Re: [exim] tracking messages in message threads with custom …

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Author: Eduardo M KALINOWSKI
Date:  
To: exim-users
Subject: Re: [exim] tracking messages in message threads with custom header
Eugeny N Dzhurinsky wrote:
> Hello, all!
>
> I have some strange task to be solved - I need to have a way to inject some
> header into the e-mail to be delivered locally in case if this e-mail was in
> response of threads I am started, replied or just interested in.
>
> I can think in this way:
>
> 1) there needs to be a database of message-id values for messages to track,
> may be SQL database or just text file
>
> 2) when the message is processed by exim and this message is being sent from
> some address (my address for example), the generated message-id is saved by
> exim into that database
>
> 3) for all incoming messages the in-reply-to header is checked against the
> database of message ids, and if there is such id existing in the database
> - then add custom header (for example 'carbon-copy: yes') to the message and
> deliver it to be handled by procmail etc. Also store the message-id of the
> message into the database of message-ids to allow tracking the follow-ups of
> the messages
>
> This way it should be possible to "watch" threads in mailing list and receive
> instant notifications about new replies.
>
> For now the question is - is it possible at all to do so? How can I tell exim
> to write certain header into a file or database? How can I check the presence
> of the value of the header of a message in that database and then add the
> custom header?
>
> May be the task I described above is already solved in exim and I just need to
> add some configuration settings?
>


No, this (like described) is not present in exim (and I'm not sure I
agree it should be, but this is another matter).

On the other hand, exim is flexible enough that it is probably possible
to do that. Adding the header should be relatively easy, an acl like
this should be a start:

warn condition = <here comes the DB lookup to see if it is should be
flagged>
     add_header = X-flagged: Yes


Storing the IDs in a database, however, should be trickier. I don't
think there is much provision for storing values elsewhere in exim (but
the Perl support should help with that), and I'm also not sure how can
one fetch message-ids to pass to Perl.

However, couldn't all that be done with procmail or some equivalent?
This doesn't look like something that should be done by the MTA, but by
the user's MUA/MDA.


--
Fools rush in -- and get the best seats in the house.

Eduardo M KALINOWSKI
eduardo@???
http://move.to/hpkb