1967 lines
41 KiB
HTML
1967 lines
41 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>OfflineIMAP Manual</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.77+"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="REFERENCE"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#840084"
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ALINK="#0000FF"
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFERENCE"
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><A
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NAME="AEN1"
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></A
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><DIV
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CLASS="TITLEPAGE"
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><H1
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CLASS="TITLE"
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>I. OfflineIMAP Manual</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="TOC"
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><DL
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><DT
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><B
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>Table of Contents</B
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></DT
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><DT
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><A
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HREF="#AEN3"
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>offlineimap</A
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> -- Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization
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and reader support</DT
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></DL
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><H1
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><A
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NAME="AEN3"
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></A
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>offlineimap</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFNAMEDIV"
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><A
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NAME="AEN15"
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></A
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><H2
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>Name</H2
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>OfflineIMAP -- Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization
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and reader support</DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSYNOPSISDIV"
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><A
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NAME="AEN18"
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></A
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><H2
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>Synopsis</H2
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><P
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><B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>offlineimap</B
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> [-1] [-P <TT
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CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
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><I
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>profiledir</I
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></TT
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>] [-a <TT
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CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
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><I
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>accountlist</I
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></TT
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>] [-c <TT
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CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
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><I
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>configfile</I
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></TT
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>] [-d <TT
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CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
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><I
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>debugtype[,...]</I
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></TT
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>] [-o] [-u <TT
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CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
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><I
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>interface</I
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></TT
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>]</P
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><P
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><B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>offlineimap</B
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> -h | --help </P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT1"
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><A
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NAME="AEN38"
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></A
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><H2
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>Description</H2
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> is a tool to simplify your e-mail
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reading. With <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>, you can read the same mailbox
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from multiple computers. You get a current copy of your
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messages on each computer, and changes you make one place will be
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visible on all other systems. For instance, you can delete a message
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on your home computer, and it will appear deleted on your work
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computer as well. <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> is also useful if you want to
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use a mail reader that does not have IMAP support, has poor IMAP
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support, or does not provide disconnected operation.
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</P
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> is <SPAN
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CLASS="emphasis"
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><I
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CLASS="EMPHASIS"
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>FAST</I
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></SPAN
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>; it synchronizes
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my two accounts with over 50 folders in 3 seconds. Other
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similar tools might take over a minute, and achieve a
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less-reliable result. Some mail readers can take over 10
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minutes to do the same thing, and some don't even support it
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at all. Unlike other mail tools, <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> features a
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multi-threaded synchronization algorithm that can dramatically
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speed up performance in many situations by synchronizing
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several different things simultaneously.
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</P
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> is <SPAN
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CLASS="emphasis"
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><I
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CLASS="EMPHASIS"
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>FLEXIBLE</I
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></SPAN
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>; you can
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customize which folders are synced via regular expressions,
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lists, or Python expressions; a versatile and comprehensive
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configuration file is used to control behavior; two user
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interfaces are built-in; fine-tuning of synchronization
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performance is possible; internal or external automation is
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supported; SSL and PREAUTH tunnels are both supported; offline
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(or "unplugged") reading is supported; and esoteric IMAP
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features are supported to ensure compatibility with the widest
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variety of IMAP servers.
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</P
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> is <SPAN
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CLASS="emphasis"
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><I
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CLASS="EMPHASIS"
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>SAFE</I
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></SPAN
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>; it uses an
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algorithm designed to prevent mail loss at all costs. Because
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of the design of this algorithm, even programming errors
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should not result in loss of mail. I am so confident in the
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algorithm that I use my own personal and work accounts for
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testing of <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> pre-release, development, and beta
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releases. Of course, legally speaking, <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> comes
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with no warranty, so I am not responsible if this turns out
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to be wrong.
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</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN56"
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></A
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><H3
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>Method of Operation</H3
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> operates by maintaining a hierarchy of
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mail folders in Maildir format locally. Your own mail
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reader will read mail from this tree, and need never know
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that the mail comes from IMAP. <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> will detect
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changes to the mail folders on your IMAP server and your own
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computer and bi-directionally synchronize them, copying,
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marking, and deleting messages as necessary.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT1"
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><A
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NAME="AEN61"
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></A
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><H2
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>Quick Start</H2
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><P
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>If you have already installed <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> system-wide,
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or your system adminstrator has done that for you, your task
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for setting up <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> for the first time is quite
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simple. You just need to set up your configuration file, make
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your folder directory, and run it!
