.\" <http://shell.ipoline.com/~elmert/comp/docbook2X/>
.\" Please send any bug reports, improvements, comments, patches,
.\" etc. to Steve Cheng <steve@ggi-project.org>.
-.TH "OFFLINEIMAP" "1" "16 November 2004" "John Goerzen" "OfflineIMAP Manual"
+.TH "OFFLINEIMAP" "1" "28 September 2005" "John Goerzen" "OfflineIMAP Manual"
.SH NAME
OfflineIMAP \- Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization and reader support
includes a file \fIofflineimap.conf.minimal\fR
(Debian users
may find this at
-\fI/usr/share/doc/offlineimap/examples/offlineimap.conf.minimal\fR) that is a basic example of setting of \fBOfflineIMAP\fR. You can
+\fI/usr/share/doc/offlineimap/examples/offlineimap.conf.minimal\fR) that is a basic example of setting of \fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&. You can
simply copy this file into your home directory and name it
-\fI.offlineimaprc\fR (note the leading period). A
+\fI\&.offlineimaprc\fR (note the leading period). A
command such as \fBcp offlineimap.conf.minimal ~/.offlineimaprc\fR will do it. Or, if you prefer, you can just copy this text to
\fI~/.offlineimaprc\fR:
Debian, system-wide installation with other systems, and a single-user
installation. You can download the latest version of \fBOfflineIMAP\fR from
the \fBOfflineIMAP\fR
-website <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/>.
+website <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/>\&.
.SS "PREREQUISITES"
.PP
In order to use \fBOfflineIMAP\fR, you need to have these conditions
running on Debian GNU/Linux, this requirement will automatically be
taken care of for you. If you do not have Python already, check with
your system administrator or operating system vendor; or, download it from
-the Python website <URL:http://www.python.org/>.
+the Python website <URL:http://www.python.org/>\&.
If you intend to use the Tk interface, you must have Tkinter
(python-tk) installed. If you intend to use the SSL interface, your
Python must have been built with SSL support.
built-in, so you can choose from a wide variety of mail
servers. This format is also known as the "qmail"
format, so any mail reader compatible with it will work
-with \fBOfflineIMAP\fR. If you do not have a mail reader
+with \fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&. If you do not have a mail reader
that supports Maildir, you can often install a local
IMAP server and point both \fBOfflineIMAP\fR and your mail
reader at it.
.SS "SYSTEM-WIDE INSTALLATION, OTHER"
.PP
Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
-website <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/>.
+website <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/>\&.
Then run
these commands, making sure that you are the "root" user first:
.fi
.PP
On some systems, you will need to use
-\fBpython\fR instead of \fBpython2.2\fR.
+\fBpython\fR instead of \fBpython2.2\fR\&.
Next, proceed to [XRef to CONFIGURATION] below. You will type \fBofflineimap\fR to
invoke the program.
.SS "SINGLE-ACCOUNT INSTALLATION"
.PP
Download the tar.gz version of the package from the
-website <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/>.
+website <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap/>\&.
Then run these commands:
.nf
.PP
When you want to run \fBOfflineIMAP\fR, you will issue the
\fBcd\fR command as above and then type
-\fB./offlineimap.py\fR; there is no installation
+\fB\&./offlineimap.py\fR; there is no installation
step necessary.
.SH "CONFIGURATION"
.PP
\fBOfflineIMAP\fR is regulated by a configuration file that is normally
-stored in \fI~/.offlineimaprc\fR. \fBOfflineIMAP\fR
+stored in \fI~/.offlineimaprc\fR\&. \fBOfflineIMAP\fR
ships with a file named \fIofflineimap.conf\fR
that you should copy to that location and then edit. This file is
vital to proper operation of the system; it sets everything you need
-to run \fBOfflineIMAP\fR. Full documentation for the configuration file
+to run \fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&. Full documentation for the configuration file
is included within the sample file.
.PP
\fBOfflineIMAP\fR also ships a file named
\fIofflineimap.conf.minimal\fR that you can also try.
It's useful if you want to get started with
the most basic feature set, and you can read about other features
-later with \fIofflineimap.conf\fR.
