A question about Configure time options, and base directories and Defaults?

[Robert Chalmers]

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