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</P
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><P
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>You can quickly set up your configuration file. The distribution
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includes a file <TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>offlineimap.conf.minimal</TT
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>
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(Debian users
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may find this at
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<TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>/usr/share/doc/offlineimap/examples/offlineimap.conf.minimal</TT
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>) that is a basic example of setting of <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>. You can
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simply copy this file into your home directory and name it
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<TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>.offlineimaprc</TT
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> (note the leading period). A
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command such as <B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>cp offlineimap.conf.minimal ~/.offlineimaprc</B
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> will do it. Or, if you prefer, you can just copy this text to
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<TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>~/.offlineimaprc</TT
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>:
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</P
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><PRE
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CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
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>[general]
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accounts = Test
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[Test]
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localfolders = ~/Test
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remotehost = examplehost
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remoteuser = jgoerzen</PRE
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><P
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>Now, edit the <TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>~/.offlineimaprc</TT
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> file with
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your favorite editor. All you have to do is specify a directory
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for your folders to be in (on the <SPAN
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CLASS="PROPERTY"
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>localfolders</SPAN
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>
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line), the host name of your IMAP server (on the
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<SPAN
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CLASS="PROPERTY"
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>remotehost</SPAN
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> line), and your login name on
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the remote (on the <SPAN
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CLASS="PROPERTY"
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>remoteuser</SPAN
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> line). That's
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it!</P
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><P
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>To run <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>, you just have to say
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<B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>offlineimap</B
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> -- it will fire up, ask you for
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a login password if necessary, synchronize your folders, and exit.
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See? You can just throw away the rest of this finely-crafted,
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perfectly-honed manual! Of course, if you want to see how you can
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make <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> FIVE TIMES FASTER FOR JUST $19.95 (err, well,
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$0), you have to read on!
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT1"
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><A
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NAME="AEN83"
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></A
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><H2
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>Installation</H2
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><P
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>If you are reading this document via the "man" command, it is
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likely
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that you have no installation tasks to perform; your system
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administrator has already installed it. If you need to install it
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yourself, you have three options: a system-wide installation with
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Debian, system-wide installation with other systems, and a single-user
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installation. You can download the latest version of <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> from
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<A
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HREF="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>the <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>
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website</A
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>.
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</P
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN89"
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></A
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><H3
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>Prerequisites</H3
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><P
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>In order to use <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>, you need to have these conditions
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satisfied:
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</P
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><P
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></P
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><UL
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><LI
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><P
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>Your mail server must support IMAP. Most Internet Service
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Providers
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and corporate networks do, and most operating systems
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have an IMAP
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implementation readily available.
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> You must have Python version 2.2.1 or above installed.
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If you are
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running on Debian GNU/Linux, this requirement will automatically be
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taken care of for you. If you do not have Python already, check with
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your system administrator or operating system vendor; or, download it from
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<A
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HREF="http://www.python.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>the Python website</A
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>.
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If you intend to use the Tk interface, you must have Tkinter
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(python-tk) installed. If you intend to use the SSL interface, your
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Python must have been built with SSL support.
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</P
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></LI
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><LI
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><P
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> Have a mail reader that supports the Maildir mailbox format. Most
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modern mail readers have this support built-in, so you can choose from
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a wide variety of mail servers. This format is also known as the
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"qmail" format, so any mail reader compatible with it will work with
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<SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>.
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</P
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></LI
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></UL
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN102"
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></A
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><H3
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>System-Wide Installation, Debian</H3
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><P
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> If you are tracking Debian unstable, you may install
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<SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> by simply running the following command as root:
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</P
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><P
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> <B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>apt-get install offlineimap</B
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>
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</P
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><P
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> If you are not tracking Debian unstable, download the Debian .deb
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package from the <A
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HREF="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/"
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TARGET="_top"
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><SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> website</A
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>
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and then run <B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>dpkg -i</B
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> to install the downloaded
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package. Then, skip to <A
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HREF="#CONFIGURATION"
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><I
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>Configruation</I
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></A
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> below. You will type <B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>offlineimap</B
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> to
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invoke the program.
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN114"
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></A
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><H3
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>System-Wide Installation, Other</H3
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><P
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> Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
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<A
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HREF="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>website</A
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>.
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Then run
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these commands, making sure that you are the "root" user first:
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</P
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><PRE
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CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
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>tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz
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cd offlineimap-x.y.z
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python2.2 setup.py install</PRE
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><P
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>On some systems, you will need to use
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<B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>python</B
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> instead of <B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>python2.2</B
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>.
