Re: Folder format questions
Waldemar -- ...and then Waldemar Brodkorb said... % Hello Muttusers, Hello! % % What are the advantages/disadvantages of the different types of % Mailboxes/Maildirs? Where could I read something about this? You can see quite a bit of conversation in the mailing list archives; this comes up frequently. Basically, mh and maildir store their messages at one message per file, so normail *NIX file tools work well. Conversely, mmdf and mbox store their messages in one file. Opening mbox files is typically faster than maildirs because of the huge number of filesystem calls involved with the latter, but updating an early message can be faster with a maildir because mutt doesn't have to rewrite the entire [potentially large] mbox. For me, mbox is more than sufficient; I never have speed problems even on 16M files of thousands of messages, and mbox compresses a lot more easily than maildir (though I still harbor the suspicion that Roland's compressed-folders patch could be used recursively to first uncompress and then untar a maildir...). The only compelling justification I've yet seen for maildir is in an NFS environment where file locking can be an issue, since there is none with maildir format. % What's better if you want to search thousand's of Mails? % Are there any helpful tools I could use for it? There's a tool called grepmail, possibly part of a utils package, that will grep for strings in an mbox and return the particular mail entry that contains a match (rather than just a line), which is quite nice. HTH & HAND :-D -- David T-G * It's easier to fight for one's principles (play) [EMAIL PROTECTED] * than to live up to them. -- fortune cookie (work) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.bigfoot.com/~davidtg/Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg! The "new millennium" starts at the beginning of 2001. There was no year 0. Note: If bigfoot.com gives you fits, try sector13.org in its place. *sigh* PGP signature
Re: Folder format questions
* Le 19 Sep >Mike McNally< ecrivait: > Now the format problem... So I hit c ? and it displays the contents of > ~/Mail as a regular directory display (like ls -l would). I want mutt > to display the number of msgs in ea dir and maybe how many are > read/unread in ea dir. But instead I get a dir display. > there's a way for toggling between dir_display or maildir_display hit while in the browser but you should also set your "mailboxes" option in ~/.muttrc mailboxes `echo $HOME/Mail/*` is a funny trick. -- Richard Hitier [EMAIL PROTECTED] 02 38 72 50 59 http://groz.free.fr/ (Orléans)
Re: Folder format questions
Hello Muttusers, On Wed, Sep 20, 2000 at 12:50:41AM +0200, Michael Tatge wrote: > Mike McNally muttered: > > I have procmail sorting my mail into various dirs in ~/Mail. Each > > message has a name like msg.BvJC, msg.gvJC. I had thought that setting > > mbox_type=Maildir would clue mutt into the way my mail is being kept, > > but it apparently doesn't. > > Mutt should be able to determine the format automaticly. If it doesn't > do this correctly, your dirs are probably no correct Maildirs. The > $mbox_type variable is only used when mutt itself writes out messages > to a new folder, i.e. when you save to a new folder $mbox_type controls > whether that folder will be a Maildir or mbox, ... > > Most likely something is wrong with your procmail setup. Only the > newest version (3.14) does support Maildir. > > :0 > * ^From:.*[EMAIL PROTECTED] > foo/ >^ Note the slash at the end. This tells procmail that the > destination is a Maildir. What are the advantages/disadvantages of the different types of Mailboxes/Maildirs? Where could I read something about this? What's better if you want to search thousand's of Mails? Are there any helpful tools I could use for it? > 1.0.1 is quite old. Upgrading could solve some of your probs anyway. > I don't know about any debian specials but getting the newest stable > tarball (1.2.5) from ftp://mutt.org and a normal ./configure; make; > make install should be enough for most systems. Here is a deb of Mutt 1.2.5 http://www.debian.org/Packages/unstable/mail/ it works fine with potato. (Although there's a Package muttzilla, which give you the possibility to use mailto: links in Netscape Navigator) -- Waldemar Brodkorb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (Products & Development) * ID-PRO Deutschland GmbH * Am Hofgarten 20 * D-53113 Bonn * Tel. +49 (0)228 - 4 21 54-389 * Fax -359 * http://open-for-the-better.com
