University Computer Help Desk

How to send from an email alias in Thunderbird

You can configure Thunderbird to use an email alias as the sender's address when sending email.

Before You Begin

If you have an email alias, you can configure Thunderbird to use that email address as the sender's address when sending email.

Example of When to Send From an Email Alias

Reggie Redbird's department has the email alias, IllinoisAthletics@ilstu.edu. Reggie receives email sent to illinoisathletes@ilstu.edu in his regular rrredbi@ilstu.edu account. When Reggie replies to those emails, he wants the messages to be sent from IllinoisAthletics@ilstu.edu instead of from his personal email account. To do this, Reggie needs to create an identify for IllinoisAthletics@ilstu.edu in Thunderbird.

Configure Thunderbird with an Identity

To configure Thunderbird so you can send email from an email alias, do the following:

  1. Open Thunderbird.
  2. Click Tools > Account Settings..
    • If Thunderbird is configured with more than one account, choose the account on the left to which you would like to add the identity.
  3. Click the Manage Identities... button.
  4. Click Add...
  5. Complete the Identity Settings page as follows:
    • Your Name: Type a name for the email alias. This name will appear when you send email using the alias. To continue the example above, Reggie would enter the name, Illinois State University Athletics.
    • Email Address: Type the address of the email alias. Reggie would enter IllinoisAthletics@ilstu.edu.
    • Signature Text: Type a signature to use when sending email from the email alias. Reggie would enter the name of his organization (Illinois State University Athletics), as well as the web address and phone number for the organization. You are not required to enter a signature; if you do not want to use a signature with the email alias, leave this box empty.
  6.  Click OK three times to close the open windows.

Thunderbird is now configured with a second email address you can use when sending email or replying to email.

Send Email Using an Identity

To send email using the email alias address, do the following:

  1. Click Write to compose a new email message.
  2. Click the From: drop-down menu located beneath the Send button and select the email alias from the list of accounts.
  3. Compose your message and send it. The email will be sent from the address you selected.
    • You should send a test message to yourself or a coworker to confirm this is working as expected.

Off-campus users: If Thunderbird is configured with MailVPN settings, you can check and send email from both on campus and off campus. If Thunderbird is configured with typical mail settings, then you must connect to VPN before you can check or send email from off campus.