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Next, proceed to <A
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HREF="#CONFIGURATION"
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><I
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>Configruation</I
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></A
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> below. You will type <B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>offlineimap</B
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> to
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invoke the program.
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT2"
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><A
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NAME="AEN124"
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></A
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><H3
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>Single-Account Installation</H3
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><P
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> Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
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<A
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HREF="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/"
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TARGET="_top"
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>website</A
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>.
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Then run these commands:
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</P
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><PRE
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CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
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>tar -zxvf offlineimap_x.y.z.tar.gz
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cd offlineimap-x.y.z</PRE
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><P
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>When you want to run <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>, you will issue the
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<B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>cd</B
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> command as above and then type
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<B
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CLASS="COMMAND"
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>./offlineimap.py</B
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>; there is no installation
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step necessary.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT1"
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><A
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NAME="CONFIGURATION"
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></A
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><H2
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>Configruation</H2
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><P
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> <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> is regulated by a configuration file that is normally
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stored in <TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>~/.offlineimaprc</TT
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>. <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>
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ships with a file named <TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>offlineimap.conf</TT
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>
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that you should copy to that location and then edit. This file is
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vital to proper operation of the system; it sets everything you need
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to run <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>. Full documentation for the configuration file
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is included within the sample file.
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</P
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><P
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|
> <SPAN
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CLASS="APPLICATION"
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>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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> also ships a file named
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<TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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>offlineimap.conf.minimal</TT
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> that you can also try.
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It's useful if you want to get started with
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the most basic feature set, and you can read about other features
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later with <TT
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CLASS="FILENAME"
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|
>offlineimap.conf</TT
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>.
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
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><A
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NAME="AEN145"
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></A
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><H2
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>Options</H2
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><P
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|
> Most configuration is done via the configuration file. Nevertheless,
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there are a few command-line options that you may set for
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<SPAN
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|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
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|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
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>.
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</P
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><P
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></P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
|
|
><DL
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-1</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Disable most multithreading operations and use
|
|
solely a single-connection
|
|
sync. This effectively sets the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>maxsyncaccounts</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
and all <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>maxconnections</SPAN
|
|
> configuration file
|
|
variables to 1.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-P <TT
|
|
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
|
|
><I
|
|
>profiledir</I
|
|
></TT
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Sets <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> into profile mode. The program
|
|
will create <TT
|
|
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
|
|
><I
|
|
>profiledir</I
|
|
></TT
|
|
>
|
|
(it must not already exist). As it runs, Python profiling
|
|
information
|
|
about each thread is logged into profiledir. Please note: This option
|
|
is present for debugging and optimization only, and should NOT be used
|
|
unless you have a specific reason to do so. It will significantly
|
|
slow program performance, may reduce reliability, and can generate
|
|
huge amounts of data. You must use the <TT
|
|
CLASS="OPTION"
|
|
>-1</TT
|
|
> option when
|
|
you use <TT
|
|
CLASS="OPTION"
|
|
>-P</TT
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-a <TT
|
|
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
|
|
><I
|
|
>accountlist</I
|
|
></TT
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Overrides the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>accounts</SPAN
|
|
> option
|
|
in the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>general</SPAN
|
|
> section of the configuration
|
|
file. You might use this to exclude certain accounts, or to sync
|
|
some accounts that you normally prefer not to. Separate the
|
|
accounts by commas, and use no embedded spaces.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-c <TT
|
|
