Re: [exim] Additional folders when using maildir format

Javier Calahorra Novillo wrote:

> Hello Bill,
>
> First of all, thanks a lot for your tip!... but what I wanted
> to say was that we need to maintain the Maildir structure
> (under, let's say, /mailboxes/javi/Maildir), with new, tmp
> and cur,

- Which it does do, separately - but I thot you had that nailed
(copious examples in the docs, if not the default config itself).


> but the idea is to force exim to create additional
> folders, for instance, .myfolder, when creating the mailbox
> for the user without it during a delivery.

Never checked, as there is always a delivery.. i.e. as soon as
we put a virtual user into the DB a 'Welcome' message is fired
off. We then check to see it has arrived.

The 'rest of' the IMAP structure is created in a similar manner
at first access from Dovecot.

> I mean, what we
> need to know is if exim is able to execute something like
> "maildirmake -f myfolder /mailboxes/javi/Maildir/", by using
> special commands under the appropriate appendfile transport.

Well.... think 'transport' (or router) against your first point -

If there is no traffic to be delivered, there is no delivery to
be made, ergo there is no 'transport' that will be invoked.

Exim would make a poor substitute for a chron job or a DB
'trigger' or (see vpopmail) - one-more-duty of the script that
sets up a new user.

IOW - the only reason one would do this with Exim *at all* is to
let Exim automate the process as part of a delivery and not
otherwise have to bother - or forget to do it.

> One more thing, the struture under that new folder (myfolder)
> must contain also new, tmp and cur, as it has been created by
> maildirmake.
>

As you said - and it is. But created by Exim.

I haven't needed to use 'maildirmake' even once in the past 5 or
6 years. ISTR that even Qmail+Vpopmail had scripts that handled
that as a byproduct of setting up a new user.

More recently, both Courier-IMAP and Exim will create the proper
Maildir structure as part of first delivery.

And - if there has never been a delivery, there is no need for a
Maildir....

In the case of the '.Suspect' folder I sampled you, we actually
sent a hand-crafted spam message to some users to trigger creation.

For others we used the MUA (Mozilla) to create it.

Much depends on the MUA settigns w/r subscriptions, etc..

BTW - all reference to (Dovecot) IMAP use of a maildir.

POP is no longer on my sonar since storage became cheaper than
listnintabitchin.

Best,

Bill