Forwarding emails in Google Workspace

[yigit (Yiğit Mersin)]

This guide describes how to set up and troubleshoot email forwarding in Google Workspace for use with Discourse.

Required user level: Administrator

Setting up email forwarding in Google Workspace

Email forwarding from Google Workspace (formerly GSuite) to your Discourse instance allows seamless integration of communication. This guide will walk you through setting up and troubleshooting email forwarding in Google Workspace.

Summary

This guide covers:

• Enabling email forwarding in Google Workspace
• Verifying forwarding addresses
• Troubleshooting issues with email rejection
• Common issues and their solutions

Enabling email forwarding in Google Workspace

Step-by-step guide

1. Access Google Workspace Admin Console:

   • Go to the Google Workspace Admin Console.
   • Log in with your administrator credentials.

2. Navigate to users:

   • Select Users from the dashboard to view the user accounts.

3. Select a user account:

   • Choose the user account for which you want to enable email forwarding.

4. Open Gmail settings for the user:

   • Click on Gmail from the available app settings.

5. Forwarding and POP/IMAP:

   • Under the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, click Add a forwarding address.

6. Enter the forwarding address:
   • Input the desired forwarding email address (e.g., the email address associated with your Discourse category).
   • Click Next, then Proceed.

7. Verification:
   • A confirmation email will be sent to the forwarding address. You’ll need to verify this address.
   • Retrieve the verification code from the email sent to your Discourse instance. This can be found in the Admin Email logs in Discourse.

8. Confirm forwarding address:
   • Enter the verification code.

Troubleshooting email rejection

Common issues and solutions

1. Email rejection by Discourse:
   • Discourse may reject auto-generated emails from Google Workspace.
   • To view rejected emails, navigate to the Discourse Admin Panel:
     • Go to [Your Discourse URL]/admin/email/rejected
     • Click on the link in the ‘Error’ column to view the rejected email.

2. Confirm email forwarding:
   • Ensure that the link in the body section of the confirmation email is clicked to confirm the forwarding setup.

3. Check email logs:
   • Access the email logs in Discourse to confirm the forwarding settings are correctly applied.
   • Verify the body of the email for confirmation details.

Other common issues and solutions

Incorrect forwarding address

• Double-check the forwarding address for typos or errors.
• Ensure the forwarding address matches the email address set up in your Discourse category.

Email not arriving

• Ensure that the forwarding email settings in Google Workspace are properly configured.
• Verify that the domain’s DNS settings are correctly configured to allow email forwarding.

Verification email blocked

• Check spam/junk folders for the verification email.
• Ensure no email filters are blocking emails from the verification address.

FAQs

How do I know if a forward was successful?

• Log in to your Discourse instance and navigate to the email logs to verify if the email was received.

I can’t find the confirmation email. What should I do?

• Check the spam or junk folders in your Gmail account. If it’s not there, ensure that email forwarding was set up correctly.

Are there any special DNS settings required?

• Ensure that your domain’s MX records are correctly set to direct emails to Google Workspace.

Why is the confirmation link not working?

• Make sure to copy the entire link accurately. If the link is broken or not clickable, try copying and pasting it into your browser’s address bar.