161 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
161 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
<!DOCTYPE reference PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.1//EN" [
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<!ENTITY OfflineIMAP "<application>OfflineIMAP</application>">
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]>
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<!-- -*- DocBook -*- -->
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<!-- "file:///usr/share/sgml/docbook/dtd/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd"> -->
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<reference>
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<title>OfflineIMAP Manual</title>
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<refentry>
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<refentryinfo>
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<address><email>jgoerzen@complete.org</email></address>
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<author><firstname>John</firstname><surname>Goerzen</surname></author>
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<date>$Date$</date>
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</refentryinfo>
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<refmeta>
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<refentrytitle>offlineimap</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
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<refmiscinfo>John Goerzen</refmiscinfo>
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</refmeta>
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<refnamediv>
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<refname>OfflineIMAP</refname>
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<refpurpose>Powerful IMAP/Maildir synchronization
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and reader support</refpurpose>
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</refnamediv>
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<refsynopsisdiv>
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<cmdsynopsis>
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<command>offlineimap</command>
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<arg>-1</arg>
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<arg>-P <replaceable>profiledir</replaceable></arg>
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<arg>-a <replaceable>accountlist</replaceable></arg>
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<arg>-c <replaceable>configfile</replaceable></arg>
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<arg>-d <replaceable>debugtype[,...]</replaceable></arg>
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<arg>-o</arg>
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<arg>-u <replaceable>interface</replaceable></arg>
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</cmdsynopsis>
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<cmdsynopsis>
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<command>offlineimap</command>
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<group choice="plain"><arg>-h</arg><arg>--help</arg></group>
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</cmdsynopsis>
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</refsynopsisdiv>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Description</title>
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<para>&OfflineIMAP; is a tool to simplify your e-mail
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reading. With &OfflineIMAP;, you can read the same mailbox
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from multiple computers. You get a current copy of your
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messages on each computer, and changes you make one place will be
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visible on all other systems. For instance, you can delete a message
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on your home computer, and it will appear deleted on your work
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computer as well. &OfflineIMAP; is also useful if you want to
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use a mail reader that does not have IMAP support, has poor IMAP
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support, or does not provide disconnected operation.
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</para>
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<para>&OfflineIMAP; is <emphasis>FAST</emphasis>; it synchronizes
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my two accounts with over 50 folders in 3 seconds. Other
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similar tools might take over a minute, and achieve a
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less-reliable result. Some mail readers can take over 10
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minutes to do the same thing, and some don't even support it
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at all. Unlike other mail tools, &OfflineIMAP; features a
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multi-threaded synchronization algorithm that can dramatically
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speed up performance in many situations by synchronizing
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several different things simultaneously.
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</para>
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<para>&OfflineIMAP; is <emphasis>FLEXIBLE</emphasis>; you can
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customize which folders are synced via regular expressions,
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lists, or Python expressions; a versatile and comprehensive
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configuration file is used to control behavior; two user
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interfaces are built-in; fine-tuning of synchronization
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performance is possible; internal or external automation is
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supported; SSL and PREAUTH tunnels are both supported; offline
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(or "unplugged") reading is supported; and esoteric IMAP
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features are supported to ensure compatibility with the widest
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variety of IMAP servers.
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</para>
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<para>&OfflineIMAP; is <emphasis>SAFE</emphasis>; it uses an
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algorithm designed to prevent mail loss at all costs. Because
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of the design of this algorithm, even programming errors
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should not result in loss of mail. I am so confident in the
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algorithm that I use my own personal and work accounts for
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testing of &OfflineIMAP; pre-release, development, and beta
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releases. Of course, legally speaking, &OfflineIMAP; comes
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with no warranty, so I am not responsible if this turns out
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to be wrong.
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</para>
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<refsect2>
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<title>Method of Operation</title>
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<para>&OfflineIMAP; operates by maintaining a hierarchy of
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mail folders in Maildir format locally. Your own mail
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reader will read mail from this tree, and need never know
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that the mail comes from IMAP. &OfflineIMAP; will detect
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changes to the mail folders on your IMAP server and your own
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computer and bi-directionally synchronize them, copying,
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marking, and deleting messages as necessary.
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</para>
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</refsect2>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Quick Start</title>
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<para>If you have already installed &OfflineIMAP; system-wide,
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or your system adminstrator has done that for you, your task
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for setting up &OfflineIMAP; for the first time is quite
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simple. You just need to set up your configuration file, make
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your folder directory, and run it!
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</para>
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<para>You can quickly set up your configuration file. The distribution
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includes a file <filename>offlineimap.conf.minimal</filename>
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(Debian users
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may find this at
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<filename>/usr/share/doc/offlineimap/examples/offlineimap.conf.minimal</filename>) that is a basic example of setting of &OfflineIMAP;. You can
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simply copy this file into your home directory and name it
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<filename>.offlineimaprc</filename> (note the leading period). A
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command such as <command>cp offlineimap.conf.minimal ~/.offlineimaprc</command> will do it. Or, if you prefer, you can just copy this text to
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<filename>~/.offlineimaprc</filename>:
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</para>
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<PROGRAMLISTING>[general]
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accounts = Test
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[Test]
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localfolders = ~/Test
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remotehost = examplehost
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remoteuser = jgoerzen
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</PROGRAMLISTING>
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<para>Now, edit the <filename>~/.offlineimaprc</filename> file with
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your favorite editor. All you have to do is specify a directory
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for your folders to be in (on the <property>localfolders</property>
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line), the host name of your IMAP server (on the
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<property>remotehost</property> line), and your login name on
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the remote (on the <property>remoteuser</property> line). That's
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it!</para>
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<para>To run &OfflineIMAP;, you just have to say
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<command>offlineimap</command> -- it will fire up, ask you for
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a login password if necessary, synchronize your folders, and exit.
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See? You can just throw away the rest of this finely-crafted,
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perfectly-honed manual! Of course, if you want to see how you can
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make &OfflineIMAP; FIVE TIMES FASTER FOR JUST $19.95 (err, well,
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$0), you have to read on!
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</para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>See Also</title>
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<para>This is also a test. Foo bar.</para>
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</refsect1>
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</refentry>
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</reference>
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