I originally downloaded the sources a few weeks ago, dovecot-2.2.16, and simply did a ./configure make make install

I'm running OSX 10.10.3 on a mac-mini.

Not being too sure that I was going to go ahead with this whole idea... in any event, I did. BUT... most documentation I come across as I search for answers refers to the base directories being below /etc - as in postfix actually.

ie; /etc/dovecot /etc/postfix

Which seems logical to me - and appears to be a "default" or standard, at least in most documentation.

However, my cavaliere installation put everything below /usr/local, as in /usr/local/etc/dovecot

Which has caused me no end of fiddling as I try and remember where things are when I'm working on config files. There even appears to be a /private/etc/dovecot folder, which I seem to have somehow created about a month ago??? but is empty anyway.

So, on my Mac I now have these folders/directories.

These may have been created by a previous attempt, or by an installation to CutedgeSystems Mailserve. Now redundant. /private/etc/dovecot <---- empty /private/etc/pam.d/dovecot <--- contains login, pop3, ssh etc etc /private/var/spool/postfix/private/dovecot <-- this is a link to the one just above ??? or the other one is a link to this? /usr/libexec/dovecot <-- this contains a link to dovecot-lda [dovecot-lda -> /usr/local/libexec/dovecot/dovecot-lda] that I put in myself because that's where dovecot was looking for it. ========= everything below this line is as a result of the installation from source /usr/local/cutedge/dovecot /usr/local/etc/dovecot /usr/local/include/dovecot /usr/local/lib/dovecot /usr/local/libexec/dovecot /usr/local/sbin/dovecot /usr/local/share/doc/dovecot /usr/local/var/lib/dovecot /usr/local/var/run/dovecot

I see from this list in someone else's post, that it's obviously possible - and I should have remembered - to put the files where ever I want them. i.e. /etc/dovecot

If I read this list right, it will put the installation into /etc/dovecot - with some in other, appropriate directories. NOT all below /user/local as I have done. --prefix=/usr
--sysconfdir=/etc
--libexecdir=\${prefix}/lib
--localstatedir=/var
--mandir=\${prefix}/share/man
--infodir=\${prefix}/share/info
--with-moduledir=\${prefix}/lib/dovecot/modules
--disable-rpath
--disable-static

Now for the burning question. Is it possible now to re-configure, then reinstall into the more appropriate directories, then copy the configuration files over. Make the appropriate weeks, and remove the original /usr/local/xxxx installation?

Or is that just a step too far for the sake of what is essentially window dressing.

The system I might add appears to be working as is?

Thanks for any advice from the experts. (Sorry if the formatting in this post gets screwed up. It;s gmail;s web interface)

Robert