+later with \fIofflineimap.conf\fR\&.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.PP
Most configuration is done via the configuration file. Nevertheless,
there are a few command-line options that you may set for
-\fBOfflineIMAP\fR.
+\fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&.
.TP
\fB-1\fR
Disable most multithreading operations and use
unless you have a specific reason to do so. It will significantly
slow program performance, may reduce reliability, and can generate
huge amounts of data. You must use the \fB-1\fR option when
-you use \fB-P\fR.
+you use \fB-P\fR\&.
.TP
\fB-a \fIaccountlist\fB\fR
Overrides the \fIaccounts\fR option
.TP
\fB-c \fIconfigfile\fB\fR
Specifies a configuration file to use in lieu of
-the default, \fI~/.offlineimaprc\fR.
+the default, \fI~/.offlineimaprc\fR\&.
.TP
\fB-d \fIdebugtype[,...]\fB\fR
Enables debugging for OfflineIMAP. This is useful if
\fB-d\fR requires one or more debugtypes,
separated by commas. These define what exactly will be
debugged, and include three options: \fIimap\fR,
-\fImaildir\fR, and \fIthread\fR.
+\fImaildir\fR, and \fIthread\fR\&.
The \fIimap\fR
option will enable IMAP protocol stream and parsing debugging. Note
that the output may contain passwords, so take care to remove that
Tk.Blinkenlights is an interface designed to be sleek, fun to watch, and
informative of the overall picture of what \fBOfflineIMAP\fR
is doing. I consider it to be the best general-purpose interface in
-\fBOfflineIMAP\fR.
+\fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&.
.PP
Tk.Blinkenlights contains, by default, a small window with a row of
LEDs, a small log, and a row of command buttons.
\fBRed (Meaning 1)\fR
is the color of the main program's thread, which basically does
nothing but monitor the others. It might remind you of HAL 9000 in
-2001.
+2001\&.
.TP
\fBGray\fR
indicates that the thread is establishing a new connection to the IMAP
synchronize multiple accounts with the mutt mail reader.
.PP
Start by creating a directory to hold your folders by running
-\fBmkdir ~/Mail\fR. Then, in your
+\fBmkdir ~/Mail\fR\&. Then, in your
\fI~/.offlineimaprc\fR, specify:
.nf
local repository for each account must have different
\fIlocalfolder\fR path names.
Also, make sure
-to enable \fI[mbnames]\fR.
+to enable \fI[mbnames]\fR\&.
.PP
In each local repository section, write something like this:
That's it!
.SS "UW-IMAPD AND REFERENCES"
.PP
-Some users with a UW-IMAPD server need to use \fBOfflineIMAP\fR's
+Some users with a UW-IMAPD server need to use \fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&'s
"reference" feature to get at their mailboxes, specifying a reference
of "~/Mail" or "#mh/" depending on the configuration. The below
configuration from (originally from docwhat@gerf.org)
.PP
IMAP servers use a unique ID (UID) to refer to a specific message.
This number is guaranteed to be unique to a particular message
-\fBforever\fR.
+\fBforever\fR\&.
No other message in the same folder will ever get the same
-UID. UIDs are an integral part of \fBOfflineIMAP\fR's synchronization
+UID. UIDs are an integral part of \fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&'s synchronization
scheme; they are used to match up messages on your computer to
messages on the server.
.PP
.PP
This question comes up frequently on the
\fBOfflineIMAP\fR
-mailing list <URL:http://lists.complete.org/offlineimap@complete.org/>. You can find a
+mailing list <URL:http://lists.complete.org/offlineimap@complete.org/>\&. You can find a
detailed
discussion <URL:http://lists.complete.org/offlineimap@complete.org/2003/04/msg00012.html.gz> of the problem there.
+.SS "USE WITH MS EXCHANGE SERVER"
+.PP
+Several users have reported problems with Microsoft Exchange
+servers in conjunction with OfflineIMAP. This generally
+seems to be related to the Exchange servers not properly
+following the IMAP standards.
