IMAP Advanced Email Features

Advanced IMAP E-mail Features

Subaddressing Filtering Shared Mailboxes

Subaddressing
Subaddressing is a method of delivering mail to a folder other than your INBOX based on an extension of your e-mail address. You may be used to logging in to your INBOX to see if you have new mail. Until now, INBOX was the only place your mail could be delivered. Now, it can be delivered to any folder you choose. This is conceptionally similar to filtering, but with important differences.

login.subaddress@musc.edu

An Internet Address using Subaddressing

The IMAP Server from Esys contains a feature that can read an extension after a login and before the domain name and deliver mail to a folder with that extension's name.

For Example:

Your name is Paul Amil Johnson

Your login is johnsopa

Your e-mail address is johnsopa@musc.edu

If you create a folder in your Inbox called lists, then you can use subaddressing to create this address:
johnsopa.lists@musc.edu

Any mail sent to this address will wind up, not in your INBOX, but your mail folder called lists. Note that there's a period (.) between your login name and the @musc.edu portion of your address. Subaddressing is sometimes called "dot" addressing.

What's the advantage? In the example above, johnsopa has subscribed to mailing lists using his subaddress. So the reames of e-mail created by mailing lists will be separated from regular Internet e-mail delivered to your INBOX.

Of course you could also create other folders to separate mail from family members, student organizations, etc. You will want to compare subaddressing to filtering (mentioned next). In some cases subaddressing is better; in some cases it should be use in conjunction with filtering.

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Filtering
Filtering is a method of routing mail from your INBOX to some other destination (another e-mail address, the trash, etc.). You may be familiar with filtering already. Both GroupWise and QuickMail offered filtering. IMAP filtering (via Procmail) is significantly different.

Filtering means taking some action on e-mail based on some value in the message being received. The action can be forwarding, deleting, moving to a subfolder, replying, etc. The value can be just about anything in the header or body of your message: From whom, date sent, subject, keyword in the body of the message, etc. Some of you may have had this feature in your old proprietary e-mail client (GroupWise or QuickMail).
There are two main kinds of filters. First is the "server side" filter. This filters mail as soon as it arrives at the main MUSC incoming mail server. Second is the "client side" filter. This filters main after it arrives at your INBOX. Server side filtering can redirect your e-mail anywhere, such as to a private account like AOL or Compuserve. Client side filtering is used to redirect your e-mail to another folder within your INBOX, such as trashing it or filing it. Note: Netscape 4.5x has an option to create a server-side filter, but this option is greyed out because this isn't allowed on the MUSC IMAP system.

Note: Mulberry does not yet filter e-mail.

Server Side Filtering
Pine (procmail) Filtering
Filtering mail at the server level means to take some action on it before it arrives at your INBOX. At MUSC, that means using Procmail. A Procmail filter is called a "recipe."
To set up a Procmail recipe, you must login to Atrium (or erg or some other specialty Unix server), and create two files. The first file is called a .forward file. This is a short file that sends mail addressed to you for processing by Procmail.

At the Unix prompt, create a file called .forward that consists of this single statement:

"|procmail login"

Note: in the line above

you must use the quotes.

The first character after the first quote mark is a "pipe" command, a shifted backslash on your keyboard

you must substitute your login for the word login

Now you must create the Procmail recipe itself. This file you must call .procmailrc
Note: Everything in bold below must be typed exactly. Everything in italics is variable and you must supply your own information. Procmail recipes are harvested daily in the early morning hours. A Procmail recipe you write today will work tomorrow.
# Procmailrc Template
#
# 
#Substitute your actual login for yourlogin below
#

USERID=yourlogin
#
# Initialize some required variables
#
SHELL=/bin/sh
MAILDOMAIN=musc.edu
MAILDIR=/home/$USERID
LOGFILE=$MAILDIR/.procmail-logfile
LOGABSTRACT=no
VERBOSE=no
TAIL=/usr/bin/tail
DELIVER=/opt/ESYSsms/sbin/deliver
# 
#
:0:
* ^Sender.*list-managers-owner*
!$USERID.list-mgrs

:0:
* ^To.*innopac@innopacusers.org*
!$USERID.unread-iii

#
# Deliver the message into your mailbox
#
:0 : .deliver.lock
|$TAIL +2|$DELIVER $USERID
Explanation for above: There are two recipes above, both begin with :0: In the first, when the message is from list-managers-owner the message is redirected to a folder called login.list-mgrs@musc.edu
In the second recipe, when the message has innopac@innopacusers.org in the TO: field, the message is sent to a folder called login.unread-iii@musc.edu. Essentially, this recipe directs this mail into what amounts to the trash can.

The arcane syntax of a Procmail requires that the file be worded with great care. Once you get a Procmail recipe working, cutting and pasting is the best way to change or update it.

Final note on Procmail. The examples above redirect e-mail to folders other than an INBOX. A better, faster and far easier way to do this is by using subaddressing (see above). However, Procmail is sometimes the only solution to certain e-mail problems (such as re-directing threatening or harassing e-mail or to delete mail from listservers that you can't unsubscribe from). If you ever receive threatening or harassing e-mail, notify the Campus Police at once. Then, save the offending e-mail with headers included and send them to postmaster@musc.edu
Client Side Filtering

Netscape Messenger Filters

Example: forwarding mail to a special folder based on the FROM: field (i.e., putting mail in a VIP folder when it's from your boss). Step One, From the main menu in Netscape 4.5x, go under the EDIT menu and select Message Filters...

Under Filter Action, A. click right under the NAME slot and type what you want to name this filter. You only get about 30 characters, so keep the name short but descriptive. B. The Description is optional, but recommended; it's here that you can expand on what this filter does so if you forget later, you can refer to this. C. Under Filter Action, choose "sender" and "contains" (these are the defaults). Where the screen shot shows "boss's login," put the exact address of the sender (example: murphysj). Select "Move to folder" (Default). See next screen shot.

If you haven't already created the name of the folder you want to filter mail to, you can do it here. Click "New Folder..." and you will see:

A. Where it says: "Name of Folder: type "vip" (note lower case, but this is a convention, in this case it doesn't matter). B. Where it says: "create this folder as a subfolder of: " click on the drop down box and select "inbox." You must save this folder inside your INBOX. C. Now click "Create"

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Shared Mailboxes
Mailbox Sharing is a way to allow others access to one or more of your mailboxes (also called mail folders or directories). You can choose who shares which folders and what they can do to the mail that's in the folders.

(Note the following feature is available under Mulberry 1.3.4 and greater. Netscape 4.5 allows you to access shared mailboxes, but not to create or administer them).
Mail folder sharing allows you to set up a mail folder under your INBOX that others may access. What they can do with this access is up to you. You can set it up so that others may read, read and write, delete, etc. Think of a shared mail folder as common workspace with you in control of the actions other may take. A professor may set up a shared mail folder so that students can read materials the professor has placed there.
Note that folder sharing extends to addressbooks. It is possible for one person to set up an addressbook that all others in a defined group may share. This is an excellent way for departments to share their employees' e-mail addresses.

To share a mail folder under Mulberry:

Highlight the folder you want to share

Under the Edit Menu, select Properties

Under Properties, select Access

Click New

Type the login (not the full e-mail address) of the person that you want to share this folder

Select the set of options you want this person or list of persons to have (lookup, read, write, etc.). Note: If you want to share this mail folder with everyone, type in the user name anyone

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