Hi Michael,

we migrated from Cyrus Shared Folders to Dovecot Public Folder.

Our setup with Dovecot:

• Public Namespace type=public
• prefix=NAMESPACE
• location=maildir:/var/vmail/public/domain.com/folder:INDEXPVT=~/public/domain.com/NAME
• list=children to show NAMESPACE only if acl is given
• Restart Dovecot
• cd /var/vmail/public/domain.com/NAMESPACE
• mkdir .NAME
• We utilise one user doveadm@domain.com to control acl
• doveadm acl set -u doveadm@domain.com NAMESPACE/NAME user=doveadm@domain.com all (this creates also the Maildir)
• doveadm mailbox subscribe -u doveadm@domain.com NAMESPACE/NAME
• dm acl set -u doveadm@domain.com NAMESPACE/NAME user=firstname.lastname@domain.com lookup read write write-seen write-deleted insert post expunge

User firstname.lastname@domain.com can now subscribe to the public folder „NAMESPACE/NAME“.

With this base you could create a more specific setup which more precisely fits your need.

There are also other strategies achieving Shared Folders the Cyrus way. :)

Hope that helps.

Tobias

On 28 Nov 2016, at 15:38, Michael Fox wrote:

No answer. Trying again. Surely someone with experience with public mailboxes can offer some insight on whether the application below should be a public or shared namespace ...

Thanks Michael

-----Original Message----- From: dovecot [mailto:dovecot-bounces@dovecot.org] On Behalf Of Michael Fox Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2016 11:53 AM To: Dovecot Mailing List <dovecot@dovecot.org> Subject: shared/public mailbox application

I'm new to Dovecot and I need help configuring a shared or public mailbox - I'm not sure which is appropriate. I've read the wiki and Peer's book and neither appears to cover what I'd like to do. So I could use some specific help on how to configure a solution for the following:

I'd like to create two real mailboxes, let's call them AAA and BBB. Let's call the domain "mydomain". By "real", I mean that users aaa@mydomain and bbb@mydomain can log into their own mailbox.

Anyone user can send mail to them, just like any other address: aaa@mydomain or bbb@mydomain.

I'd like all IMAP users in mydomain to be able to read the messages in those mailboxes.

I'd like all POP users in mydomain to also see those messages. (But I don't think I need help with the virtual part).

I'd like only a few designated IMAP users to be able to delete the messages in those mailboxes, including dummy users AAA and BBB themselves.

Ideally, I'd like them to appear in the client under a separate namespace from shared mailboxes. Example:

INBOX

+--- the normal stuff.

Shared

+--- user1

+--- user2

Special

+--- AAA

+--- BBB

My confusion:

1.  I don't know if this requires a shared namespace or a public

   namespace. It "feels" like it's "public", since all users would have access. But Peer's book and the wiki describe manually creating folders for public namespaces and controlling the contents with manual file manipulation, which leads me to believe that they can't be used for regular mail (although the book and the wiki never say one way or the other). I don't want to manually control files. I want to send mail to the mailbox and delete (see above) it with a client.

2.  There are several examples in Peer's book and the wiki, but none

   seem to match what I want. (This is the problem with documentation that is predominantly example-based). I guess I need more explanation of the mechanical differences between shared and public and why one would pick one over the other.

Can someone help? Please be as specific as you can.

Thanks much,

Michael

-- Tobias Kirchhofer tobias@kirchhofer.net

Basically we alias NAME@domain.com to doveadm@domain.com. doveadm@ has a sieve-Script which files into the public folder. You could also configure a postfix transport which does the job.

Its necessary to overlook the whole process chain to properly configure everything. And a lot of try out :)

On 29 Nov 2016, at 6:34, Michael Fox wrote:

Thanks Tobias. Thanks for the detailed reply.

I think I see what you’re doing. But I’m unclear on something (since I’m a nube):

Can anyone send mail to NAME@domain.com <mailto:NAME@domain.com> and have it appear in the public mailbox?

If not, would it be enough to create a userdb entry which defines a pseudo-user NAME, including its home directory, such that imcoming mail addressed to NAME@domain.com <mailto:NAME@domain.com> could be delivered into that mailbox?

Thanks,

Michael

From: Tobias Kirchhofer [mailto:tobias@kirchhofer.net] Sent: Monday, November 28, 2016 7:19 AM To: Michael Fox <news@mefox.org> Cc: Dovecot Mailing List <dovecot@dovecot.org> Subject: Re: shared/public mailbox application

Hi Michael,

we migrated from Cyrus Shared Folders to Dovecot Public Folder.

Our setup with Dovecot:

• Public Namespace type=public
• prefix=NAMESPACE
• location=maildir:/var/vmail/public/domain.com/folder:INDEXPVT=~/public/domain.com/NAME
• list=children to show NAMESPACE only if acl is given
• Restart Dovecot
• cd /var/vmail/public/domain.com/NAMESPACE
• mkdir .NAME
• We utilise one user <mailto:doveadm@domain.com> doveadm@domain.com to control acl
• doveadm acl set -u <mailto:doveadm@domain.com> doveadm@domain.com NAMESPACE/NAME user= <mailto:doveadm@domain.com> doveadm@domain.com all (this creates also the Maildir)
• doveadm mailbox subscribe -u <mailto:doveadm@domain.com> doveadm@domain.com NAMESPACE/NAME
• dm acl set -u <mailto:doveadm@domain.com> doveadm@domain.com NAMESPACE/NAME user= <mailto:firstname.lastname@domain.com> firstname.lastname@domain.com lookup read write write-seen write-deleted insert post expunge

User <mailto:firstname.lastname@domain.com> firstname.lastname@domain.com can now subscribe to the public folder „NAMESPACE/NAME“.