Re: Folder format questions
Mike McNally muttered: > I'm a new mutt user starting right in with a pretty advanced > configuration, but I've read a lot, so it's time to ask questions. Welcome! > I have procmail sorting my mail into various dirs in ~/Mail. Each > message has a name like msg.BvJC, msg.gvJC. I had thought that setting > mbox_type=Maildir would clue mutt into the way my mail is being kept, > but it apparently doesn't. Mutt should be able to determine the format automaticly. If it doesn't do this correctly, your dirs are probably no correct Maildirs. The $mbox_type variable is only used when mutt itself writes out messages to a new folder, i.e. when you save to a new folder $mbox_type controls whether that folder will be a Maildir or mbox, ... Most likely something is wrong with your procmail setup. Only the newest version (3.14) does support Maildir. :0 * ^From:.*[EMAIL PROTECTED] foo/ ^ Note the slash at the end. This tells procmail that the destination is a Maildir. > When I start mutt it reads /var/spool/mike, which is not being used. > What do I put in .muttrc to make mutt start up in ~/Mail/mbox (if mbox > is a reserved word, I can change that). Set your shells $MAIL variable appropriately or set spoolfile=~/Mail/mbox in your muttrc. > Now the format problem... So I hit c ? and it displays the contents of > ~/Mail as a regular directory display (like ls -l would). I want mutt > to display the number of msgs in ea dir and maybe how many are > read/unread in ea dir. But instead I get a dir display. > > So I arrow down and enter my default dir "mbox", and again I get the dir > format: > 1 drwxr-sr-x 9 mike mike 4096 sep 19 06:30 ../ > 2 -rw 1 mike mike 27167 sep 18 18:58 msg.BvJC > ..as above.. mcg.gvJC > > So now I arrow down and hit return to enter the msg, kinda as if it were > a dir, and finally I get the display of the one msg. My guess is that this is related to your procmail problem. See above. Maybe you left that out, but a Maildir contains three dirs cur/, new/ and tmp/. If your ~/Mail/mbox dir does not have these dirs it's definitely _no_ Maildir. > Summary of the main problem is: I want a mail reader not a directory > browser. I installed mutt from a debian package. It's 1.0.1i. Does > the answer involve getting the new ver and using some specific compiler > options? 1.0.1 is quite old. Upgrading could solve some of your probs anyway. I don't know about any debian specials but getting the newest stable tarball (1.2.5) from ftp://mutt.org and a normal ./configure; make; make install should be enough for most systems. HTH, Michael -- Yes, we will be going to OSI, Mars, and Pluto, but not necessarily in that order. -- Jeffrey Honig PGP-fingerprint: DECA E9D2 EBDD 0FE0 0A65 40FA 5967 ACA1 0B57 7C13
Re: Folder format questions
Mike -- ...and then Mike McNally said... % I'm a new mutt user starting right in with a pretty advanced % configuration, but I've read a lot, so it's time to ask questions. Welcome! % % I have procmail sorting my mail into various dirs in ~/Mail. Each Yep... Are you dropping things into your procmail folders by specifying a trailing '/' like :0 * condition somebox/ to let procmail know that it's a maildir? % message has a name like msg.BvJC, msg.gvJC. I had thought that setting % mbox_type=Maildir would clue mutt into the way my mail is being kept, % but it apparently doesn't. All that does is tell mutt how new folders should be created; the default is mbox, but you can specify any kind. Mutt will, however, read folders of all 4 types (mbox, mh, mmdf, maildir) without any muttrc settings. % % When I start mutt it reads /var/spool/mike, which is not being used. % What do I put in .muttrc to make mutt start up in ~/Mail/mbox (if mbox % is a reserved word, I can change that). You can either recompile and specify --with-homespool at ./configure time or (I believe) set $spoolfile in your muttrc. % % Now the format problem... So I hit c ? and it displays the contents of % ~/Mail as a regular directory