions that I cannot live without:

Display two or more mailbox windows at the same time, side by side. This is crucial for me, as my In and Out boxes act as my reminder lists.

• Emails in my Inbox are items I still need to deal with (I color emails that are crucial, like upcoming Webinars, in red)
• Emails in my Outbox are things I am expecting to hear from others, such as outstanding invoices (I color emails that involve income with green)
• All other email is carefully moved to the approximately 100 mail boxes that sort my stuff

With the In and Out boxes side by side, I see at a glance what needs to be done, as well as newly arrived emails. This function is so important that I dedicate one entire monitor to Eudora. (My desktop computer has three monitors.)

Resend Email. I use old emails as templates for new ones. For example, I lead a men's reading group and each week I send out a reminder to the guys. I use the Resend function, which makes an exact copy, which I then modify it as needed. A h-u-g-e productivity boost. (I color emails I tend to resend with brown.)

Queued Send. Some email systems now provide this: the ability to schedule when an email should be sent. I find it useful to write an email days in advance (when I have the time), then queue it to send later -- such as that men's reading group reminder.

 

Eudora's Drawbacks

Being old, Eudora is becoming less and less compatible as Windows changes and the Internet becomes more secure.

Windows Incompatibility. For instance, Eudora expects a 32-bit system, so it only works on 64-bit Windows 7 when you  move some of its files after installation.

It kind of works on Windows 8, and I have given up trying to make it work on Windows 10. Hence, my desktop computer still runs Windows 7 just to accommodate Eudora. (I have a spare Windows 7 machine under the desk should my workhorse give up one sad day.)

Eudora also struggles today with modern HTML code in emails, as well as Unicode extended characters. I can overcome these problems by right-clicking the email, and then choosing Show in Browser.

Internet Incompatibility. Eudora has been working fine with my ISP, Telus, who hadn't done anything over the decades to improve email security. For email access, Telus didn't even require a strong password. But a major lapse last year smartened up the company, when customers went without email for weeks, or, in the case of my dad, months. This month Telus moved the host email system of its business customers (like me) from Dell to Google.

Then Eudora no longer worked. In me, the panic was palpable.

 

The Telus Debacle

Telus shifted my email to Google without particularly informing me. I noticed something was wrong when I wasn't getting any emails throughout the day. I contacted tech support, and slowly it dawned on the techie what happened.

Telus had indeed sent me an email warning me of the switch, but I ignored it. Reason being that Telus allows so much spam through their servers that claim to come from "Telus" insisting I click a button to keep from "losing my account." An email telling me that I needed to take action because I was being "moved to Gmail" was just as worthy of being ignored.

The techie guy said he'd wait a day for the transfer to Gmail to complete and then call me to help me change my email settings. He never did.

In any case, the Gmail settings that Telus lists on its support page are incomplete. 

 

Fixing Eudora

So I was left on my own to fix Eudora. It took about two days. 

My first approach was download and try out a half-dozen email clients. None offered the three crucial features I list above. The "modern" Eudora 8 proved a disappointment, as it is merely a version of Thunderbird, and doesn't do the three crucial tasks.

Thunderbird was helpful in one regard: it does an excellent job of determining automatically the arcane settings for sending (smtp) and receiving (pop/imap) emails. It was thru Thunderbird that I found that Telus posted incomplete GMail settings; eventually I found the full set of settings on Google's support page:

• SMTP and IMAP https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7126229
• POP https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7104828

The problem is, you can't just fix one setting; everything has to be perfect. So here are the steps you need to take:

1. Weaken GMail's security
2. Open up Eudora's access to port numbers
3. Replace aging security DLLs in Eudora
4. Set up properties properly

 

Weaken GMail Security

You  need to weaken GMail's security to allow Eudora access your email stored on Google's severs. The Less secure app access setting is required to allow SMTP, POP, and IMAP access. Here's how to implement it:

1. Sign into your GMail account, and then click the Gear icon, and then choose See All Settings: 

2. Choose the Accounts and Import tab.

3. Next to Change account settings, click Google Account settings.

4. On the left, click Security.

5.   Scroll down to Less secure app access. Enable it. 

6. While in GMail Settings, click on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.

7. Turn on the Enable POP for all mail (even mail that's already been downloaded) setting.

(If you plan to use IMAP, them turn on Enable IMAP.)

8. Click Save Changes.

 

Editing Port Numbers

Regular Eudora does not allow you to change port numbers. To do this, you need to add an extension to Eudora, which fortunately is included in the install but hidden away. Here is how to access it:

1. Close Eudora.
2. Go to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Qualcomm\Eudora Mail 7\extrastuff folder
3. Copy the esoteric.epi to one folder higher (C:\Program Files (x86)\Qualcomm\Eudora Mail 7). EPI files are like extensions to Eudora. This one add more options to the end of the Options dialog box.
4. Start Eudora.
5. From the menu, open Tools | Options, then scroll to the end of the Options dialog box. Notice all the new items that the EPI file added.
6. Click on Ports, and then change the default values, which are meant for unsecure email access, to port numbers used for secure access. See figure below for the numbers to use:

Click OK to close the dialog box.

