PMMail FAQ

From PMMail for OS/2

Revision as of 05:44, 21 March 2008

PMMail for OS/2 FAQ

Q: I got errors while migrating from an earlier version of PMMail. What do I do?

A: So far the only cause has been some error in the file system that affects the old PMMail mailstore. The fix has been to run CHKDSK /F from a standalone boot on the drive that contains the old PMMail.

Note: the CHKDSK that may run at boot time does not always fix these errors, especially on JFS volumes.

Q: Can I install the new PMMail over top of the old PMMail?

A: You can install PMMail 3.0 over top of PMMail that has been installed using WarpIn. You should NOT install over top of a PMMail that has not been installed by WarpIn.

Q: I was using the PMMBogoFilter package with the old PMMail. After migration I have what appears to be a left over folder, Bogo Spam, in each account. Can I delete that?

A: Yes. It is not automatically deleted to be sure that no messages are lost in migration. The new Classifier (BogoFilter), uses other folders as defined when you configure it.

Q: Can I use a path with spaces in the name?

A: Yes, but this is not well tested, and it can introduce complications for those who use REXX exits, or filters with user hooks based on REXX scripts. REXX does not acknowledge the special purpose of quoted arguments. Your REXX script must do that itself.

The basic problem is that REXX ignores arguments with quotes around them; in fact REXX considers the quotes as part of the arguments. So you need to be careful when parsing the arguments. What seems to work is to take the complete argument line which contains all of the parameters that are passed. Then parse that variable to extract the message's filename. REXX functions do not require quotes around file names with spaces in them.

If you call an external program that is a binary executable (a text editor, for instance), you must add the quotes.

Q: For some reason my wordlist.db file is over 3 MB. What do I do to reduce the size to something more manageable?

A: First, make sure that the file maintenance is being run. PMMail-> Settings-> Advanced, and set Run classifier maintenance every XX program exits spin button to something between 1 and 5. Then open and close PMMail enough times that the maintenance will run at least once.

Q: How can I prevent the wordlist.db file from growing?

A: It depends on why it is growing. If you get a lot of SPAM (100 per day), a 3 MB file is probably pretty normal. If you only get a dozen or so per day, normal would be about half that. Of course, the type of SPAM also makes a difference. If it is all pretty much the same thing, the word file will be smaller.

Q: What file system is best for PMMail?

A: It is advisable to run PMMail on a JFS or HPFS386 volume, if possible. It will work on a HPFS volume but the classifier slows down drastically after the word file gets big enough so that it no longer fits in the disk cache (max 2 MB on HPFS).

Q: How do I get Firefox, or SeaMonkey, to open PMMail when I click on a Mailto: link?

A1: Add or edit the profile's preference entries. In the URL bar enter about:config. In the Filter field enter mailto. Set the values for these two preferences:

applications.mailto => "full/path/to/PMMail.EXE"

Typically: E:\PROGRAMS\PMMail\BIN\PMMail.EXE

applications.mailto.parameters => {the required parameters}

Typically: -cwd "E:\PROGRAMS\PMMail\Accounts" -s ACCT00.ACT

You may use the account's name itself instead of the directory name. Be sure to place it in double quotes if it has spaces in the name.

Typically: -cwd E:\PROGRAMS\PMMail\Accounts -s "My Excellent Mail"

A2: Use Chuck McKinnis' Internet Application Integration program to set the correct entries into the OS2.INI file (WPURLDEFAULTSETTINGS).

Unfortunately, some browsers don't seem to set the working directory correctly so PMMail ends up looking for its accounts in the root of the boot drive, and that causes an error. To work around that, you can add the -cwd "full/path/to/the/accounts" parameter to the Parameters entry.

Typically: -cwd "E:\PROGRAMS\PMMAIL\ACCOUNTS" [-s ACCT00.ACT]

Q: My registration won't work.

A: There are actually four ways to do it:

1. Open the mail, with the code in it, and follow the directions, and it should automatically register itself.
2. Create a file with the registration information in it. Just copy and paste the registration text into a file called pmm-regn.key and put that into the Accounts directory. Include everything between and including:

   ===BEGIN PMMAIL UNLOCK CODE BLOCK===
   xxxxx
   ===END PMMAIL UNLOCK CODE BLOCK===

   At startup PMMail finds it and registers itself (this is the preferred method since you can save the file somewhere safe and restore it later, if necessary).

3. You can create a file, as above, go to Help, and select the Register item (that selection disappears after registration, and in some other cases too, I think, so it may not be there). Then, you can type:

   file:x:\path\pmm-regn.key

   in the Registration name field, and imports the file.

4. You can open the Registration input (not the same as the Registration display), and type the whole thing in (definitely NOT recommended).