IMAP: file storage, relation to agent, and what the server does?

IMAP: file storage, relation to agent, and what the server does?

[John Owens]

Simple question: I'd like to leave my mail files (groups) on the IMAP
server. However, I'm happy with local cached versions on my laptop,
and I assume I can mark what I want cached and then allow gnus to sync
before I unplug.

I don't want to have to sync all the mail groups, and I don't think I
have to. But how should I set up my mail group files so that 

a) I can read mail on the server and always be synched;
b) I can read mail on my laptop and have a few groups synched?

I imagine this is possible and a solved problem; I'm concerned with
the gnus settings necessary to point to the right directories and
files; I haven't used full-blown IMAP before and am not sure what it
magically does for me as far as keeping things synched, and what gnus
does, and what I have to do.

JDO

Re: IMAP: file storage, relation to agent, and what the server

[Kai Großjohann]

John Owens <jowens@ece.ucdavis.edu> writes:

> Simple question: I'd like to leave my mail files (groups) on the IMAP
> server. However, I'm happy with local cached versions on my laptop,
> and I assume I can mark what I want cached and then allow gnus to sync
> before I unplug.

Yes.

> I don't want to have to sync all the mail groups, and I don't think I
> have to.

That's right, you don't have to.  You can use the so-called
categories to tell Gnus which articles should be downloaded.  For
example, you can tell Gnus to download short articles only.  You can
use different categories for different groups.

What I do is something very simple: I download everything in some
groups, and nothing in other groups.  I have set
gnus-agent-handle-level to 3 and some groups are on level 4 so their
articles are never downloaded.

Everything means to download all articles (read and unread ones) in
nnimap groups, whereas it means to download all unread articles only
in nntp groups.

> But how should I set up my mail group files so that
>
> a) I can read mail on the server and always be synched;

That's easy, Gnus behaves like this by default.

> b) I can read mail on my laptop and have a few groups synched?
>
> I imagine this is possible and a solved problem; I'm concerned with
> the gnus settings necessary to point to the right directories and
> files; I haven't used full-blown IMAP before and am not sure what it
> magically does for me as far as keeping things synched, and what gnus
> does, and what I have to do.

In order to fetch the articles you have to use a fetching command.
Gnus doesn't do that automatically.  The easiest fetching command is
to use `J s' from the group buffer which fetches stuff from all
groups (according to gnus-agent-handle-level and the categories).

In order to go online or offline you have to use `J j' (it toggles).

In order to send articles that you composed while offline you have to
use `J S'.

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