Re: One for you Fetchmail experts out there
Nick Cabatoff wrote:
>
> On Nov 16, Kent West wrote:
> > Configuration #2
> > ----------
> > I can further configure Eudora to delete read mail off the server
> > after X days. After X days has transpired, the next time Eudora
> > check the mail it deletes any messages older than X days off of
> > the server (I assume this is based on the server's marking of the
> > messages as having been "seen" or "read").
> >
> > I don't know of any way to get fetchmail to do this.
>
> Nor I... the only solution that comes to mind which doesn't involve
> programming something yourself is to switch to Mutt and drop fetchmail.
> Mutt doesn't support the options you seek directly, but it would allow
> you to set up macros that would do it for you. The action of opening
> the folder in question can be hooked to trigger the macro, so it would
> happen automatically. If you're willing to contemplate changing
> mailreaders I'll show you how to do it.
>
> > Configuration #3
> > ----------
> > I can further configure Eudora to delete read mail if I have
> > deleted that mail from the local trash box.
> >
> > I don't know of any way to get fetchmail to do this either.
>
> This would be trickier I think. Can you describe the mechanism in more
> detail (that is, the sequence of events leading up to mail being deleted
> on the server)?
I appreciate the response....
I'm probably confused. I thought fetchmail would POP the mail
from my server, delivering it to my local box, and then I could
choose from a variety of reader apps, such as mutt or tkRat. What
you say indicates that mutt is both a reader and a fetcher.
(At this point, I realize that perhaps I could have made my point
more clear by substituting "Netscape Mail" for "Eudora Pro Mail"
in my original post. I can do the same thing with Netscape, as
follows.)
Both Netscape Mail and Eudora Mail have options in the
configuration screens to leave a copy of the message on the
server, popping only a copy of the message to the local computer.
Netscape does not have the option to delete popped messages after
X days, but Eudora does. Both have the capability to delete the
message on the next pop check if the popped message has been
deleted from the local machine and the trash "emptied". The
process works like this:
I tell Eudora to check my mail. Eudora checks the ISP's server,
and finds, say for instance, ten new messages. The default
behavior is for Eudora to download those ten messages to my local
computer and then delete them off the ISP's server, but with the
setting mentioned above, Eudora instead downloads those ten
messages, but leaves a copy on the ISP's server.
I set Eudora to delete those messages from the server after seven
days. So eight days later, I tell Eudora to check my mail, having
never deleted any of the original ten messages. Eudora finds 5
new messages. It downloads those five messages, but leaves a copy
of those five on the server. However, it also sees those first
ten messages still on the server, realizes they've been hanging
around for seven or more days, and deletes them from the server.
Now I read those five messages. On my local computer's IN box,
I've got the original ten messages and the newest five, for a
total of fifteen. On the server, I only have the most recent
five, because the original ten have been erased based on their
being older than 7 days.
Of those five messages, I delete two of them. Then I "empty the
trash". Then I delete one more. So I've got the original ten in
my IN box, two of the five in my IN box, and one of the five in
my TRASH box.
Next time Eudora checks for mail, it doesn't find any new
messages, but it deletes from the server the two messages that
were deleted and emptied from the trash.
Hopefully this explains better how the process works.
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