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
|
|
><I
|
|
>configfile</I
|
|
></TT
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Specifies a configuration file to use in lieu of
|
|
the default, <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.offlineimaprc</TT
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-d <TT
|
|
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
|
|
><I
|
|
>debugtype[,...]</I
|
|
></TT
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Enables debugging for OfflineIMAP. This is useful if
|
|
you are trying to track down a malfunction or figure out what is going
|
|
on under the hood. I suggest that you use this with
|
|
<TT
|
|
CLASS="OPTION"
|
|
>-1</TT
|
|
> to make the results more sensible.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
><TT
|
|
CLASS="OPTION"
|
|
>-d</TT
|
|
> requires one or more debugtypes,
|
|
separated by commas. These define what exactly will be
|
|
debugged, and include two options: <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>imap</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
and <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>maildir</SPAN
|
|
>. The <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>imap</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
option will enable IMAP protocol stream and parsing debugging. Note
|
|
that the output may contain passwords, so take care to remove that
|
|
from the debugging output before sending it to anyone else. The
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>maildir</SPAN
|
|
> option will enable debugging for
|
|
certain Maildir operations.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-o</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Run only once, ignoring all
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>autorefresh</SPAN
|
|
> settings in the configuration
|
|
file.</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-h, --help</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Show summary of options.</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>-u <TT
|
|
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
|
|
><I
|
|
>interface</I
|
|
></TT
|
|
></DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Specifies an alternative user interface module
|
|
to use. This overrides the defailt specified in the
|
|
configuration file. The pre-defined options are listed in
|
|
the User Interfaces section.</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
></DL
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN205"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>User Interfaces</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> has a pluggable user interface system that lets you choose how the
|
|
program communicates information to you. There are two graphical
|
|
interfaces, two terminal interfaces, and two noninteractive interfaces
|
|
suitable for scripting or logging purposes. The
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>ui</SPAN
|
|
> option in the configuration file specifies
|
|
user interface preferences. The <TT
|
|
CLASS="OPTION"
|
|
>-u</TT
|
|
> command-line
|
|
option can override the configuration file setting. The available
|
|
values for the configuration file or command-line are described
|
|
in this section.</P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN211"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Tk.Blinkenlights</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>Tk.Blinkenlights is an interface designed to be sleek, fun to watch, and
|
|
informative of the overall picture of what <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
is doing. I consider it to be the best general-purpose interface in
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Tk.Blinkenlights contains, by default, a small window with a row of
|
|
LEDs, a small log, and a row of command buttons.
|
|
The total size of the window is
|
|
very small, so it uses little desktop space, yet it is quite
|
|
functional. The optional, toggleable, log shows more
|
|
detail about what is happening and is color-coded to match the color
|
|
of the lights.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Tk.Blinkenlights is the only user interface that has configurable
|
|
parameters; see the example <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>offlineimap.conf</TT
|
|
>
|
|
for more details.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Each light in the Blinkenlights interface represents a thread
|
|
of execution -- that is, a particular task that <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
is performing right now. The colors indicate what task
|
|
the particular thread is performing, and are as follows:
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
|
|
><DL
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Black</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that this light's thread has terminated; it will light up
|
|
again later when new threads start up. So, black indicates no
|
|
activity.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Red (Meaning 1)</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>is the color of the main program's thread, which basically does
|
|
nothing but monitor the others. It might remind you of HAL 9000 in
|
|
[<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="CITATION"
|
|
>2001</SPAN
|
|
>].
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Gray</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that the thread is establishing a new connection to the IMAP
|
|
server.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Purple</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>is the color of an account synchronization thread that is monitoring
|
|
the progress of the folders in that account (not generating any I/O).
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Cyan</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that the thread is syncing a folder.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Green</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>means that a folder's message list is being loaded.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Blue</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>is the color of a message synchronization controller thread.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Orange</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that an actual message is being copied.
|
|
(We use fuschia for fake messages.)
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Red (meaning 2)</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that a message is being deleted.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Yellow / bright orange</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that message flags are being added.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Pink / bright red</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>indicates that message flags are being removed.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Red / Black Flashing</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>corresponds to the countdown timer that runs between
|
|
synchronizations.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
></DL
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><P
|
|
>The name of this interfaces derives from a bit of computer
|
|
history. Eric Raymond's [<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="CITATION"
|
|
>Jargon File</SPAN
|
|
>] defines
|
|
<I
|
|
CLASS="FIRSTTERM"
|
|
>blinkenlights</I
|
|
>, in part, as:
|
|
</P
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN274"
|
|
></A
|
|
><BLOCKQUOTE
|
|
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
|
|
><P
|
|
>Front-panel diagnostic
|
|
lights on a computer, esp. a dinosaur. Now that dinosaurs are rare,
|
|
this term usually refers to status lights on a modem, network hub, or
|
|
the like.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> This term derives from the last word of the famous blackletter-Gothic
|
|
sign in mangled pseudo-German that once graced about half the computer
|
|
rooms in the English-speaking world. One version ran in its entirety as
|
|
follows:
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="emphasis"
|
|
><I
|
|
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
|
|
>ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS!</I
|
|
></SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben.
|
|
Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken
|
|
mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen.
|
|
Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen das cotten-pickenen hans in das
|
|
pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten.
