Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

El manual de KMail
Anterior |  | Siguiente

# Capítulo 7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

7.1. Does KMail support IMAP?
7.2. Are there any known bugs in KMail?
7.3. Can I use KMail and procmail?
7.4. How do I use my Eudora/Netscape/Outlook/... mail folders in KMail?
7.5. KMail doesn't display HTML mail as HTML, I can only see the source.
7.6. How can I use mail folders that are not in `~/Mail/`?
7.7. My folders keep growing even when I delete messages.
7.8. What should I know if I want to use PGP/GnuPG with KMail?
7.9. Spellchecking doesn't recognize non-english characters.
7.10. Which version of KMail supports which version of PGP/GnuPG?
7.11. Can I use encryption with my normal (non-SSL) POP3 account?
7.12. Does KMail lock the folders it uses?
7.13. How do I leave mail on the server?
7.14. How do I automatically insert a text footer within my mails?
7.15. Why does KMail keep asking me for the location of my signature file?
7.16. Why doesn't word wrap work in the Composer window?
7.17. How can I find out how many unread messages I have in a mail folder?
7.18. How do I set up sendmail to work with KMail if I have a dial-up connection?

7.1. Does KMail support IMAP?

Not yet. No, we have no idea when it will be ready. Currently you can still receive mails via IMAP by using fetchmail:

- Create a file `~/.fetchmailrc` which contains the following lines:

       poll <your-mail-server>
       proto IMAP
       user <your-username>
       pass <your-password>

  If your mail username and your local username differ you have to add the following entry:

       is <local-username>

- Execute chmod 700 ~/.fetchmailrc

- Create a local account in KMail

- Enter `fetchmail` in the field Precommand (That's not necessary if you have a permanent connection to the net. In that case you're better off leaving fetchmail running as a daemon. This also has the advantage that you won't have to add your password to `~/.fetchmailrc`, you will be asked for it when the daemon starts.)

- Check your mail

7.2. Are there any known bugs in KMail?

You can find a list of submitted bugs at bugs.kde.org. Not all these bugs are "real", some are based on misunderstanding of features etc. Here's a real problem: KMail will not delete some temporary files if it crashes. In this case, you should cd to `~/.kde/share/apps/kmail/tmp/` and delete all the files and folders there.

7.3. Can I use KMail and procmail?

Yes, but it's important to do it the right way or you might lose mail. Do not let procmail sort the mail to `~/Mail`, but to some other directory which you then access by KMail as a Local Mailbox. I.e. you have to add another account in the Network tab of the Configuration dialog. Also see the FAQ about lockfiles.

7.4. How do I use my Eudora/Netscape/Outlook/... mail folders in KMail?

See the section Using other Mailbox files With KMail.

7.5. KMail doesn't display HTML mail as HTML, I can only see the source.

Select Folder->Prefer HTML to plain text. For security reasons you should only do so for mails from trusted sources.

7.6. How can I use mail folders that are not in `~/Mail/`?

Simply create a symlink in your `~/Mail` directory using ln -s /somewhere/Mail/mymailboxfile ~/Mail/remote. When you start KMail you will see a new folder with the name remote that contains the mails in your remote folder. If you want to add a whole remote mail directory use ln -s /somewhere/Mail ~/Mail/.remotedir.directory. For that case you also need to create a new empty folder named `remotedir` with KMail. The folder `remotedir` will then contain all remote mailbox folders as subfolders.

7.7. My folders keep growing even when I delete messages.

To really remove deleted messages from disk, you have to compact your folders. To do so automatically, open up the Settings->Configuration... window, select the Miscellaneous tab and select Compact all folders on exit. Maybe you want to select Empty trash on exit, too. This will remove all the messages in the trash folder whenever you exit KMail.

7.8. What should I know if I want to use PGP/GnuPG with KMail?

KMail provides a simple and easy to use interface for basic functions of these programs. Still you should understand how these programs work and what might make them insecure. Important issues:

- Trusting a foreign public key without checking it is no good idea.

- As most other mail clients, KMail can encrypt your messages, but not your attachments. You have to encrypt them manually before you attach them.

- You really should test if encryption works before you use it. KMail relies on PGP/GnuPG's error strings, which often change between different versions.

- There's a bug in KMail 1.1.99 (which comes with KDE 2.0 and 2.0.1) that makes PGP not work if you use a different language than English. You can work around it this way (KMail will still use your favourite language):

  - Rename `/usr/bin/kmail` to `/usr/bin/kmail.original`

  - Install in `/usr/bin` the following shell script, calling it `kmail` and making sure it is owned by "root" and has 755 permissions (rwxr-xr-x):

         #!/bin/bash
         LANGUAGE=en
         export LANGUAGE
         kmail.original $*

7.9. Spellchecking doesn't recognize non-english characters.

Before you can use spellchecking the first time, you have to configure it. You can do so in the Composer window's menu under Settings->Spellchecker....