+.PP
+Mark Biggers has posted some information <URL:http://lists.complete.org/offlineimap@complete.org/2005/09/msg00011.html.gz>
+to the \fBOfflineIMAP\fR mailing list about how he made it work.
+.PP
+Other users have indicated that older (5.5) releases of
+Exchange are so bad that they will likely not work at all.
+.PP
+I do not have access to Exchange servers for testing, so any
+problems with it, if they can even be solved at all, will
+require help from \fBOfflineIMAP\fR users to find and fix.
.SH "OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
.PP
There are some other FAQs that might not fit into another section
You do not need to. \fBOfflineIMAP\fR is smart
enough to automatically figure out what folders are present
on the IMAP server and synchronize them. You can use the
-\fIfolderfilter\fR and \fIfoldertrans\fR
+\fIfolderfilter\fR and \fInametrans\fR
configuration file options to request certain folders and rename them
as they come in if you like.
.TP
folder. \fBOfflineIMAP\fR stores the UID (U= number) and an md5sum of the
foldername (FMD5= number) to facilitate this.
.TP
-\fBWhat is the speed of OfflineIMAP's sync?\fR
+\fBWhat is the speed of OfflineIMAP\&'s sync?\fR
OfflineIMAP
versions 2.0 and above contain a multithreaded system. A good way to
experiment is by setting \fImaxsyncaccounts\fR to 3 and \fImaxconnections\fR to 3
Next, you'll need to mount your Maildir directory in a
special way. There is information for doing that at
- <URL:http://barnson.org/node/view/295>.
+ <URL:http://barnson.org/node/view/295>\&.
That site gives this example:
.nf
\(bu
Maildir as specified in
the Maildir manpage <URL:http://www.qmail.org/qmail-manual-html/man5/maildir.html> and
-the qmail website <URL:http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html>.
+the qmail website <URL:http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html>\&.
.TP 0.2i
\(bu
Standard Python 2.2.1 as implemented on POSIX-compliant systems.
with KMail. KMail cannot work in any mode other than to move
all messages out of all folders immediately, which (besides being annoying
and fundamentally broken) is incompatible with
-\fBOfflineIMAP\fR.
+\fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&.
.PP
However, I have made KMail version 3 work well with
\fBOfflineIMAP\fR by installing an IMAP server on my local
To subscribe, send the text "Subscribe" in the subject of a mail to
offlineimap-request@complete.org. To post, send the message to
offlineimap@complete.org. Archives are available at
- <URL:http://lists.complete.org/offlineimap@complete.org/>.
+ <URL:http://lists.complete.org/offlineimap@complete.org/>\&.
.SS "BUGS"
.PP
Reports of bugs should be sent via e-mail to the
\fIofflineimap.conf\fR in the distribution if
you need more assistance.
.PP
-\fBOfflineIMAP\fR's status directory area has also changed.
+\fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&'s status directory area has also changed.
Therefore, you should delete everything in ~/.offlineimap as
well as your local mail folders.
.PP
.PP
\fBOfflineIMAP\fR may be downloaded, and information found, from its
homepage via either Gopher <URL:gopher://quux.org/1/devel/offlineimap>
-or HTTP <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap>.
+or HTTP <URL:http://quux.org/devel/offlineimap>\&.
.PP
\fBOfflineIMAP\fR may also be downloaded using Subversion. Additionally,
the distributed tar.gz may be updated with a simple "svn update"
command; it is ready to go. For information on getting OfflineIMAP
with Subversion, please visit the
-complete.org Subversion page <URL:http://svn.complete.org/>.
+complete.org Subversion page <URL:http://svn.complete.org/>\&.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\fBmutt\fR(1),
.PP
Version 3.0.0 was released on July 11, 2002, and introduced
modular user interfaces and the first GUI interface for
-\fBOfflineIMAP\fR. This manual also was introduced with 3.0.0,
+\fBOfflineIMAP\fR\&. This manual also was introduced with 3.0.0,
along with many command-line options. Version 3.1.0 was
released on July 21, adding the Noninteractive user
interfaces, profiling support, and several bugfixes. 3.2.0