1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
2 <section id="ch_advanced">
3 <title>Advanced features</title>
4 <section id="adv_actions">
7 Actions allow you to use all the power of the Unix command-line with
8 your emails. You can define various commands, taking parameters such
9 as the current email file, a list of emails, the currently selected
10 text, and so on. In this way, you'll be able to perform various tasks
11 such as editing a raw mail in your text editor,
12 <emphasis>hide</emphasis> what you mean using ROT-13, apply patches
13 contained in emails directly, and so on. The only limit is your
14 imagination. You can configure Actions via the <quote>Tools</quote>
19 <title>Simple <quote>Open With...</quote></title>
23 Menu name: <emphasis>Open with/kate</emphasis>
24 Command Line: <command>kate %p</command>
28 Opens the file of the selected decoded MIME part
29 (<emphasis>%p</emphasis>) with the <emphasis>kate</emphasis> text
37 <title>Spam management using <ulink
38 url="http://bogofilter.sourceforge.net/">Bogofilter</ulink>
43 Menu name: <emphasis>Bogofilter/Mark as Ham</emphasis>
44 Command Line: <command>bogofilter -n -v -B "%f"</command>
48 Marks the currently selected mails (<emphasis>%f</emphasis>) as
49 <quote>not spam</quote> using <emphasis>Bogofilter</emphasis>.
55 Menu name: <emphasis>Bogofilter/Mark as Spam</emphasis>
56 Command Line: <command>bogofilter -s -v -B "%f"</command>
60 Marks the currently selected mails (<emphasis>%f</emphasis>) as
61 <quote>spam</quote> using <emphasis>Bogofilter</emphasis>.
68 <title>Search Google using an external script</title>
72 Menu name: <emphasis>Search/Google</emphasis>
73 Command Line: <command>|/path/to/google_search.pl</command>
77 Searches Google for the currently selected text
78 (<emphasis>|</emphasis>) using the external script <emphasis><ulink
79 url="http://www.claws-mail.org/tools.php"
80 >google_search.pl</ulink></emphasis>.
88 <section id="adv_templates">
89 <title>Templates</title>
91 Templates are used in composition windows, and act as a model for
92 emails. Templates can be filled with static text and dynamic parts,
93 such as the original sender's name (<quote>Dear %N, ...</quote>),
94 the date, etc. When applying a template, the dynamic fields will be
95 replaced with the relevant values. You can configure templates via
96 the <quote>Tools</quote> menu.
98 When applying a template, you will be asked to <quote>Insert</quote>
99 or <quote>Replace</quote>, the difference between replacing and
100 inserting is only concerned with the message body.
101 <quote>Replace</quote> will replace the current composition window
102 message body with the body defined in the template, clearing it if
103 the template body is empty. <quote>Insert</quote> will insert
104 the template's body, if set, at the current cursor position.
106 Whether you choose to Insert or Replace, any To, Cc or Bcc field
107 that is defined in the template will be appended to the compose
108 window's recipients list. If it is defined, the template's Subject
109 will always replace the compose window's Subject.
111 Symbols can be used in all parts of the templates and will be
112 substituted with their respective dynamic value if possible, otherwise
113 no value will be used. This often makes more sense if you apply a
114 template when replying or forwarding, otherwise most of the symbols
115 value will be undefined. There is no restriction on which symbols can
116 be used in template parts, even if inserting the body (%M or %Q) may
117 make no sense in common situations.
119 When applying a template, the body is processed first, then the To, Cc,
120 Bcc and Subject fields follow.
122 Further information and examples of usage can be found in the
123 user-contributed FAQ on the Claws Mail website <ulink
124 url="http://www.claws-mail.org/faq/"
125 >http://www.claws-mail.org/faq/</ulink>.
128 <section id="adv_processing">
129 <title>Processing</title>
131 Processing rules are the same as Filtering rules, except that they are
132 applied when entering a folder or when manually applied from a folder's
133 context menu and apply only to this folder. You can use them to automatically
134 move old mails into an archive folder, or for further dispatching of
135 emails, and more. You can set each folder's Processing rules by
136 right-clicking on it.
