Both the server and the client machines installs of Pegasus Mail should be accessing the same home mailbox directory when signing in as the same user so both should display the lock warning.  The fact that the client doesn't is of concern.  Trust us when we recommend not accessing the same mailbox directory simultaneously.  If you do, keep backups handy.

I get the impression that when you began this endeavor you where trying to figure out your options and understand how things worked.  That is commendable but now that you have played with it I recommend the same as has SaliesBuzz.  In instances where there is a server and a client(s), the best option is to run the server install of Pegasus Mail from the client. 

Hi..

So, I have pmail installed and running nicely on a few machines.

It doesn't work exactly as I expected though. For example:

 I have pmail "server" on machine #1, collecting mail etc.

On machine #2 I have pmail client, pointed to the same mailbox, not collecting mail.

 On both machines I see all new mail arrive, in newmail folder... 

But if I delete a mail from new mail folder on machine #2, it still shows in the new mail folder on #1 though it's gone on #2's view..

Even if I click "refresh new mail folder" on #1 it's still There.

But - if I close and restart pmail on machine #1, then it's gone from new mail.

I suspect I have some minor setting borked somewhere... Any suggestions? 

Thanks! 

Are you using IMAP or POP3?  If POP3 be careful that you do not "bork" your mailstore.  A Pegasus Mail mailbox is designed to be accessed by only one instance of Pegasus Mail at a time.  An attempt to access a mailbox by another instance should generate a warning that the mailbox is locked.  There is an option to bypass this warning but you should do so ONLY when you know for certain that the lock is stuck due to an abnormal shutdown.  Otherwise you most certainly will end up with a corrupted mailbox.  If you are using IMAP then you are dealing with mail that is on the host server and not on your local server.  If this is the case please reply back as such so someone more familiar with IMAP can to explain how the new mail folder updating works when there are multiple IMAP connections.  Also, in this scenario your server may not be doing much because each instance of Pegasus Mail could be configured to access the host mailbox directly via IMAP.  I don't know whether yours are.

If IMAP, one setting to look at is the one that specifies how often the inbox should be updated.  It is located in the Settings tab of the IMAP profile.

Interesting -- I get no locked warnings, and i've not turned that off....

But, sadly you have answered my question as I thought, pmail is not a networked email solution, it's just that the mailbox can be accessed across a network... Damn, I hoped it was better than thunderbird etc in that respect!

It's a great client though.... 

Possible alternative:

http://community.pmail.com/forums/thread/30327.aspx

Pegasus Mail is indeed an email client.  It sounds like what you are wanting to do is to access the same mailbox from multiple clients which can be done with Pegasus Mail either via IMAP to the host server or by one PMail client at a time to a local mailbox directory.  Do you have the option of leaving mail on your host server and having Pegasus Mail access it via IMAP?  If so, I think that would accomplish what you need. 

[quote user="caisson"]Possible alternative:

http://community.pmail.com/forums/thread/30327.aspx[/quote]

This doesn't address the problem of simultaneous access to the same mailbox by multiple session of Pegasus Mail.  It is a good way to go for creating a local mail server for servicing multiple users.  Now I am second guessing whether the OP is indeed accessing the same mailbox with multiple sessions since no mailbox lock is encountered.  I see that as the likely scenario if PMail is acting as a server although it could be configured to POP mail off multiple host accounts then filter/forward messages to the appropriate PMail user. Clarification needed from OP on the exact goal.

Agreed. I thought it might be an alternative to the problem of simultaneous access through a more sophisticated approach, but, as you say, it is up to the OP to determine where he wants to go.

What I'm trying to do is access the same mailbox from my various machines, so that wherever I am I can process email. I didn't want to be forced to close pmail on any machine as I walk away from it as it were, though that may be what I have to do.

Sadly IMAP would make it easy -- but I'm sending / receiving email from several sources and one of the most important ones won't allow IMAP (it's one of my major customers, I have an email with them, but their IT guys won't allow IMAP!!). 

OK. If you are the only user you don't have a problem if you are accessing the mailbox manually.

You have the option also of leaving copies on the server until it suits you to delete them.

Another option, if you are the only user, is to run Pmail from a USB stick. A good option if you work from a number of machines regularly.

If you can just leave the server PMail running but shut Pmail down on the other machines when you walk away then you could create a second PMail user on the server, forward all mail to that user, then access that user mailbox from the other machines.  I think your only other option is to run your own mail server like Mercury/32. 

I still don't understand why you are not encountering the mailbox lock warning.  PMail is designed to create a .lck file while the mailbox is being accessed.  Each time an instance of PMail attempts to access a mailbox it looks for the .lck file and should throw the mailbox locked warning if it exists.

Good thought re adding a second user.

I get the lock warning on client machines if I run pmail as a link to the executable on the server, but not if I run a local pmail with the home & new settings pointed to the server.... 

For what it is worth I thought I would share our configuration of Pegasus that we have used successfully for several years:

1. All Pegasus files/folders are stored on a NAS Server
2. Each workstation simply has a link pointing to the Win32PM exe on the server
3. You login as your chosen Pmail user.
4. Each user can have multiple email accounts configured, (for example we

   have work, house, shopping users with their associated email accounts).

5. If you want to share folders then direct the mail into a shared folder

   that is a "Systemwide" folder. You can create subfolders under the

   systemwide folders that are then visible by any user that logs in. You

   then create a filter that direct the inbound mail to your chosen shared

   folder. This means that you do not receive the lock warning as the mail is visible to all users by definition. In this way you can be quite precise about what you want to "share" or keep nailed to a particular user.

6. This method also means that you can mail "internally" between users without actually having a mail server or using Mercury.
7. It provides a great way of separating work/private stuff. We have used it on projects that we use unique email addresses for when working with clients
8. Having everything on a server makes backup very easy. We replicate our server in real time to another device that can be then be used as the "live" server, simply by changing its internal IP address. This then backs up to external hard disks elsewhere.
9. This is why I think Pegasus is unique. It is the only genuine networkable client out there.
10. As stated elsewhere, you can also dump a mail profile onto a USB stick, run that from any machine and the simply copy the mail folders back to your server when you return.
11. The lock warning is a good way of preventing you leaving simultaneous sessions running on different machines. I cannot see why you would want to do that. You can only look at one machine at a time! The shared folders facility answers how to see those across different user accounts.
    

A very useful post that highlights the flexibility of Pmail. Something of this nature should be included as a resource/guide for users in a networked environment.

I get the lock warning on client machines if I run pmail as a link to the executable on the server, but not if I run a local pmail with the home & new settings pointed to the server....

And the point is?

[quote user="sandralambert"]I get the lock warning on client machines if I run pmail as a link to the executable on the server, but not if I run a local pmail with the home & new settings pointed to the server....[/quote]

 Are you trying to sign in as the same user? You cannot sign in twice to the same user name.

If you have different user names, the program and user files can all live on a server.  Then you simply create a shortcut to the WinPM-32.exe file. We have all our workstations configured with mapped drives to the explicit IP address of the server in the form:

\\xxxx.xxxx.xxxx.xxxx\Folder Name where xxxx is the internal IP address of the NAS Server. We use drive letter S: to denote shared stuff, but you could use any letter providing it is not already used by Windows.

Stuff you want to share between users can be put in "System Wide" folders and are then visible by any user that signs in.

There is no need to have any executable or programs stored on the workstation at all. That is what makes it really easy updating the program as it all in one place, and, as I mentioned in my previous post, it makes backup very simple.