|
|
</P
|
|
></BLOCKQUOTE
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN280"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Curses.Blinkenlights</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> Curses.Blinkenlights is an interface very similar to Tk.Blinkenlights,
|
|
but is designed to be run in a console window (an xterm, Linux virtual
|
|
terminal, etc.) Since it doesn't have access to graphics, it isn't
|
|
quite as pretty, but it still gets the job done.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Please see the Tk.Blinkenlights section above for more
|
|
information about the colors used in this interface.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN284"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Tk.VerboseUI</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> Tk.VerboseUI (formerly known as Tk.TkUI) is a graphical interface
|
|
that presents a variable-sized window. In the window, each
|
|
currently-executing thread has a section where its name and current
|
|
status are displayed. This interface is best suited to people running
|
|
on slower connections, as you get a lot of detail, but for fast
|
|
connections, the detail may go by too quickly to be useful. People
|
|
with fast connections may wish to use Tk.Blinkenlights instead.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN287"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>TTY.TTYUI</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> TTY.TTYUI interface is for people running in basic, non-color terminals. It
|
|
prints out basic status messages and is generally friendly to use on a console
|
|
or xterm.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN290"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Noninteractive.Basic</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> Noninteractive.Basic is designed for situations in which <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
will be run non-attended and the status of its execution will be
|
|
logged. You might use it, for instance, to have the system run
|
|
automatically and
|
|
e-mail you the results of the synchronization. This user interface
|
|
is not capable of reading a password from the keyboard; account
|
|
passwords must be specified using one of the configuration file options.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN294"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Noninteractive.Quiet</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> Noninteractive.Quiet is designed for non-attended running in situations
|
|
where normal status messages are not desired. It will output nothing
|
|
except errors and serious warnings. Like Noninteractive.Basic,
|
|
this user interface
|
|
is not capable of reading a password from the keyboard; account
|
|
passwords must be specified using one of the configuration file options.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN297"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Examples</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>Here are some example configurations for various situations.
|
|
Please e-mail any other examples you have that may be useful to
|
|
me.
|
|
</P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN300"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Multiple Accounts with Mutt</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> This example shows you how to set up <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> to
|
|
synchronize multiple accounts with the mutt mail reader.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Start by creating a directory to hold your folders by running
|
|
<B
|
|
CLASS="COMMAND"
|
|
>mkdir ~/Mail</B
|
|
>. Then, in your
|
|
<TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.offlineimaprc</TT
|
|
>, specify:
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>accounts = Personal, Work</PRE
|
|
><P
|
|
> Make sure that you have both a <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>[Personal]</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
and a <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>[Work]</SPAN
|
|
> section, each with different
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>localfolder</SPAN
|
|
> path names. Also, make sure
|
|
to enable <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>[mbnames]</SPAN
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> In each account section, write something like this:
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>localfolders = ~/Mail/Personal</PRE
|
|
><P
|
|
> Finally, add these lines to your <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.muttrc</TT
|
|
>:
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>source ~/path-to-mbnames-muttrc-mailboxes
|
|
folder-hook Personal set from="youremail@personal.com"
|
|
folder-hook Work set from="youremail@work.com"
|
|
set mbox_type=Maildir
|
|
set folder=$HOME/Mail
|
|
spoolfile=+Personal/INBOX</PRE
|
|
><P
|
|
> That's it!
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN319"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>UW-IMAPD and References</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>Some users with a UW-IMAPD server need to use <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>'s
|
|
"reference" feature to get at their mailboxes, specifying a reference
|
|
of "~/Mail" or "#mh/" depending on the configuration. The below
|
|
configuration from docwhat@gerf.org
|
|
shows using a <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>reference</SPAN
|
|
> of Mail, a <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>nametrans</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
that strips
|
|
the leading Mail/ off incoming folder names, and a
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>folderfilter</SPAN
|
|
> that
|
|
limits the folders synced to just three.
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>[Gerf]
|
|
localfolders = ~/Mail
|
|
remotehost = gerf.org
|
|
ssl = yes
|
|
remoteuser = docwhat
|
|
reference = Mail
|
|
# Trims off the preceeding Mail on all the folder names.
|
|
nametrans = lambda foldername: \
|
|
re.sub('^Mail/', '', foldername)