138 Processing rules are accompanied by Pre-processing and Post-processing
139 rules. Like Processing rules, they apply when opening a folder or manually
140 applying them from a folder's context menu, but like Filtering rules,
141 they are shared across all folders. You can configure them from the
142 <quote>Tools</quote> menu. Pre-processing rules are executed before the
143 folder's specific Processing rules, while Post-processing rules are executed
147 <section id="adv_colour_labels">
148 <title>Colour Labels</title>
150 Colour labels can be used to denote a message as having a particular
151 significance. To set a colour label simply right-click a message in the
152 Message List and use the <quote>Color label</quote> submenu.
154 Colour labels are user-configurable. Both the colour and the label can
155 be set by the user. Preferences can be found on the
156 <quote>Configuration/Preferences/Display/Colors</quote> page.
159 <section id="adv_ml_support">
160 <title>Mailing-List support</title>
162 Claws Mail offers mailing-list support from the
163 <quote>Message/Mailing-List/</quote> submenu. When you have a
164 mailing-list message selected, the submenu allows you to quickly
165 initiate subscribing, unsubscribing, posting, getting help, contacting
166 the list owner, and viewing the list archive; either by opening a new
167 Compose window with the appropriate address pre-filled, or by opening
168 the URL in your web browser.
171 <section id="adv_plugins">
172 <title>Plugins</title>
174 Plugins are the mechanism for extending Claws Mail' capabilities.
175 For example, imagine that you want to store your mails in a remote
176 <acronym>SQL</acronym> database. In most mailers out there this is
177 simply impossible without reworking the internals of the mailer. With
178 Claws Mail you can simply write a plugin to achieve the task.
180 This is just an example of the possibilities. A good number of plugins
181 developed for Claws Mail already exist, and more are to come. The
182 <link linkend="ch_plugins">Extending Claws Mail section</link>
183 gives details of them.
186 <section id="deploying">
187 <title>Deploying Claws Mail</title>
189 The initial configuration wizard tries to guess various fields using
190 information gathered from the system, such as username, hostname, and
191 more. As it is oriented towards general use, the default values often
192 have to be fixed. However, this wizard is customisable, in a manner
193 designed to allow system administrators to deploy Claws Mail easily
194 over various users of one machine, or even over multiple machines
195 installed via some replication tool.
197 The first part consists of creating a wizard configuration template
198 and setting the various default parameters of a new Claws Mail
204 Start with a user who does not have a <filename class="directory"
205 >~/.claws-mail</filename> directory, ideally a new user.
210 Start Claws Mail and go through the wizard. The values you fill in
211 will be of no use for the future deployment, so you can click
217 Once the wizard is finished and you have Claws Mail' main window
218 opened, configure the various defaults you want to have in the master.
219 You can load plugins, add people or LDAP servers in the addressbook,
220 create filtering rules, and so on.
225 If needed, and if the deployed Claws Mail will use MH folders, you
226 can create subdirectories in the mailbox.
231 Next, quit Claws Mail.
236 Now, edit the newly created wizard template file,
237 <filename>~/.claws-mail/accountrc.tmpl</filename>. In this file,
238 you will see different variables, corresponding to the wizard's fields.
239 You can leave some commented, in which case the usual default will be
240 used, or specify values or variables. Not all fields can contain
241 variables; for example, <literal>smtpauth</literal>,
242 <literal>smtpssl</literal> and <literal>recvssl</literal> are booleans,
243 either 0 or 1, and <literal>recvtype</literal> is an integer value. The
244 other fields, like <literal>name</literal>, <literal>email</literal>,
245 or <literal>recvuser</literal>, are parsed by the wizard and the
246 variables they contain are replaced by values. This allows you to
247 specify everything as needed for your site, even if you have strange
248 server names or server logins.
253 Save this file, and delete both
254 <filename>~/.claws-mail/accountrc</filename>, (which contains your
256 <filename>~/.claws-mail/folderlist.xml</filename>, (so that the
257 folder tree will be correctly parsed for new users). Recursively copy
258 <filename class="directory">.claws-mail</filename> to
259 <filename class="directory">/etc/skel/</filename>; if the deployed
260 Claws Mail will use MH folders, also copy the created
261 <filename class="directory">Mail</filename> directory. chown all of
262 <filename class="directory">/etc/skel/.claws-mail</filename>
263 and <filename class="directory">/etc/skel/Mail</filename> to
264 <literal>root:root</literal> for security reasons.