7.10. Which version of KMail supports which version of PGP/GnuPG?

KMail 1.0.x: The unpatched version supports only PGP (version 2.x and 5.x). KMail will prefer version 5.x if both versions are installed. There is no way for the user to force KMail to use version 2.x in this case. There are patches for PGP6 and GnuPG support at KMail's homepage. If the GnuPG patch is applied, and GnuPG and PGP are installed, KMail will prefer GnuPG. Here is no way to force KMail to use PGP.

KMail 1.1.x: This has at least the improvements from the patches above.

7.11. Can I use encryption with my normal (non-SSL) POP3 account?

If your POP3 server runs an ssh daemon, you can use ssh to tunnel your POP3 connection using the following command:

`ssh -L 110:127.0.0.1:110 user@host`

Modify your KMail configuration to fetch the mail via POP3 from `localhost`, ssh will tunnel the connection for you. You need to be root to execute this command. Alternatively, change the first port number, i.e. the first occurence of `110`, to something above 1024 and configure KMail to use that port.

Note: if non-encrypted mails have already been sent via internet, the (only) advantage of using ssh is that your password will be sent encrypted to the POP3 server.

7.12. Does KMail lock the folders it uses?

KMail's file locking implementation uses the fcntl system calls by default. This has problems in situations where your mail account folders are mounted over nfs. There is a new hidden option where you can change the locking implementation for local mail accounts. This will enable you to use a local mail account which is mounted over nfs.

To avoid the risk of losing mail when using a local account it is necessary to ensure that KMail uses the same type of locking as your mail delivery agent.

There are five different locking options you can use:

- procmail_lockfile

- mutt_dotlock

- mutt_dotlock_privileged

- fcntl

- none

procmail_lockfile will use a small utility that comes with procmail called lockfile. You can use this if your mail folder is in a directory where you have write permissions. This will not work on your /var/spool/mail/user file in most cases. It will create .lock files on your account when KMail is checking for new mail. Please note that this will only work if procmail is installed on your system.

mutt_dotlock and mutt_dotlock_privileged will both use a small utility that comes with mutt called mutt_dotlock. mutt_dotlock can be used in the same way as the procmail_lockfile option, with the same limitation with regards to the `/var/spool/mail/` folders. However, the mutt_dotlock_privileged option can create lock files in the `/var/spool/mail` directory. mutt_dotlock is a setgid program and this option will run mutt_dotlock in setgid mode. Please note that these options will only work if mutt is installed on your system.

fcntl: the default option will use the fcntl system call.

If you don't want to use any locking, the none option is what you want. However, there are risks of losing mail when no locking is used.

In your `kmailrc`, there are group sections for each of your mail accounts. These will typically look like:

     [Account 1]
     Folder=inbox
     Location=/net/ns/home/wynnw/.newmail
     Name=Work
     Type=local
     check-exclude=false
     check-interval=10
     precommand=

To change the account to use the locking mechanism you want, change it to:

     [Account 1]
     Folder=inbox
     Location=/net/ns/home/wynnw/.newmail
     Name=Work
     Type=local
     check-exclude=false
     check-interval=10
     precommand=
     LockType=<value>

where <value> is procmail_lockfile, mutt_dotlock, mutt_dotlock_privileged, fcntl or none. So an actual working account group would look like:

     [Account 1]
     Folder=inbox
     Location=/net/ns/home/wynnw/.newmail
     Name=Work
     Type=local
     check-exclude=false
     check-interval=10
     precommand=
     LockType=mutt_dotlock

Please make the changes exactly as you see them here - case sensitivity is very important, as is spelling.

7.13. How do I leave mail on the server?

Open up the Settings->Configuration... window. Click on the Network tab. Select your account from the account list and click the Modify button. This dialog contains the Delete mail from server setting which you must not select.

7.14. How do I automatically insert a text footer within my mails?

The text footer is called a signature file. Select Settings->Configuration... Look in the Identity tab for the Specify signature below field. Select the radio button and type your signature below.

7.15. Why does KMail keep asking me for the location of my signature file?

KMail will ask you the location of your signature file if you have checked the option Use a signature from file in the Composer tab of the Configure dialog, but have not specified a signature file in the Identity tab. You should either specify a signature file or deselect Use a signature from file.

7.16. Why doesn't word wrap work in the Composer window?

The word wrap setting is probably turned off. Word wrap can be toggled on and off in the Composer tab of the Configure dialog.

7.17. How can I find out how many unread messages I have in a mail folder?

The number of unread messages is conveniently displayed in the Folders pane after the folder name.

7.18. How do I set up sendmail to work with KMail if I have a dial-up connection?

First you should check if your Linux/BSD/whatever distribution can do this for you. Perhaps it has already been set up during installation.

If that's not the case, you may want to have a look at the Mail Queue HOWTO or at UCT Linux User's group page on configuring sendmail for Dial-up connections.

Anterior | Inicio | Siguiente
The Composer Window |  | Epilogue