Centralised Mail; will Mercury be right for me?

posted Feb 9 '09 at 4:43 pm

Do I understand you both correctly in that I do not have to have the
client on all machines, just the one and run the client across the
network? See, the way I've handled it up to now is to have a copy of
the client on each machine, each pointing to the same home mailbox.

With PMail you can have a single copy with only the shortcut on each system. In this case you would not be running either POP3 or IMAP4, you would be accessing the mail directly. I assume you could also do something similar with a single instance of an IMAP4 client like T-Bird but I've not tested this. I've always installed the POP3/IMAP4 client on each machine.

<blockquote>Do I understand you both correctly in that I do not have to have the client on all machines, just the one and run the client across the network? See, the way I've handled it up to now is to have a copy of the client on each machine, each pointing to the same home mailbox.</blockquote>With PMail you can have a single copy with only the shortcut on each system.&nbsp; In this case you would not be running either POP3 or IMAP4, you would be accessing the mail directly.&nbsp; I assume you could also do something similar with a single instance of&nbsp; an IMAP4 client like T-Bird but I've not tested this.&nbsp; I've always installed the POP3/IMAP4 client on each machine.

bnichols

posted Feb 8 '09 at 10:19 pm

In my home I have 3 PCs networked together. I have a standard POP3 email account. I have no mail server.

What I want to do is this:

I want to use a mail client at any of my PCs so that I can pick up/send mail. But I need only one local mail store, so that if I log on from another PC next time. All my mail is available there.

I have tried using a centralised mail store (Profile) on one of the PCs, accessing it remotely form the other two. But that is fraught with problems. I don't mind being denied access if another staion is using the mail (i.e I forgot to close it down), but the difficulties go beyond that.

Some years ago I used Pegasus like this. Can't remember the details, but it didn't work smoothly. I switched to Thunderbird a few years back when David announced that he was dropping Pegasus. Thunderbird is just geting worse.

So I wondered if a mail server like Mercury would allow me to pick up mail from identically configured clients at any of my PCs?

TIA

In my home&nbsp;I have 3 PCs networked together. I have a standard POP3 email account. I have no mail server. What I want to do is this: I want to use a mail client at any of my PCs so that I can pick up/send mail. But I need only one local mail store, so that if I log on from another PC next time. All my mail is available there. I have tried using a centralised mail store (Profile) on one of the PCs, accessing it remotely form the other two. But that is fraught with problems. I don't mind being denied access if another staion is using the mail (i.e I forgot to close it down), but the difficulties go beyond that. Some years ago I used Pegasus like this. Can't remember the details, but it didn't work smoothly. I switched to Thunderbird a few years back when David announced that he was dropping Pegasus. Thunderbird is just geting worse. So I wondered if a mail server like Mercury would&nbsp;allow me to pick up mail from identically configured clients at any of my PCs? &nbsp; TIA &nbsp; &nbsp; B&nbsp;

dilberts_left_nut

posted Feb 9 '09 at 12:39 am

Certainly.

You can use Mercury to collect your mail from your external POP box (with MercuryD module) and use Pegasus (installed on the "server" and run via a shortcut from the "client machines").

Alternatively to Pegasus in "direct access" mode, you could run the IMAP server (MercuryI module) and use any IMAP client to connect from any machine (even from 'outside' if you have a static IP and/or a dyndns type domain name).

Certainly.You can use Mercury to collect your mail from your external POP box (with MercuryD module) and use Pegasus (installed on the "server" and run via a shortcut from the "client machines").Alternatively to Pegasus in "direct access" mode, you could run the IMAP server (MercuryI module) and use any IMAP client to connect from any machine (even from 'outside' if you have a static IP and/or a dyndns type domain name).&nbsp;

Thomas R. Stephenson

posted Feb 9 '09 at 3:07 am

> In my home I have 3 PCs networked together. I have a standard POP3
> email account. I have no mail server.
>
> What I want to do is this:
>
> I want to use a mail client at any of my PCs so that I can pick up/send
> mail. But I need only one local mail store, so that if I log on from
> another PC next time. All my mail is available there.
>
> I have tried using a centralised mail store (Profile) on one of the
> PCs, accessing it remotely form the other two. But that is fraught with
> problems. I don't mind being denied access if another staion is using
> the mail (i.e I forgot to close it down), but the difficulties go
> beyond that.
>
> Some years ago I used Pegasus like this. Can't remember the details,
> but it didn't work smoothly. I switched to Thunderbird a few years back
> when David announced that he was dropping Pegasus. Thunderbird is just
> geting worse.
>
> So I wondered if a mail server like Mercury would allow me to pick up
> mail from identically configured clients at any of my PCs?
>

Here's a way to do this with any IMAP4 mail client, including Pegasus Mail. It starts with installing Pegasus Mail, adding Mercury/32 looking at the Pegasus Mail mail directories and creating a system where the mail is stored in one place and can be accessed from anywhere on the net.