display (like ls -l would). I want mutt % to display the number of msgs in ea dir and maybe how many are % read/unread in ea dir. But instead I get a dir display. % % So I arrow down and enter my default dir "mbox", and again I get the dir % format: % 1 drwxr-sr-x 9 mike mike 4096 sep 19 06:30 ../ % 2 -rw 1 mike mike 27167 sep 18 18:58 msg.BvJC % ..as above.. mcg.gvJC I don't know what format this is, but it isn't maildir... IIRC, a maildir is a directory of some name (like MuttBox or Debian or whatever) containing three subdirs cur, tmp, new where the mail files themselves sit. Mutt doesn't know what to do with these; it's just a directory containing a bunch of files with funny names. % % So now I arrow down and hit return to enter the msg, kinda as if it were % a dir, and finally I get the display of the one msg. Sure; it's probably stored in mbox format. % % Summary of the main problem is: I want a mail reader not a directory % browser. I installed mutt from a debian package. It's 1.0.1i. Does % the answer involve getting the new ver and using some specific compiler % options? All of this doesn't have to do with mutt; it sounds like procmail isn't creating maildirs properly. To see how one should look, leave in your mbox_type command, open any one of these files, and save it to a new mailbox like =TestNewMaildir and then see how the dir structure looks. % % mike :-D -- David T-G * It's easier to fight for one's principles (play) [EMAIL PROTECTED] * than to live up to them. -- fortune cookie (work) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.bigfoot.com/~davidtg/Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg! The "new millennium" starts at the beginning of 2001. There was no year 0. Note: If bigfoot.com gives you fits, try sector13.org in its place. *sigh* PGP signature
Re: Folder format questions
Peter -- ...and then Peter Jaques said... % I have the same problem with a twist: procmail sorts my mail; when i see % the browser list of mailboxes, my "mutt" mailbox shows "N" for new mail, % but another mbox (which also has new mail, also placed there by procmail) % does not... very strange, no? Is this for new mailboxes created by procmail since you started mutt? If so, do you explicitly list all mailboxes in your muttrc or do you take shortcuts like mailboxes $MAIL `echo $HOME/Mail/F.*` which will miss mailboxes not yet created when mutt starts? % % peter :-D -- David T-G * It's easier to fight for one's principles (play) [EMAIL PROTECTED] * than to live up to them. -- fortune cookie (work) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.bigfoot.com/~davidtg/Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg! The "new millennium" starts at the beginning of 2001. There was no year 0. Note: If bigfoot.com gives you fits, try sector13.org in its place. *sigh* PGP signature
Re: Folder format questions
I'm a new mutt user starting right in with a pretty advanced configuration, but I've read a lot, so it's time to ask questions. I have procmail sorting my mail into various dirs in ~/Mail. Each message has a name like msg.BvJC, msg.gvJC. I had thought that setting mbox_type=Maildir would clue mutt into the way my mail is being kept, but it apparently doesn't. When I start mutt it reads /var/spool/mike, which is not being used. What do I put in .muttrc to make mutt start up in ~/Mail/mbox (if mbox is a reserved word, I can change that). Now the format problem... So I hit c ? and it displays the contents of ~/Mail as a regular directory display (like ls -l would). I want mutt to display the number of msgs in ea dir and maybe how many are read/unread in ea dir. But instead I get a dir display. So I arrow down and enter my default dir "mbox", and again I get the dir format: 1 drwxr-sr-x 9 mike mike 4096 sep 19 06:30 ../ 2 -rw 1 mike mike 27167 sep 18 18:58 msg.BvJC ..as above.. mcg.gvJC So now I arrow down and hit return to enter the msg, kinda as if it were a dir, and finally I get the display of the one msg. Summary of the main problem is: I want a mail reader not a directory browser. I installed mutt from a debian package. It's 1.0.1i. Does the answer involve getting the new ver and using some specific compiler options? mike
Re: Folder format questions