269 Test! Create a new user, login as that user, run Claws Mail. If you
270 filled everything as you wanted, this user will just have to fill in
276 Now, if you're creating a master for a site-wide deployment, you can
277 continue with this process. If you were just doing it for one machine,
283 Here are the different variables of the <filename>accountrc.tmpl</filename>
288 <term><literal>domain</literal></term>
291 Your domain name (example.com). If not set, it'll be extracted from the
297 <term><literal>name</literal></term>
300 The user's name. If not set, it'll be extracted from Unix login
301 information, which is usually ok.
306 <term><literal>email</literal></term>
309 The user's email. If not set, it'll be extracted from
310 <literal>$name</literal> and <literal>$domain</literal>.
315 <term><literal>organization</literal></term>
318 Your organization. If not set, it'll be empty.
323 <term><literal>smtpserver</literal></term>
326 The SMTP server to use. If not set, it'll be
327 <literal>smtp.$domain</literal>.
332 <term><literal>smtpauth</literal></term>
335 0 or 1. Whether to authenticate on the SMTP server. If not set, it'll
341 <term><literal>smtpuser</literal></term>
344 The login on the SMTP server. If not set, it'll be empty (same login as
345 for reception will be used).
350 <term><literal>smtppass</literal></term>
353 The password on the SMTP server. If not set, it'll be empty (if
354 <literal>smtppass</literal> is empty but <literal>smtpuser</literal> is
355 not, the user will be asked for the password).
360 <term><literal>recvtype</literal></term>
363 The type of server to receive from. 0 for POP3, 3 for IMAP4, 5 for a
364 local MBOX file. If not set, it'll be 0 (POP3).
369 <term><literal>recvserver</literal></term>
372 The reception server. If not set, it'll be
373 <literal>(pop|imap).$domain</literal>, depending on
374 <literal>$recvtype</literal>.
379 <term><literal>recvuser</literal></term>
382 The login on the reception server. If not set, it'll be extracted from
383 the Unix login information.
388 <term><literal>recvpass</literal></term>
391 The password on the reception server. If not set, it'll be empty (the
392 user will be asked for it once per session).
397 <term><literal>imapdir</literal></term>
400 The IMAP subdirectory. If not set, it'll be empty, which is often
406 <term><literal>mboxfile</literal></term>
409 The MBOX file to receive from if <literal>$recvtype</literal> is 5.
410 If not set, <literal>/var/mail/$LOGIN</literal>.
415 <term><literal>mailbox</literal></term>
418 The MH mailbox to store mail in (for <literal>$recvtype</literal> 0 or
419 5). If not set, it'll be <quote>Mail</quote>.
424 <term><literal>smtpssl</literal></term>
427 0 or 1. Whether to use SSL for sending mail. If not set, it'll be 0.
432 <term><literal>recvssl</literal></term>
435 0 or 1. Whether to use SSL for receiving mail. If not set, it'll be 0.
441 Here are the different variables you can use in the
442 <literal>domain</literal>, <literal>name</literal>,
443 <literal>email</literal>, <literal>organization</literal>,
444 <literal>smtpserver</literal>, <literal>smtpuser</literal>,
445 <literal>smtppass</literal>, <literal>recvserver</literal>,
446 <literal>recvuser</literal>, <literal>recvpass</literal>,
447 <literal>imapdir</literal>, <literal>mboxfile</literal> and
448 <literal>mailbox</literal> fields:
452 <term><literal>$DEFAULTDOMAIN</literal></term>
455 The domain name as extracted from Unix hostname information.
461 <term><literal>$DOMAIN</literal></term>
464 The domain name as set in the domain variable, the first of the
470 <term><literal>$USERNAME</literal></term>
472 <para>The user's real name.</para>
476 <term><literal>$LOGIN</literal></term>
478 <para>The user's Unix login.</para>
482 <term><literal>$NAME_MAIL</literal></term>
485 The user's real name as set in the name variable of the template field,
486 in lowercase and with spaces replaced by dots.
487 <quote>Colin Leroy</quote> becomes <quote>colin.leroy</quote>.
