[nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Harry Putnam]

How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
server?

Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
$HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
server.

My nnimap server spec looks like:

(setq imap-ssl-program "/usr/bin/openssl s_client -ssl3 -connect %s:%p")
(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
        '((nnml "")
          (nnimap "192.168.0.4"
                (nnimap-address "192.168.0.4")
                (nnimap-stream ssl)
                (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" ""))
                ))) 

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Simon Josefsson]

Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:

> How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
> server?
>
> Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
> $HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
> server.

This is server-specific, so you need to ask the server admins, but I
believe some servers map the mail spool to INBOX in IMAP.

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Harry Putnam]

Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com> writes:

> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:
>
>> How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
>> server?
>>
>> Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
>> $HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
>> server.
>
> This is server-specific, so you need to ask the server admins, but I
> believe some servers map the mail spool to INBOX in IMAP.

Well, it works from Mozilla with that same server.  That is, in
Mozilla setup it asks for the path to the spool, then looks there for
mail.  So there must be someway to pass that info from nnimap.

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Simon Josefsson]

Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:

> Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com> writes:
>
>> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:
>>
>>> How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
>>> server?
>>>
>>> Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
>>> $HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
>>> server.
>>
>> This is server-specific, so you need to ask the server admins, but I
>> believe some servers map the mail spool to INBOX in IMAP.
>
> Well, it works from Mozilla with that same server.  That is, in
> Mozilla setup it asks for the path to the spool, then looks there for
> mail.  So there must be someway to pass that info from nnimap.

Does it work to subscribe to the group
nnimap+192.168.0.4:/var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME?  Adding it to
nnimap-list-pattern is another option, if you prefer to subscribe to
groups via the server buffer.

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Harry Putnam]

Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com> writes:

> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:
>
>> Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com> writes:
>>
>>> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:
>>>
>>>> How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
>>>> server?
>>>>
>>>> Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
>>>> $HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
>>>> server.
>>>
>>> This is server-specific, so you need to ask the server admins, but I
>>> believe some servers map the mail spool to INBOX in IMAP.
>>
>> Well, it works from Mozilla with that same server.  That is, in
>> Mozilla setup it asks for the path to the spool, then looks there for
>> mail.  So there must be someway to pass that info from nnimap.
>
> Does it work to subscribe to the group
> nnimap+192.168.0.4:/var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME?  Adding it to
> nnimap-list-pattern is another option, if you prefer to subscribe to
> groups via the server buffer.

> This is server-specific, so you need to ask the server admins, but I
> believe some servers map the mail spool to INBOX in IMAP.

Forgot to mention:  It is the University of Washington server (UM)

And that I am the poor excuse for an admin on that server.  I
compiled it specifically to look in /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME.

That location works from both mutt and Mozilla.  Mozilla asks for the
path during setup.  With mutt I can get there like this

mutt -f mutt -f imap://$LOGNAME@$HOST//var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME
I've tried this too:
[...]
       (nnimap-address "192.168.0.4:/var/spool/imap/mail/reader_exp")
[...]


Subscribing as you suggested like this:

 U  nnimap+192.168.0.4:/var/spool/imap/mail/reader_exp

Does work.  However when pressing <RET> on the resulting server, it
still takes me to ~/$LOGNAME on the server.  I'm experimenting with
the pattern now.
Looks like this works:

  (nnimap-list-pattern ("/var/spool/imap/mail/*"))
Although I end up with long group names that way.

I think this must mean my compile job on imap didin't do what I
thought it would.  Its still passing out ~/ as default.
  

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Kai Grossjohann]

Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:

> How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
> server?
>
> Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
> $HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
> server.

It is best not to think about files and directories when using IMAP.
For all you know, the IMAP server might be asking the Oracle of Delphi
for the contents of your mail.

Usually, opening a "folder" called "INBOX" will map to something
useful, and I'm guessing that this might be what you are looking for.

Hm.  But the UW server uses folder names that are just like the file
names, so it's easy to get confused.  Hm.  What happens if you remove
the nnimap-list-pattern thing?  Then I think that the UW server needs
a long time to examine all the files in your home dir, but it ought to
be an easy way to find out what kinds of folders it knows.  It would
just take long.

I know too little about the UW server to say something concrete, I'm
afraid.

Kai

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Harry Putnam]

Kai Grossjohann <kai@emptydomain.de> writes:

> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com> writes:
>
>> How can I make gnus thru nnimap look at the mail spool on the imap
>> server?
>>
>> Using the simple setup from gnus info I'm taken to the username
>> $HOME.  But the mail is at /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME on the
>> server.
>
> It is best not to think about files and directories when using IMAP.
> For all you know, the IMAP server might be asking the Oracle of Delphi
> for the contents of your mail.

I guess I wanted the Oracle of ` /var/spool/imap/mail/$LOGNAME' to be
the one consulted...  : )

> Usually, opening a "folder" called "INBOX" will map to something
> useful, and I'm guessing that this might be what you are looking for.

Yeah that works alright but only if INBOX is in ~/$LOGNAME

Simon has gotten me lined out and I find the right area with this in
server spec:
  (nnimap-list-pattern ("/var/spool/imap/mail/*"))

I made an attempt to compile my imap server to look in
/var/spool/imap/mail by default.  I guess I botched it.  I think gnus
is just going along with what the imap server says.

There is probably some what to ask the UW server what is its default
but I didn't see it in the help files that came with it.

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Steinar Bang]

>>>>> Harry Putnam <reader@newsguy.com>:

[snip!]

> Simon has gotten me lined out and I find the right area with this in
> server spec:
>   (nnimap-list-pattern ("/var/spool/imap/mail/*"))

> I made an attempt to compile my imap server to look in
> /var/spool/imap/mail by default.  I guess I botched it.  I think
> gnus is just going along with what the imap server says.

> There is probably some what to ask the UW server what is its default
> but I didn't see it in the help files that came with it.

If it hasn't changed, the UoW default behaviour is to use mbox files
stored under the user's home directory for IMAP folders.  The INBOX
folder is normally the user's mail spool file (ie. where the MTA puts
the files).

When I used it, I used procmail to store messages from mailing lists,
into mbox files under the ~/imap/ directory, and I had the following
setting in the server spec:
 		(nnimap-list-pattern
 		 ("INBOX"
 		  ("imap/" . "*")))

(I can't remember if the "imap/" showed up in the nnimap group name,
but I think it did)

Re: [nnimap] make gnus look in specific dir on server

[Steinar Bang]

>>>>> Steinar Bang <sb@dod.no>:

> If it hasn't changed, the UoW default behaviour is to use mbox files
> stored under the user's home directory for IMAP folders.  The INBOX
> folder is normally the user's mail spool file (ie. where the MTA puts
> the files).
      ^^^^^
"incoming messages" was what I meant to write, not "files".

Mental short circuit.  Sorry!