|
|
# Yeah, you have to mention the Mail dir, even though it
|
|
# would seem intuitive that reference would trim it.
|
|
folderfilter = lambda foldername: foldername in [
|
|
'Mail/INBOX',
|
|
'Mail/list/zaurus-general',
|
|
'Mail/list/zaurus-dev',
|
|
]
|
|
maxconnections = 1
|
|
holdconnectionopen = no</PRE
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN327"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>pythonfile Configuration File Option</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>You can have <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
load up a Python file before evaluating the
|
|
configuration file options that are Python expressions. This example
|
|
is based on one supplied by Tommi Virtanen for this feature.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> In <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.offlineimap.rc</TT
|
|
>, he adds these options:
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>[general]
|
|
pythonfile=~/.offlineimap.py
|
|
[foo]
|
|
foldersort=mycmp</PRE
|
|
><P
|
|
> Then, the <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.offlineimap.py</TT
|
|
> file will
|
|
contain:
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>prioritized = ['INBOX', 'personal', 'announce', 'list']
|
|
|
|
def mycmp(x, y):
|
|
for prefix in prioritized:
|
|
if x.startswith(prefix):
|
|
return -1
|
|
elif y.startswith(prefix):
|
|
return +1
|
|
return cmp(x, y)
|
|
|
|
def test_mycmp():
|
|
import os, os.path
|
|
folders=os.listdir(os.path.expanduser('~/data/mail/tv@hq.yok.utu.fi'))
|
|
folders.sort(mycmp)
|
|
print folders</PRE
|
|
><P
|
|
> This code snippet illustrates how the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>foldersort</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
option can be customized with a Python function from the
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>pythonfile</SPAN
|
|
> to always synchronize certain
|
|
folders first.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN340"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Errors</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
> If you get one of some frequently-encountered or confusing errors,
|
|
please check this section.
|
|
</P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN343"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>UID validity problem for folder</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>IMAP servers use a unique ID (UID) to refer to a specific message.
|
|
This number is guaranteed to be unique to a particular message
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="emphasis"
|
|
><I
|
|
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
|
|
>forever</I
|
|
></SPAN
|
|
>.
|
|
No other message in the same folder will ever get the same
|
|
UID. UIDs are an integral part of <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>'s synchronization
|
|
scheme; they are used to match up messages on your computer to
|
|
messages on the server.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Sometimes, the UIDs on the server might get reset. Usually this will
|
|
happen if you delete and then recreate a folder. When you create a
|
|
folder, the server will often start the UID back from 1. But
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> might still have the UIDs from the previous folder by the
|
|
same name stored. <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> will detect this condition and skip the
|
|
folder. This is GOOD, because it prevents data loss.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> You can fix it by removing your local folder and cache data. For
|
|
instance, if your folders are under <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/Folders</TT
|
|
>
|
|
and the folder with the problem is INBOX, you'd type this:
|
|
</P
|
|
><PRE
|
|
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
|
|
>rm -r ~/Folders/INBOX
|
|
rm -r ~/.offlineimap/AccountName/INBOX</PRE
|
|
><P
|
|
> (Of course, replace AccountName with the account name as specified
|
|
in <TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.offlineimaprc</TT
|
|
>).
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Next time you run <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>, it will re-download
|
|
the folder with the
|
|
new UIDs. Note that the procedure specified above will lose any local
|
|
changes made to the folder.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> Some IMAP servers are broken and do not support UIDs properly. If you
|
|
continue to get this error for all your folders even after performing
|
|
the above procedure, it is likely that your IMAP server falls into
|
|
this category. <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> is incompatible with such servers.
|
|
Using <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> with them will not destroy any mail, but at the same time,
|
|
it will not actually synchronize it either. (<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> will detect
|
|
this condition and abort prior to synchronization.)
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN362"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Other Frequently Asked Questions</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>There are some other FAQs that might not fit into another section
|
|
of the document, so they are discussed here.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
|
|
><DL
|
|
><DT
|
|
>What platforms does <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> run on?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> It should run on most platforms supported by Python, which are quite a
|
|
few.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>I'm using Mutt. Other IMAP sync programs require me to use "set maildir_trash=yes". Do I need to do that with <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> No. <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> is smart enough to figure out message deletion without this extra
|
|
crutch. You'll get the best results if you don't use this setting, in
|
|
fact.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>How do I specify the names of my folders?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> You do not need to. <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> is smart
|
|
enough to automatically figure out what folders are present
|
|
on the IMAP server and synchronize them. You can use the
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>folderfilter</SPAN
|
|
> and <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>foldertrans</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
configuration file options to request certain folders and rename them
|
|
as they come in if you like.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>How can I prevent certain folders from being synced?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Use the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>folderfilter</SPAN
|
|
> option in the configuration file.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>How can I add or delete a folder?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> does not currently provide this feature, but if you create a new
|
|
folder on the IMAP server, it will be created locally automatically.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Are there any other warnings that I should be aware of?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
> Yes; see the Notes section below.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>What is the mailbox name recorder (mbnames) for?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Some mail readers, such as Mutt, are not capable
|
|
of automatically determining the names of your mailboxes.