On Tue, Sep 19, 2000 at 02:44:05PM +0300, Mikko Hänninen wrote: > Bruce DeVisser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on Tue, 19 Sep 2000: > > I have the same problem Anthony describes. There is clearly new mail > > (checked via ls -l ; ls -lc ; ls -lu), but mutt is not picking up on > > it for some reason. > > That's interesting. Is NFS involved? And this *is* with mbox style > folders, right? (That's the only folder type where the timestamp is > relevant. Well, MMDF too I guess.) I think I see my problem. I didn't have 'mailboxes' set properly. -- - Bruce
Re: Folder format questions
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Re: Folder format questions
Anthony -- ...and then Anthony Liu said... % On Mon, Sep 18, 2000 at 05:40:43PM -0400, David T-G wrote: % % > % but I can't see the "N" indicator in the folder index even though some % > % of the mailboxes has new mail (it is always blank). Why? % > % > If your folder_format is correct, then you probably have the common % > problem of some other utility (biff, your shell, or anything else that ... % % Yes, I did a little test: I switched off my biff (which is WMMail for Yep... % WindowMaker). Then I wait for new mail (tail -f /var/log/maillog). Hmmm... As long as you're watching the sendmail program log rather than your actual mailbox, you should be fine. % When new mails came, I re-open mutt and folder index show still didnt % show the N indicator. BTW, in the pager index, it does shows up the % message "new mail in this folder". Yep; that makes sense. When mutt has the folder open, it compares its working copy with the real thing. % % Now suddenly I am thinking this may have something to do with the % mount option I use. In this partition where the mailboxes are, I % have the "noatime" option in fstab. I wonder... Aha! Yes, that would almost certainly do it. Try remounting and see if things start working all of a sudden (perhaps without WMMail checking, though). :-D -- David T-G * It's easier to fight for one's principles (play) [EMAIL PROTECTED] * than to live up to them. -- fortune cookie (work) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.bigfoot.com/~davidtg/Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg! The "new millennium" starts at the beginning of 2001. There was no year 0. Note: If bigfoot.com gives you fits, try sector13.org in its place. *sigh* PGP signature
Re: Folder format questions
On Mon, Sep 18, 2000 at 05:40:43PM -0400, David T-G wrote: > % 1) I have > % set folder_format="%N %30s %f" > % but I can't see the "N" indicator in the folder index even though some > % of the mailboxes has new mail (it is always blank). Why? > > If your folder_format is correct, then you probably have the common > problem of some other utility (biff, your shell, or anything else that > checks for new mail) updating the access time of the mailbox, which is > the only way that mutt checks to see that new mail has arrived (mod time > later than acc time). The only solution is to figure out what's doing it > and make it stop. Yes, I did a little test: I switched off my biff (which is WMMail for WindowMaker). Then I wait for new mail (tail -f /var/log/maillog). When new mails came, I re-open mutt and folder index show still didnt show the N indicator. BTW, in the pager index, it does shows up the message "new mail in this folder". Now suddenly I am thinking this may have something to do with the mount option I use. In this partition where the mailboxes are, I have the "noatime" option in fstab. I wonder...
Re: Folder format questions
Bruce DeVisser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on Tue, 19 Sep 2000: > I have the same problem Anthony describes. There is clearly new mail > (checked via ls -l ; ls -lc ; ls -lu), but mutt is not picking up on > it for some reason. That's interesting. Is NFS involved? And this *is* with mbox style folders, right? (That's the only folder type where the timestamp is relevant. Well, MMDF too I guess.) Mikko -- // Mikko Hänninen, aka. Wizzu // [EMAIL PROTECTED] // http://www.iki.fi/wiz/ // The Corrs list maintainer // net.freak // DALnet IRC operator / // Interests: roleplaying, Linux, the Net, fantasy & scifi, the Corrs / We now return to your regularly scheduled flame-throwing.