 

Updating Eudora's Security

Eudora is such an important email client that a few intrepid programmers are working on bringing it up to date. The Hermes Mail project has so far produced files that update the security in Eudora, as required by today's mail servers.  

(Do not confuse Hermes Mail with Hermes Web Mail; the latter is not what you want here.)

The following files solve the problem of Eudora 7.1 not accepting and validating Secure Sockets Layer
certificates -- specifically updating it from TLS 1.0 to TLS 1.2:

1. Close Eudora.
2. Go to sourceforge.net/projects/hermesmail/ and then click Download. This downloads the HermSSL.zip file.
3. Unzip the file.
4. Navigate to the lowermost HermSSL folder
5. First, run vcredist.ese. This is a just-in-case Windows support file that is needed by the new code; if the install returns an error, this means your computer already has the needed support file, so no worries.
6. Copy the following four files to the main Eudora folder, such as C:\Program Files (x86)\Qualcomm\Eudora Mail 7:
    libeay32.dll
   QCSSL.dll
   rootcerts.p7b
   ssleay32.dll
   
   Allow Windows to copy over existing files. 

 

Set Up Properties Properly

There are many options for setting up the Properties of a Personality (as Eudora calls an email account). I have pasted below a screen grab of the ones that work for me. Specifically, take note of these settings:

1. Start Eudora
2. From the menu, choose Tools | Personalities
3. Right-click your personality (email account name), and then choose Properties
4. Enter the settings shown below for Generic Properties and Incoming Mail.
   
   
5. When done changing the settings, click OK to close the Options dialog box.
6. Right-click your personality, and then choose Test. Eudora should report no errors. If it does, then the most likely problem is that you did not change Secure Sockets when Sending to "Required, Alternate Port" in the Options dialog box.
   
7. Now press Ctrl+M to download your waiting email. Life is good again!

 

Generic Properties

User name must be the one that you use to log into the Gmail account; in my case, it is grabowski@telus.net

SMTP server must be smtp.gmail.com

Secure Sockets when Sending must be "Required, Alternate Port". This forces Eudora to (a) use security and (b) use the port numbers you specified in Options | Ports. This is probably the most crucial setting to use in Eudora to make it work with Gmail!

 

Incoming Mail

Server must be pop.gmail.com for POP or else imap.gmail.com for IMAP; for a program like Eudora, you probably want POP service

Secure Sockets when Sending must be "Required, Alternate Port"

 

 

 

Comments

[TonyT]

Could you run it in a virtual machine? For example, computer is running Windows 10 64-bit, while Eudora is running in a 32-bit Windows 7 VM?

(Also, it might be worth trying a Windows 10 32-bit VM, especially an older vintage. 32-bit Windows 10 seems to have better compatibility than 64-bit. We have a machine we just made, special order, that has to run Windows 10 32-bit 1909 - NOT the current 20H2 - because it uses 20-year old hardware and software designs that don't work with 64-bits, and finally won't work with the latest 32-bit Windows 10. OTOH, I have to give MS some credit - can you run 20-year old binary (not source) software on the latest Mac or Linux versions?)

[Ralph Grabowski]

I think I made it work on Windows 7 by setting the Compatibility property of Eudora.exe for Windows Vista, and then run it at the Administrator Level.

A friend tells me he got it work on Windows 10, and I've asked him for the details.

[Jason]

Ralph,

I believe eM Client provides all the features you're looking for. With version 8. they now also include an option to launch multiple windows. I like the ability to create template emails, and can send out as a mass email, such as a reminder to your reading group.

I would wouldn't recommend using google as your mail system. I see it as being geared towards general consumers rather than for professional use. They dictate too much over what you can and can't do with your own email account. i.e. You lose sovereignty over your communications. For example. it is impossible to send an AutoCAD script (.SCR) file as an attachment. If you try it doesn't provide any messaging to the fact it hasn't been sent, or why, it just disappears. Same happens with receiving. I had a printer company repeatedly try and send me some printer drivers for a printer that we were having trouble with. Never received the email, never received a message to say that it had been blocked either.

[Ralph Grabowski]

My solution to sending files that Google censors is to use a cloud service, pCloud in my case, to make the transfer.

Thanks for your tips on eM Client.

[Allen Lacy]

I also use Eudora 7 for basically the same features you do. I have been using it with gmail for many years. I was using Eudora with a non gmail server then I switched to gmail about 7 years ago. I found directions similar to yours on how to get it to work. Then in 2017 I got a new laptop with 64bit Windows 10 home version. I just copied the Eudora files to the Windows 10 system and it worked. Since it was so long ago that I configured Eudora to work with gmail I not sure what I did different from you.

Note the reason I found your page, is I remembered reading that Google is going to remove the "Less secure app access" and I was hunting information on how to get Eudora to work without that setting. Besides this page I also found

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en

I don't know if this applies to you or me.

[Ralph Grabowski]

I think that Google will keep the less-secure option. Keep in mind that data-mining is the only thing Google is interested in. If a product or service returns user data to Google, then it holds on to it. Desktop software like Picasa had to be killed because we could use it under the radar.

