Re: [Evolution] From POP3 to IMAP

[Paul van der Vlis <paul vandervlis nl>]

On 01-04-13 02:04, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> On Sat, 2013-03-30 at 21:45 +0100, Paul van der Vlis wrote:
> > On 29-03-13 17:37, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> > > On Thu, 2013-03-28 at 17:02 +0100, Paul van der Vlis wrote:
> > > > It's about the old mail. This is now in mbox format and I would like
> > > > to transfer it to imap.
> > >
> > > IMAP is not a format, it's a protocol.
> > > Mbox is not a protocol, it's a format.
> > >
> > > The question I think you're trying to ask is "how do I import mbox
> > > format mailboxes into my new IMAP server"?
> >
> > Correct.
> >
> > > You can do this with some server-side facility, which depends on the
> > > specific IMAP server implementation. 
> >
> > Is that true? I think I can use all tools who can read mbox and talk
> > IMAP. There are many kinds of mbox, so maybe it's more client specific.
> > And I've heard about flags in the "X-Evolution:" header, here in this
> > tool what converts mbox to maildir:
> > http://batleth.sapienti-sat.org/projects/mb2md/
>
> You're missing my point. What I'm trying to say is that you need to look
> at the documentation for the specific IMAP server implementation you're
> going to use. You still haven't said what that is, but the most popular
> ones such as Cyrus or Dovecot should have information on how to import
> mbox files to initialize the mailstore. 

It's Cyrus, I told that in my first message. There are tools what
converts from mbox, but they wil lose the seen status because they are
not thought for Evolution, but for e.g. UW IMAP conversion.

> Trying to second-guess them by
> delving into whether they use maildir or some database format is just to
> get mired in problems you don't need. And in the event they don't
> address that issue, Google for answers for the specific case.
>
> Once again, this has nothing to do with Evolution.

I think it has, see below.

> > > Or you can set up the server with a
> > > bunch of IMAP-based user accounts and import the mail by dragging it
> > > from the local mbox folder to the remote IMAP folder for each user.
> >
> > So far I know mbox is a file with many mails in it. My IMAP server
> > stores one mail in a file. So a conversion would be needed. I've seen
> > such tools, but then I loose my "seen" status.
>
> See above. You lose (not "loose", BTW) the Seen status because the
> conversion tools you're talking about aren't server-specific.

With e.g. imapsync I cync from every IMAP server to every IMAP server
without losing the seen status. The IMAP protocol can handle the seen
status without a problem.

> > > The first of these is likely to be much more practical, especially for a
> > > large number of accounts. However the details depend entirely on what
> > > IMAP server you propose to use and have nothing to do with Evolution.
> >
> > The mbox-file is Evolution specific because of the "X-Evolution:" header.
>
> No it isn't. The header is a property of the individual message. It has
> nothing to do with the format of the message store and is not handled by
> any server (any header with the "X-" prefix is just passed along
> untouched).

So far I know Evolution stores it's "seen" status in such a header. So
important to convert and very client specific.

With regards,
Paul van der Vlis.


-- 
Paul van der Vlis Linux systeembeheer, Groningen
http://www.vandervlis.nl/