1. Install WinPmail in the multiuser mode on the "server". Use c:\pmail
    for the program; c:\pmail\mail for the mail directories.

2. Run PCONFIG.exe from the WinPMail program directory and change the HOME and
    NEW mail directory specification to the \\server\vol\pmail\mail\~8
    format.

3. Go to the remote workstations and install a shortcut to the common
    program.

Ok, now you have the basic mail system setup. You can send mail to each other using Pegasus Mail.

4. Install Mercury/32 on this same server pointing to the Pegasus Mail
    directory structure. Use MercuryD, MercuryS, MercuryC, MercuryI at
    least. Use \\server\vol\mercury\queue for the mail spool directory.

5. Point MercuryD at all of your POP3 mailboxes to download the mail to
    your Pegasus Mail user directories.

You now can send and receive Internet mail via Pegasus Mail. The mail is delivered to the Pegasus Mail directories automatically. You send mail simply but putting the output files into the Mercury/32 mail spool directory. This is accomplished automatically with a Pegasus Mail User Defined Gateway.

6. If you want to maintain other POP3/IMAP4 clients, point the client at
    the at your Mercury/32 host as a POP3 and SMTP host using the Pegasus
    Mail username and password to pickup the mail.

You can do a complete inbound and outbound mail archive with this setup using a simple Mercury/32 "Always" filter that put a copy in a users mail directory.

&gt; In my home&nbsp;I have 3 PCs networked together. I have a standard POP3 &gt; email account. I have no mail server. &gt; &gt; What I want to do is this: &gt; &gt; I want to use a mail client at any of my PCs so that I can pick up/send &gt; mail. But I need only one local mail store, so that if I log on from &gt; another PC next time. All my mail is available there. &gt; &gt; I have tried using a centralised mail store (Profile) on one of the &gt; PCs, accessing it remotely form the other two. But that is fraught with &gt; problems. I don't mind being denied access if another staion is using &gt; the mail (i.e I forgot to close it down), but the difficulties go &gt; beyond that. &gt; &gt; Some years ago I used Pegasus like this. Can't remember the details, &gt; but it didn't work smoothly. I switched to Thunderbird a few years back &gt; when David announced that he was dropping Pegasus. Thunderbird is just &gt; geting worse. &gt; &gt; So I wondered if a mail server like Mercury would&nbsp;allow me to pick up &gt; mail from identically configured clients at any of my PCs? &gt; Here's a way to do this with any IMAP4 mail client, including Pegasus Mail.&nbsp; It starts with installing Pegasus Mail, adding Mercury/32 looking at the Pegasus Mail mail directories and creating a system where the mail is stored in one place and can be accessed from anywhere on the net. 1.&nbsp; Install WinPmail in the multiuser mode on the "server".&nbsp; Use c:\pmail &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; for the program; c:\pmail\mail for the mail directories. 2.&nbsp; Run PCONFIG.exe from the WinPMail program directory and change the HOME and &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; NEW mail directory specification to the \\server\vol\pmail\mail\~8 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; format. 3.&nbsp; Go to the remote workstations and install a shortcut to the common &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; program. Ok, now you have the basic mail system setup.&nbsp; You can send mail to each other using Pegasus Mail. &nbsp; 4.&nbsp; Install Mercury/32 on this same server pointing to the Pegasus Mail &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; directory structure.&nbsp; Use MercuryD, MercuryS, MercuryC, MercuryI at &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; least. Use \\server\vol\mercury\queue for the mail spool directory. 5.&nbsp; Point MercuryD at all of your POP3 mailboxes to download the mail to &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; your Pegasus Mail user directories. You now can send and receive Internet mail via Pegasus Mail.&nbsp; The mail is delivered to the Pegasus Mail directories automatically.&nbsp; You send mail simply but putting the output files into the Mercury/32 mail spool directory.&nbsp; This is accomplished automatically with a Pegasus Mail User Defined Gateway. &nbsp; 6.&nbsp; If you want to maintain other POP3/IMAP4 clients, point the client at &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; the at your Mercury/32 host as a POP3 and SMTP host using the Pegasus &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mail username and password to pickup the mail. You can do a complete inbound and outbound mail archive with this setup using a simple Mercury/32 "Always" filter that put a copy in a users mail directory.

bnichols

posted Feb 9 '09 at 3:51 pm

Thanks Guys!!

It seems that IMAP is the way forward. I don't understand the difference between POP3 and IMAP, so I'll have to do a bit of reading on that front! :-)

Do I understand you both correctly in that I do not have to have the client on all machines, just the one and run the client across the network? See, the way I've handled it up to now is to have a copy of the client on each machine, each pointing to the same home mailbox.

Thanks

Thanks Guys!! It seems that IMAP is the way forward. I don't understand the difference between POP3 and IMAP, so I'll have to do a bit of reading on that front! :-) Do I understand you both correctly in that I do not have to have the client on all machines, just the one and run the client across the network? See, the way I've handled it up to now is to have a copy of the client on each machine, each pointing to the same home mailbox. Thanks &nbsp; B

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