Re: Folder format questions
On Mon, Sep 18, 2000 at 05:40:43PM -0400, David T-G wrote: > ...and then Anthony Liu said... [snip] > % > % I have a few questions below: > % > % 1) I have > % set folder_format="%N %30s %f" > % but I can't see the "N" indicator in the folder index even though > % some of the mailboxes has new mail (it is always blank). Why? > > If your folder_format is correct, then you probably have the common > problem of some other utility (biff, your shell, or anything else > that checks for new mail) updating the access time of the mailbox, > which is the only way that mutt checks to see that new mail has > arrived (mod time later than acc time). The only solution is to > figure out what's doing it and make it stop. I have the same problem Anthony describes. There is clearly new mail (checked via ls -l ; ls -lc ; ls -lu), but mutt is not picking up on it for some reason. Version is Mutt 1.2.5i (2000-07-28) folder_format="%2C %t %N %F %2l %-8.8u %-8.8g %8s %d %f" (the default) -- - Bruce
Re: Folder format questions
Anthony -- ...and then Anthony Liu said... % % Hi, Hello! % % I have a few questions below: % % 1) I have % set folder_format="%N %30s %f" % but I can't see the "N" indicator in the folder index even though some % of the mailboxes has new mail (it is always blank). Why? If your folder_format is correct, then you probably have the common problem of some other utility (biff, your shell, or anything else that checks for new mail) updating the access time of the mailbox, which is the only way that mutt checks to see that new mail has arrived (mod time later than acc time). The only solution is to figure out what's doing it and make it stop. % % 2) Is it possible to do something like (new messages/old messages) % in the folder index? For example it should read like (1/10) showing that % there are 1 new message and the total number of messages in the mailbox % is 10. My biff show that I have new messages, but I dont know which mailbox Aha! Like this, for instance :-) % unless I manually open them one by one. In the folder browser you'll just get a list of mailboxes with N flags for those that have new mail; mutt doesn't open each to see how many of what sorts. % % 3) Is there a way to open the folder index directly without hitting % "c" and then "?"? Or should I just re-bind the key "c" to do it? You should define a macro, as Mikko showed. % % Thanks. :-D -- David T-G * It's easier to fight for one's principles (play) [EMAIL PROTECTED] * than to live up to them. -- fortune cookie (work) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.bigfoot.com/~davidtg/Shpx gur Pbzzhavpngvbaf Qrprapl Npg! The "new millennium" starts at the beginning of 2001. There was no year 0. Note: If bigfoot.com gives you fits, try sector13.org in its place. *sigh* PGP signature
Folder format questions
Hi, I have a few questions below: 1) I have set folder_format="%N %30s %f" but I can't see the "N" indicator in the folder index even though some of the mailboxes has new mail (it is always blank). Why? 2) Is it possible to do something like (new messages/old messages) in the folder index? For example it should read like (1/10) showing that there are 1 new message and the total number of messages in the mailbox is 10. My biff show that I have new messages, but I dont know which mailbox unless I manually open them one by one. 3) Is there a way to open the folder index directly without hitting "c" and then "?"? Or should I just re-bind the key "c" to do it? Thanks.
Folder format questions
Hi, I have a few questions below: 1) I have set folder_format="%N %30s %f" but I can't see the "N" indicator in the folder index even though some of the mailboxes has new mail (it is always blank). Why? 2) Is it possible to do something like (new messages/old messages) in the folder index? For example it should read like (1/10) showing that there are 1 new message and the total number of messages in the mailbox is 10. My biff show that I have new messages, but I dont know which mailbox unless I manually open them one by one. 3) Is there a way to open the folder index directly without hitting "c" and then "?"? Or should I just re-bind the key "c" to do it? Thanks.