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> can help these programs by writing the names
|
|
of the folders ni a format you specify. See the example
|
|
<TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>offlineimap.conf</TT
|
|
> for details.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Can I synchronize multiple accounts with <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Sure. Just name them all in the
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>accounts</SPAN
|
|
> line in the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>general</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
section of the configuration file, and add a per-account section
|
|
for each one.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Does <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> support POP?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>No. POP is not robust enough to do a completely reliable
|
|
multi-machine synchronization like <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> can do. <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
will not support it.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>Does <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> support mailbox formats other than Maildir?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>Not at present. There is no technical reason not to; just no
|
|
demand yet. Maildir is a superior format anyway.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>[technical] Why are your Maildir message filenames so huge?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> has two relevant principles: 1) never modifying your
|
|
messages in any way and 2) ensuring 100% reliable synchronizations.
|
|
In order to do a reliable sync, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
must have a way to
|
|
uniquely identify each e-mail. Three pieces of information are
|
|
required to do this: your account name, the folder name, and the
|
|
message UID. The account name can be calculated from the path in
|
|
which your messages are. The folder name can usually be as well, BUT
|
|
some mail clients move messages between folders by simply moving the
|
|
file, leaving the name intact.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> So, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> must store both a UID folder ID. The folder ID is
|
|
necessary so <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> can detect a message moved to a different
|
|
folder. <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> stores the UID (U= number) and an md5sum of the
|
|
foldername (FMD5= number) to facilitate this.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DD
|
|
><DT
|
|
>What is the speed of <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>'s sync?</DT
|
|
><DD
|
|
><P
|
|
>OfflineIMAP
|
|
versions 2.0 and above contain a multithreaded system. A good way to
|
|
experiment is by setting <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>maxsyncaccounts</SPAN
|
|
> to 3 and <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>maxconnections</SPAN
|
|
> to 3
|
|
in each account clause.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>This lets OfflineIMAP open up multiple connections simultaneously.
|
|
That will let it process multiple folders and messages at once. In
|
|
most cases, this will increase performance of the sync.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>Don't set the number too high. If you do that, things might actually
|
|
slow down as your link gets saturated. Also, too many connections can
|
|
cause mail servers to have excessive load. Administrators might take
|
|
unkindly to this, and the server might bog down. There are many
|
|
variables in the optimal setting; experimentation may help.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>An informal benchmark yields these results for my setup:
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><UL
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>10 minutes with MacOS X Mail.app "manual cache"
|
|
</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>5 minutes with GNUS agent sync</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>20 seconds with OfflineIMAP 1.x</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>9 seconds with OfflineIMAP 2.x</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>3 seconds with OfflineIMAP 3.x "cold start"</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>2 seconds with OfflineIMAP 3.x "held connection"</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></UL
|
|
></DD
|
|
></DL
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN456"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Conforming To</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
></P
|
|
><UL
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Internet Message Access Protocol version 4rev1 (IMAP 4rev1) as
|
|
specified in RFC2060</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>CRAM-MD5 as specified in RFC2195</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Maildir as specified in
|
|
<A
|
|
HREF="http://www.qmail.org/qmail-manual-html/man5/maildir.html"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>the Maildir manpage</A
|
|
> and
|
|
<A
|
|
HREF="http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>the qmail website</A
|
|
>.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
><LI
|
|
><P
|
|
>Standard Python 2.2.1 as implemented on POSIX-compliant systems.</P
|
|
></LI
|
|
></UL
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN469"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Notes</H2
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN471"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Deleting Local Folders</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> does a two-way synchronization. That is, if you
|
|
make a change to the mail on the server, it will be propogated to your
|
|
local copy, and vise-versa. Some people might think that it would be
|
|
wise to just delete all their local mail folders periodically. If you
|
|
do this with <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>, remember to also remove your local status
|
|
cache (<TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>~/.offlineimap</TT
|
|
> by default). Otherwise, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> will take
|
|
this as an intentional deletion of many messages and will interpret
|
|
your action as requesting them to be deleted from the server as well.
|
|
(If you don't understand this, don't worry; you probably won't
|
|
encounter this situation)
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN478"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Multiple Instances</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> is not designed to have several instances (for instance, a cron job and an interactive invocation) run over the same
|
|
mailbox simultaneously. It will perform a check on startup and
|
|
abort if another <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> is already running. If you need
|
|
to schedule synchronizations, please use the
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>autorefresh</SPAN
|
|
> settings rather than cron.
