Index for Section 1

Alphabetical listing for M

mailcv(1)
NAME
  mailcv - Converts MH (dxmail) style folders to UNIX style "From" folders

SYNOPSIS
  mailcv [-adnv] -f filename [outfilename]

  mailcv [-adnv] -A directoryname outdirectoryname

  The mailcv command converts a dxmail/MH folder to a UNIX style "From"
  folder or converts a dxmail/MH mail directory hierarchy to UNIX style
  "From" folders and directories.

OPTIONS
  -f filename [outfilename]
      Specifies a dxmail/MH folder filename to convert to a UNIX "From" style
      folder named outfilename. If outfilename is not specified, the "From"
      style folder is called filename.mbx.

  -A directoryname outdirectoryname
      Specifies a dxmail/MH folder hierarchy, starting at directoryname,
      converting it to UNIX "From" style folders in a directory hierarchy
      starting at outdirectoryname. To convert a user's entire dxmail/MH
      default directory, use $HOME/Mail for directoryname.

  -a  Aborts conversion of a folder if a corrupted message is found.  A
      message is corrupted if it is missing one of the primary RFC 822
      headers: From:, Date:, Reply-To:. An error message is displayed
      indicating the number and folder name of the corrupted message. No
      further messages are copied into the new mail folder. The -a option
      overrides the -n option.

  -d  Deletes dxmail/MH folders and messages that have been converted. This
      option should be used with caution (as explained in DESCRIPTION,
      below).

  -n  Noforce. Skips any corrupted message and continues to convert the
      folder. A warning message is displayed. The -a option overrides the -n
      option.

  -v  Writes to standard output the folder and message number being
      converted.

DESCRIPTION
  The mailcv command converts dxmail/MH style folders to UNIX "From" style
  folders. In a UNIX "From" style folder, mail messages are separated with a
  "From" line at the beginning of each message. The standard directory
  /var/spool/mail contains mailboxes for each user in the UNIX "From" style.


  A user must specify either the -A option to convert a directory hierarchy
  or the -f option to convert a single folder. If neither is specified a
  usage error is given.

  The -A option causes the mailcv command to read all the message files in
  directoryname and its subdirectories. It then converts the messages to UNIX
  "From" style folders and creates a new top level directory
  (outdirectoryname) and subdirectories that correspond to the dxmail/MH
  folder structure. Thus, when converting a directory containing a folder
  with subfolders, the folder becomes a directory under the main directory
  (outdirectoryname) and the subfolders become UNIX "From" style folders. If
  the converted folder also contained messages, a UNIX "From" style folder is
  created with the name of the converted folder concatenated with ".mbe".
  All created folders have the original folder name concatenated with ".mbe".

  When the -f option is used, only the specified folder, filename, is
  converted. The messages in that folder are converted into a UNIX "From"
  style folder. Subfolders within the specified folder are not converted.

  The -v (verbose) option lists on standard output each folder and message
  that is converted.

  A message in a dxmail/MH folder may not have the complete, standard mail
  message header as specified in RFC 822, and is termed "corrupt."  A user
  may wish to convert all messages, including any that are corrupt, or choose
  to convert only the correctly created mail messages.

  By default all message in the dxmail/MH folder, including any corrupt
  messages, are copied into the new "From" folder. The -n and -a options
  override this default.

  The -n option converts only messages with correct mail message headers and
  skips over any corrupt messages. The -a option aborts the conversion of a
  folder if it finds a corrupt message.

  If a corrupted message is found during the conversion, and neither the -n
  nor the -a option was specified, the message is converted and the missing
  headers are filled as follows: the From field is set to "USER@UNKNOWN" and
  the Date field to "Mon, 01 Jan 1976 09:00:00 -000".

  It is strongly recommended that the -v option be used when using either the
  -n or -a options so that there is a record of which messages get converted.

  The -d option deletes mail messages and folders. If the folder has other
  files besides MH style messages, the folder will not be deleted.

  The -d option is provided as a convenience but its use can complicate the
  conversion process and is not recommended. A safer procedure is to convert
  without the -d option and subsequently remove the MH folders and messages
  using the rm command. When the -d option is used with the -a option, if the
  process is aborted in the middle of a mail folder, only the messages that
  were copied into the new mail folder are deleted. This may complicate the
  conversion of the rest of the folder. When the -d option is used with the
  -n option, if a problem is found with a message in a folder, and that
  message is skipped and not converted, the message is not deleted from the
  folder. The nonempty folder can not be deleted. This scenario could cause
  difficulties if the user wants to convert the skipped message and put it
  into the newly created mail folder.









EXAMPLE
       mailcv -A $HOME/Mail $HOME/NewMail


  Converts all the messages found in the user's mail directory to the UNIX
  "From" format.

SEE ALSO
  Commands: dtmail(1), mh(1), sh(1)