procmail
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: How to use Procmail to remove messages from server after x numberof days

2011-03-01 11:05:35
On 3/1/2011 11:36 PM, Komal Tagdiwala (ktagdiwa) wrote:
You can use email clients like Thunderbird which can be configured to
PURGE messages older than X number of days.

-----Original Message-----
From: procmail-bounces(_at_)lists(_dot_)RWTH-Aachen(_dot_)de
[mailto:procmail-bounces(_at_)lists(_dot_)RWTH-Aachen(_dot_)de] On Behalf Of 
Bart
Schaefer
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 8:18 AM
To: Procmail
Subject: Re: How to use Procmail to remove messages from server after x
numberof days

On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 8:04 AM, Tim Rice<tim(_at_)phuket-mail(_dot_)com>  wrote:

I'm not sure if this is even possible, but I would like to
automatically remove all mail for all users after 10 days using
Procmail.

Hi Komal.

Yes, I actually use Thunderbird for my own mail, but I keep getting users who can't seem to keep their mail under control, so I was looking for a server side solution.

Procmail mail is such a powerful tool I was hoping it may offer a (clean) server side solution. But I think Bart's reply sums it up perfectly, not the right tool for the job.

Generally speaking, procmail is the wrong tool for this job.  Procmail
is designed to work on a single message provided as an input stream, and
deliver it to a mailbox; it's not a tool for manipulating messages that
are already contained in mailboxes.

Yes, you can kluge something together by e.g. using the formail utility
to break up the mailbox and send the messages through procmail one by
one, but that won't accomplish updating the mailbox in place -- you'll
have to copy the mailbox, preserving only the messages that have not yet
expired, and then swap the copy for the original, all while locking out
new deliveries so as not to lose anything in the swap.

You'll be better off looking for a tool that actually is able to
manipulate mailboxes rather than individual messages.
____________________________________________________________
procmail mailing list   Procmail homepage: http://www.procmail.org/
procmail(_at_)lists(_dot_)RWTH-Aachen(_dot_)de
http://mailman.rwth-aachen.de/mailman/listinfo/procmail

____________________________________________________________
procmail mailing list   Procmail homepage: http://www.procmail.org/
procmail(_at_)lists(_dot_)RWTH-Aachen(_dot_)de
http://mailman.rwth-aachen.de/mailman/listinfo/procmail




--
Best Regards,

Tim Rice
Computer Stuff
Phuket Thailand 83000
Tel: +66 76 376165
Fax: +66 76 376165
www.computerstuff.net
www.phuket-mail.com
____________________________________________________________
procmail mailing list   Procmail homepage: http://www.procmail.org/
procmail(_at_)lists(_dot_)RWTH-Aachen(_dot_)de
http://mailman.rwth-aachen.de/mailman/listinfo/procmail