With this base you could create a more specific setup which more precisely fits your need.

There are also other strategies achieving Shared Folders the Cyrus way. :)

Hope that helps.

Tobias

On 28 Nov 2016, at 15:38, Michael Fox wrote:

No answer. Trying again. Surely someone with experience with public mailboxes can offer some insight on whether the application below should be a public or shared namespace ...

Thanks Michael

-----Original Message----- From: dovecot [mailto: <mailto:dovecot-bounces@dovecot.org> dovecot-bounces@dovecot.org] On Behalf Of Michael Fox Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2016 11:53 AM To: Dovecot Mailing List <mailto:dovecot@dovecot.org> dovecot@dovecot.org Subject: shared/public mailbox application

I'm new to Dovecot and I need help configuring a shared or public mailbox - I'm not sure which is appropriate. I've read the wiki and Peer's book and neither appears to cover what I'd like to do. So I could use some specific help on how to configure a solution for the following:

I'd like to create two real mailboxes, let's call them AAA and BBB. Let's call the domain "mydomain". By "real", I mean that users aaa@mydomain and bbb@mydomain can log into their own mailbox.

Anyone user can send mail to them, just like any other address: aaa@mydomain or bbb@mydomain.

I'd like all IMAP users in mydomain to be able to read the messages in those mailboxes.

I'd like all POP users in mydomain to also see those messages. (But I don't think I need help with the virtual part).

I'd like only a few designated IMAP users to be able to delete the messages in those mailboxes, including dummy users AAA and BBB themselves.

Ideally, I'd like them to appear in the client under a separate namespace from shared mailboxes. Example:

INBOX

+--- the normal stuff.

Shared

+--- user1

+--- user2

Special

+--- AAA

+--- BBB

My confusion:

1. I don't know if this requires a shared namespace or a public namespace. It "feels" like it's "public", since all users would have access. But Peer's book and the wiki describe manually creating folders for public namespaces and controlling the contents with manual file manipulation, which leads me to believe that they can't be used for regular mail (although the book and the wiki never say one way or the other). I don't want to manually control files. I want to send mail to the mailbox and delete (see above) it with a client.

2. There are several examples in Peer's book and the wiki, but none seem to match what I want. (This is the problem with documentation that is predominantly example-based). I guess I need more explanation of the mechanical differences between shared and public and why one would pick one over the other.

Can someone help? Please be as specific as you can.

Thanks much,

Michael

-- Tobias Kirchhofer <mailto:tobias@kirchhofer.net> tobias@kirchhofer.net

-- Tobias Kirchhofer tobias@kirchhofer.net

Sounds good - this could do the trick. Post the final and working concept :)

On 29 Nov 2016, at 17:58, Michael Fox wrote:

...

Basically we alias NAME@domain.com to doveadm@domain.com. doveadm@ has a sieve-Script which files into the public folder. You could also configure a postfix transport which does the job.

Ah. OK. That may be more complexity than I need for my situation. So please bear with me as I try to understand this.

IF:

Postfix is already configured to deliver mail destined for the virtual domain "domain.com" to Dovecot --and-- I create the NAMESPACE and NAME setup as you described --and-- I create a Dovecot userdb entry for NAME@domain.com (but no passdb entry) --and-- I configure ACLs so that all domain.com users can read NAME's mailbox but only admin users can delete messages in NAME's mailbox --and-- I configure the virtual INBOX for POP users to include "RealMails" and "NAME"

THEN, I'm thinking that:

Because there is no passdb entry, user NAME@domain.com cannot log in --and-- Because userdb defines NAME's home directory, incoming mail to NAME@domain.com would be delivered to the NAME mailbox, just like any other user in domain.com, without the need for aliasing or sieve --and-- Because of the ACLs, IMAP admin users would be able to delete/manage NAME's messages and everyone else would be able to read NAME's messages --and-- Because of the virtual INBOX, POP users would be able to read the NAME messages.

Does that make sense? Am I missing something?

...

Its necessary to overlook the whole process chain to properly configure everything.

Yes! Agreed! That's why I'm trying to think through the whole thing before diving down a rabbit hole that leads to a dead end.

...

And a lot of try out :)

For sure. (Just as soon as I understand what I'm trying to do.) ;-)

Michael

-- Tobias Kirchhofer tobias@kirchhofer.net

Hi, I did that in Linux (Ubuntu) by using symbolic links. In the INBOX of users that you want to see shared emails place a symlink to the shared INBOX. <domain> | <user 1> | | ...INBOX | | .Drafts (folder) | | .Trash (folder | | ... | | ~.Shared AAA --> ../aaa | | ~.Shared BBB --> ../bbb | <user 2> | | ...INBOX | | ... | | ~.Shared AAA --> ../aaa | | ~.Shared BBB --> ../bbb | <aaa> | | ...INBOX | | ... | <bbb> | | ...INBOX | | ... The only thing that could create problems are permissions. I use the same UID/GID for all users (vmail:vmail) so I don't have such problems. If you want special permissions for groups of users (some can delete emails in shared folders) you need to define the permission groups, add users you want to those groups and set rw permission and set group bit on shared folders.

Thanks Adrian. That's an interesting idea. I don't think it will fit what I'm trying to do. But thanks for taking the time to respond. Every little bit helps me learn how things work.

Michael