<!DOCTYPE page
[<!ENTITY % balsa SYSTEM "balsa.entities"> %balsa; ]>
<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/" type="topic"
id="folder-config">
  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="index" />
  </info>
  <title>IMAP Folder Configuration</title>
  <p>The folder configuration edit dialog allows you to configure
  entire mailbox sets on remote IMAP servers. Entire configuration
  is split into basic and advanced parts.</p>
  <section>
    <title>Basic IMAP folder configuration</title>
    <p>The basic IMAP folder configuration tab is probably the only
    part you need to fill in.</p>
    <list>
      <item>
        <p>Descriptive name is the name of the root node that will
        be shown in the mailbox tree on the left side.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Server is the host name or IP number of the IMAP
        server.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>User name is the name used for authorization on the IMAP
        server.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Some servers allow anonymous access to bulletin boards
        or mailing list archives. Check this box if you want to use
        this mode - you will not be asked for password.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Password is the password used for authorization on the
        IMAP server.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Check box allows you to choose all mailboxes on the
        server, or only those you subscribed to.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Prefix is the root mailbox on the server. You may leave
        it empty if you want to show all the folders on your server
        but if your IMAP server stores also other kind of files you
        may specify for instance "mail".</p>
      </item>
    </list>
  </section>
  <section>
    <title>Advanced IMAP folder configuration</title>
    <p>Sometimes, it is necessary to tune the folder configuration
    in order to assure a secure connection, adjust to server limits
    or just obtain better performance. This functionality is
    provided by the Advanced IMAP folder configuration tab.</p>
    <list>
      <item>
        <p>The
        <gui>Use SSL</gui> check box should be active if the
        connection is to be made to IMAPS service on port 993.
        Connection to this port will be encrypted from the start.
        Not all servers provide this service - many provide only
        negotiated TLS encryption.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>The
        <gui>Use TLS</gui> option list determines instruct balsa how
        to negotiate the TLS encryption. &Balsa; can never
        attempt to negotiate it, can start TLS encryption whenever
        it is supported by server, or can abort the connection if
        TLS is inavailable or fails for some reason.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>
        <gui>Max. number of connections</gui> limits the number of
        concurrent connections open to the IMAP server. A number
        around 15-40 is a sane option as it avoids time-consuming
        and load-creating reselections of imap mailboxes. Some IMAP
        servers -- notably Courier -- limit the number of
        connections open from single IP number to 4 by default. The
        limit in balsa has to be in such a case adjusted
        accordingly.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>The
        <gui>Enable persistent cache</gui> check box chooses whether
        &Balsa; should try to store downloaded messages between
        sessions or throw them away when it is closed. The optimal
        choice depends on the local configuration. If the
        connection to the IMAP server is slow and local storage in
        the home directory fast and cheap, it is recommended to
        enable persistent message cache. If the home directory is
        slow (eg. NFS-mounted) and the connection to the imap
        server - fast, persistent cache becomes just a burden and
        should be disabled.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>The
        <gui>Use IDLE command</gui> check box chooses whether
        &Balsa; should try to use IDLE command when available.
        With this command, some servers notify immediately when a
        new command arrives. Also, this command may reduce the
        amount of network traffic. There are some downsides, too:
        some firewalls do not track IMAP connections correctly and
        will incorrectly interrupt a session in an IDLE state. In
        particular, home-grade network routers with NAT translation
        have notoriously this bug. In such case, it may be safer to
        disable this command.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>The
        <gui>Enable bug workarounds</gui> check box makes
        &Balsa; work even with an IMAP server that cannot
        provide selected message parts. &Balsa; in such a case
        will try to fetch entire messages instead.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>The
        <gui>Use STATUS for mailbox checking</gui> check box enables
        a more thorough but potentially more expensive way of
        checking mailboxes on IMAP server. This method can be
        consume many resources on the server and should be used
        <em>only</em> on IMAP servers that have optimized STATUS
        command.</p>
      </item>
    </list>
  </section>
  <section id="subfolder-config">
    <title>IMAP Subfolder Properties</title>
    <p>The subfolder properties dialog allows you to manage folders
    on remote IMAP servers. Specifically, you can
    <em>create</em> a new subfolder,
    <em>rename</em> an existing subfolder, or
    <em>move</em> a subfolder within the folder tree.</p>
    <list>
      <item>
        <p>
        <gui>Folder name</gui> is how the folder is shown in the
        mailbox tree on the left side.</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>
        <gui>Subfolder of</gui> indicates the immediate parent of
        the folder.</p>
      </item>
    </list>
    <p>When the dialog is opened from
    <guiseq>
      <gui>File</gui>
      <gui>New</gui>
      <gui>Remote IMAP subfolder</gui>
    </guiseq>, you can enter the folder name and browse IMAP trees
    to find the parent folder. If you had already selected a
    mailbox in an IMAP tree, only that tree is shown for browsing;
    otherwise, all IMAP trees will be shown.</p>
    <p>When the dialog is opened from
    <guiseq>
      <gui>Mailbox</gui>
      <gui>Edit</gui>
    </guiseq> with an IMAP folder selected, or by right-clicking on
    an IMAP mailbox and selecting
    <gui>Properties...</gui>, the mailbox may be:</p>
    <list>
      <item>
        <p>Renamed, by editing the folder name;</p>
      </item>
      <item>
        <p>Moved, by browsing for a different parent folder in the
        same tree.</p>
      </item>
    </list>
  </section>
</page>