492 <term><literal>$EMAIL</literal></term>
495 The email address as set in the email variable of the template field.
501 Be sure not to use a variable before defining it.
504 <section id="adv_hidden">
505 <title>Hidden preferences</title>
507 There are a number of hidden preferences in Claws Mail, preferences
508 that some users who we wanted to please couldn't live without, but
509 which did not have a place in the GUI in our opinion. You can find the
510 following, and change them while Claws Mail is not running, in
511 <filename>~/.claws-mail/clawsrc</filename>.
515 <term><literal>addressbook_use_editaddress_dialog</literal></term>
518 Use a separate dialogue to edit a person's details.
519 '0' will use a form embedded in the addressbook's main window.
524 <term><literal>bold_unread</literal></term>
527 Show unread messages in the Message List using a bold font.
532 <term><literal>cache_max_mem_usage</literal></term>
535 The maximum amount of memory to use to cache messages, in kB.
540 <term><literal>cache_min_keep_time</literal></term>
543 The minimum time in minutes to keep a cache in memory. Caches more
544 recent than this time will not be freed, even if the memory usage is
550 <term><literal>compose_no_markup</literal></term>
553 Don't use bold and italic text in Compose dialogue's account selector.
558 <term><literal>emphasis_color</literal></term>
561 The colour used for the X-Mailer line when its value is Claws Mail.
566 <term><literal>enable_dotted_lines</literal></term>
569 Use the <emphasis>old</emphasis> dotted line look in the main window
570 GtkTreeView components, (Folder List and Message List), instead of the
571 <emphasis>modern</emphasis> lineless look.
576 <term><literal>enable_hscrollbar</literal></term>
579 Enable the horizontal scrollbar in the Message List.
584 <term><literal>enable_swap_from</literal></term>
587 Display the sender's email address in the To column of the
588 Sent folder instead of the recipient's.
593 <term><literal>folderview_vscrollbar_policy</literal></term>
596 Specify the policy of vertical scrollbar of Folder List.
597 '0' is always shown, '1' is automatic, '2' is always hidden.
602 <term><literal>hover_timeout</literal></term>
605 Time in milliseconds that will cause a folder tree to expand
606 when the mouse cursor is held over it during drag 'n' drop.
611 <term><literal>live_dangerously</literal></term>
614 Don't ask for confirmation before definitive deletion of emails.
619 <term><literal>log_error_color</literal></term>
620 <term><literal>log_in_color</literal></term>
621 <term><literal>log_msg_color</literal></term>
622 <term><literal>log_out_color</literal></term>
623 <term><literal>log_warn_color</literal></term>
626 The colours used in the log window.
631 <term><literal>respect_flowed_format</literal></term>
634 0 or 1. Respect format=flowed on text/plain message parts. This
635 will cause some mails to have long lines, but will fix some URLs
636 that would otherwise be wrapped. Default is 0, turned off.
641 <term><literal>skip_ssl_cert_check</literal></term>
644 Disables the verification of SSL certificates.
649 <term><literal>statusbar_update_step</literal></term>
652 Update stepping in progress bars.
657 <term><literal>stripes_color_offset</literal></term>
660 Specify the value to use when creating alternately coloured lines in
661 GtkTreeView components. The smaller the value, the less visible the
662 difference in the alternating colours of the lines.
667 <term><literal>textview_cursor_visible</literal></term>
670 Display the cursor in the message view.
675 <term><literal>thread_by_subject_max_age</literal></term>
678 Number of days to include a message in a thread when using
679 <quote>Thread using subject in addition to standard headers</quote>.
684 <term><literal>toolbar_detachable</literal></term>
687 Show handles in the toolbars.
692 <term><literal>unsafe_ssl_certs</literal></term>
695 Allows Claws to remember multiple SSL certificates for a given
696 server/port. This is disabled by default.
701 <term><literal>use_stripes_everywhere</literal></term>
704 Enable alternately coloured lines in GtkTreeView components.
709 <term><literal>use_stripes_in_summaries</literal></term>
712 Enable alternately coloured lines in the main window GtkTreeView
713 components, (Folder List and Message List). The only useful way to
714 use this option is to set it to 0 when use_stripes_everywhere is set
720 <term><literal>utf8_instead_of_locale_for_broken_mail</literal></term>
723 Use UTF-8 encoding for broken mails instead of current locale.
728 <term><literal>warn_dnd</literal></term>
731 Display a confirmation dialogue on drag 'n' drop of folders.