[Dovecot] being courier_imap compatible

[Chad Leigh -- Shire.Net LLC]

OK, I am running (for many years now) an existing courier_imap maildir 
++ setup with exim as the MTA.  Has been fine.  I have my own custom  
ldap schema for user account definition and authorization.

I installed dovecot 1.0 beta 7 as a test and have it listening on a  
different port.  I would like, if possible, to set things up so that  
a user could use either dovecot or courier.  Having to re-subscribe  
to folders is OK when moving to dovecot.  (It would be nice to be  
able to make a symbolic link from courier's subscription file to the  
dovecot one though)

(My client for testing is the Mac OS X (10.4.6) Mail client Mail.app  
-- it seems to do an auto subscribe to folders)

I set up a namespace for dovecot, using the wiki as a guide, so:

namespace private {
    # Hierarchy separator to use. You should use the same separator  
for all
    # namespaces or some clients get confused. '/' is usually a good  
one.
    separator = .

    # Prefix required to access this namespace. This needs to be  
different for
    # all namespaces. For example "Public/".
    prefix = INBOX.

    # Physical location of the mailbox. This is in same format as
    # default_mail_env, which is also the default for it.
    location = .

    # There can be only one INBOX, and this setting defines which  
namespace
    # has it.
    inbox = yes

    # If namespace is hidden, it's not advertised to clients via  
NAMESPACE
    # extension or shown in LIST replies. This is mostly useful when  
converting
    # from another server with different namespaces which you want to  
depricate
    # but still keep working. For example you can create hidden  
namespaces with
   hidden=no
}

(location has to be . or something similar since my ldap schema is  
purely virtual users and returns the actual root of the maildir)

I am able to get the root  mailbox (INBOX) to work.  I can see new  
mail and look at mail messages etc.

I create a new account in Mail.app that logs in to an existing  
account (to make sure there is no client cached info involved).  It  
logs in and is able to see the imap folders that exist for this account.

However, clicking on the folder does not show any messages at all.   
dovecot is not creating a subscription file inside the maildir  
(Mail.app does not allow you to subscribe to folders -- it subscribes  
to all existing folders for you)

And if I try and create a new folder inside the account I get a  
"CREATE" command failed, server error:  unknown namespace

How can I get the folders to work with dovecot using my existing  
maildir++ setup?

Thanks
Chad

---
Chad Leigh -- Shire.Net LLC
Your Web App and Email hosting provider
chad at shire.net