By offering the less-secure option, Google gains access to many more email accounts, whose data it can harvest.

[Erwin Landsberger]

Dear Ralph:
I followed all your steps trying to get Eudora 7 work with gmail.com after Telus migrated my account. However Eudora still does not work and gives an error and goes nowhere. The error contains the phrase Connection closed by foreign host. Could I have missed something or do you have some new information. After using Eudora since email first came to being years ago I do not want to give it up. There is nothing out there that is as good. Am running Windows 7.

[Rob Abbott]

Hi Ralph,
I wanted to thank you for your time and effort in putting all of this together. It has enabled me to get my Eudora 7.1 up and running on Gmail after the Telus migration similiar to yourself. I was running Eudora 6.1 on my Win 7 machine prior to this but found that it will not cooperate with Gmail so I downloaded 7.1 from
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/eudora-7-1-0-9
Your instructions were very clear and allowed me to walk through what needed to be done. I could not have done this had I not found your website.
The only thing I found was that the SMTP Port number you show under ' Editing Port Numbers' should be 465 not 587.
587 is specified in 'Account Settings / Generic Properties / SMTP Server / Use submission port (587) - checked as yes.
Thanks once again for a job well done. Us old Eudora fans can keep on truckin'!

Best Regards,

Rob Abbott

[Ralph Grabowski]

Hmmm... SMTP Port 587 works for me and for my dad's Telus account.

OTOH, a reader has contacted me as he is unable to collect his email. I'll pass on your tip to him, to see if that is change he needs to make.

[Hans]

Hi everybody.
I have been running EUDORA 6.2 for some 20 years and am perfectly happy with it. My provider telus just forced me to migrate my telus account to gmail and now I am locked out. EU62 cannot send e-mail nor receive it, not with the pop and smtp and port settings provided to me. I have wasted 5 hours on this already, trying any angle with the settings. But I need access to all my past e-mails, stored in countless mailboxes going back some 20 years, and I love EUDORAs interface and options.
Following the explicit advice given above by RG for EU7, I installed v 7.1.0.9, in the hopes of getting this version to 'talk' to the gmail servers. But this failed as well. I cannot even set the ports because the sponsored and free modes do not have this option. I'd be happy to pay to get the 'full' version but that is longer possible. So now I am totally stuck.
My computers run on Win-10.
Can anyone help me to get EU62 to talk to the gmail servers? Alternatively, I need EU7 where I can set the ports. I can well imagine running on EU7, assuming that I can import all my past mail from EU62. Other?
Hans

[Ralph Grabowski]

It appears that you can download the final (newest) version of Eudora from here:

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/eudora-7-1-0-9

[Hans]

Ralph,
Thank you. This is the version I downloaded and installed. But it does not have the option of setting the ports, which likely is available only in the 'paid' version.
Hans

[Ralph Grabowski]

Be sure to install the software listed under "Editing Port Numbers," steps 1 thru 4.

[Hans]

Ralph,
Right you were: I missed to execute the 'Editing port numbers' correctly. Now done right. And now I have EUDORA 7-1-0-9 running just fine. Mind you, I still like the interface of v6.2 better. For one,: where in EU7 are the horizontal and vertical grid lines within the IN- and OUT-boxes of EU6, which I find useful? How to I get rid of the spit field in the IN- and OUT-boxes of EU7, which I find highly annoying? But I count my blessings that I came across your instructions. Otherwise I'd be in deep trouble having to give up using EUDORA altogether.
So please accept my deepest gratitude for providing all this advice, and so very clearly.
Just one more thing: Dec-17-2020 you wrote: "A friend tells me he got it work on Windows 10, and I've asked him for the details." No details necessary. I am running EUDORA 7-1-0-9 on Win-10 now, just as I have been running EUDORA 6.2 on Win-10, and 7, and XP, and NT. I never had any issues running EUDORA when upgrading/updating Windows going back to ~2005.
Hans

[Ralph Grabowski]

To get rid of the split fields, go to Tools > Options > Preview
Pane and then turn off Preview Pane.

[Michael R Dodds]

Interesting that there are still so many people using Eudora 7.1. I have been using it since early 1993 and having used several other email programs always come back to Eudora because it is much more sophisticated than most of the others including Outlook. I use it on Windows 10 but keep it directly in the C:/drive and do not allow it into Programs. I have two problems the most annoying is that, unlike Outlook, I cannot add multiple outging addresses to cc. The other problem is that the dates column for outgoing mail doesn't always keep the dates in the correct chronological order, possibly a corrupt part of the file, otherwise it handles my average 120 emails every day. The fact Gmail and Yahoo won't handle the mail directly means I have to use Earthlink but that just means I have two email addresses.

[Ralph Grabowski]

With Qualcomm having made Eudora open-source, it's a wonder no one has
taken it over to modernize it.

I can add multiple email addresses to the CC: field. Separate them with a
comma.

You can click the Date header to sort emails by date order.

[Ralph Grabowski]

With Qualcomm having made Eudora open-source, it's a wonder no one has
taken it over to modernize it.

I can add multiple email addresses to the CC: field. Separate them with a
comma.

You can click the Date header to sort emails by date order.