|
|
Alternatively, you can set a separate <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="PROPERTY"
|
|
>metadata</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
directory for each instance.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN485"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Copying Messages Between Folders</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
> Normally, when you copy a message between folders or add a new message
|
|
to a folder locally, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
will just do the right thing. However, sometimes this can be tricky
|
|
-- if your IMAP server does not provide the SEARCH command, or does
|
|
not return something useful, <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
cannot determine the new UID of the message. So, in these rare
|
|
instances, OfflineIMAP will upload the message to the IMAP server and
|
|
delete it from your local folder. Then, on your next sync, the
|
|
message will be re-downloaded with the proper UID.
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> makes sure that the message was properly uploaded before deleting it,
|
|
so there should be no risk of data loss.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN491"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Use with Evolution</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> can work with Evolution. To do so, first configure
|
|
your <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> account to have
|
|
<TT
|
|
CLASS="OPTION"
|
|
>sep = /</TT
|
|
> in its configuration. Then, configure
|
|
Evolution with the
|
|
"Maildir-format mail directories" server type. For the path, you will need to
|
|
specify the name of the top-level folder
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="emphasis"
|
|
><I
|
|
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
|
|
>inside</I
|
|
></SPAN
|
|
> your <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> storage location.
|
|
You're now set!
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN499"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Use with KMail</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>At this time, I believe that <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> is not compatible
|
|
with KMail. KMail cannot work in any mode other than to move
|
|
all messages out of all folders immediately, which (besides being annoying
|
|
and fundamentally broken) is incompatible with <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN504"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Mailing List</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>There is an OfflineIMAP mailing list available.
|
|
To subscribe, send the text "Subscribe" in the subject of a mail to
|
|
offlineimap-request@complete.org. To post, send the message to
|
|
offlineimap@complete.org.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT2"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN507"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H3
|
|
>Bugs</H3
|
|
><P
|
|
>Reports of bugs should be sent via e-mail to the
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> bug-tracking system (BTS) at
|
|
offlineimap@bugs.complete.org or submitted online using
|
|
the <A
|
|
HREF="http://bugs.complete.org/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>web interface</A
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> The Web site also lists all current bugs, where you can check their
|
|
status or contribute to fixing them.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN513"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Copyright</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
>OfflineIMAP, and this manual, are Copyright © 2002, 2003 John Goerzen.</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
|
|
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
|
|
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
|
|
(at your option) any later version.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
|
|
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
|
|
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
|
|
GNU General Public License for more details.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
|
|
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
|
|
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA</P
|
|
><P
|
|
>imaplib.py comes from the Python dev tree and is licensed under
|
|
the GPL-compatible PSF license as stated in the file
|
|
<TT
|
|
CLASS="FILENAME"
|
|
>COPYRIGHT</TT
|
|
> in the <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>
|
|
distribution.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN522"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>Author</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
>, its libraries, documentation, and all included files, except where
|
|
noted, was written by John Goerzen <TT
|
|
CLASS="EMAIL"
|
|
><<A
|
|
HREF="mailto:jgoerzen@complete.org"
|
|
>jgoerzen@complete.org</A
|
|
>></TT
|
|
> and
|
|
copyright is held as stated in the COPYRIGHT section.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> may be downloaded, and information found, from its
|
|
homepage via either <A
|
|
HREF="gopher://quux.org/1/devel/offlineimap"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>Gopher</A
|
|
>
|
|
or <A
|
|
HREF="http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>HTTP</A
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
><P
|
|
> <SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>OfflineIMAP</SPAN
|
|
> may also be downloaded using Subversion. Additionally,
|
|
the distributed tar.gz may be updated with a simple "svn update"
|
|
command; it is ready to go. For information on getting OfflineIMAP
|
|
with Subversion, please visit the
|
|
<A
|
|
HREF="http://svn.complete.org/"
|
|
TARGET="_top"
|
|
>complete.org Subversion page</A
|
|
>.
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
><DIV
|
|
CLASS="REFSECT1"
|
|
><A
|
|
NAME="AEN534"
|
|
></A
|
|
><H2
|
|
>See Also</H2
|
|
><P
|
|
><SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>mutt</SPAN
|
|
>(1),
|
|
<SPAN
|
|
CLASS="APPLICATION"
|
|
>python</SPAN
|
|
>(1)
|
|
</P
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></DIV
|
|
></BODY
|
|
></HTML
|
|
> |