Using multiple SMTP servers in thunderbird

Question

I have 2 email accounts, my gmail account which I use for home, and my university account which I use for university stuff. Setting up multiple email accounts with different IMAP and SMTP settings is easy enough. I have no problem with my gmail account, as I can use the google SMTP wherever I am.

The problem is with my university account: everytime I go home, I have to switch my SMTP server to the one I use at home. When I go back to the university campus, I have to switch my SMTP server to the university's. Is is possible to be able to send emails both at home and on campus without having to switch to a different SMTP server each time?

P.S. Something that could detect my location and change the SMTP server automatically would be good, or a setting that would allow thunderbird to try both SMTP servers. I know it's only a couple of clicks away to change the SMTP server, but I'm a massive productivity geek and a bit OCD about these sort of things, I like everything to be automated if possible!

Answer 1

Create a clone of your university account, i.e you have 3 "Accounts" listed. Under Server Settings of your clone, set it to NEVER check for new mail etc... now set that clone account to use your Home SMTP. Save it and open a new message.

Where it says "From: xxx xx yyyy" click there to change which account you want to send it from. Select your clone account, and send etc... It'll say it's from your uni account etc... but sending from your gmail SMTP.

This is the easiest way of doing it. Yes this is NOT what you asked for, but I'm not sure if there is anything like what you asked for.

Answer 2

Another option (which still would not be automagical) would be to have 2 versions of your hosts file, one for home and one for the office. Run a batch to replace them when you go between locations, and the one at home remaps whatever the address for your server is to the correct address for a remote location.

Answer 3

In Thunderbird, open the account's properties and click Edit Identities. You can add several identities, each of which can have its own SMTP settings.