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authorPaul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>2017-03-16 23:50:37 -0700
committerPaul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>2017-03-17 00:15:48 -0700
commit9f771f6440a61433d34f14aee4046cf2fa6ba391 (patch)
tree2394bc49b97cd025f338af449fc97992db3f9ccf /doc/emacs/rmail.texi
parentffbb46849990bf4bf952e01b78c9a1a0ca0d4432 (diff)
downloademacs-9f771f6440a61433d34f14aee4046cf2fa6ba391.tar.gz
Emacs 'movemail' is now a configure-time option
The new configure option --with-mailutils lets the builder say that Emacs should assume that GNU Mailutils is installed, instead of continuing to build and install its own limited and insecure substitute for 'movemail'. * INSTALL, etc/NEWS, etc/PROBLEMS: Mention --with-mailutils. * configure.ac: Add --with-mailutils option. (with_mailutils): New variable. Do not bother configuring 'movemail' when not building it. Warn about issues relating to --with-mailutils. * doc/emacs/rmail.texi (Movemail): Mention --with-mailutils. (Movemail, Remote Mailboxes): Document port numbers in POP and IMAP URLs. * lib-src/Makefile.in (with_mailutils): New macro. (UTILITIES): Use it.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/emacs/rmail.texi')
-rw-r--r--doc/emacs/rmail.texi82
1 files changed, 41 insertions, 41 deletions
diff --git a/doc/emacs/rmail.texi b/doc/emacs/rmail.texi
index d46398281fb..b64ec223be7 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/rmail.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/rmail.texi
@@ -1380,15 +1380,17 @@ which applies the code when displaying the text.
your Rmail file (@pxref{Rmail Inbox}). When loaded for the first time,
Rmail attempts to locate the @code{movemail} program and determine its
version. There are two versions of the @code{movemail} program: the
-native one, shipped with GNU Emacs (the Emacs version) and the one
-included in GNU mailutils (the mailutils version,
-@pxref{movemail,,,mailutils,GNU mailutils}). They support the same
+GNU Mailutils version (@pxref{movemail,,,mailutils,GNU mailutils}),
+and an Emacs-specific version that is built and installed unless Emacs
+was configured using the @option{--with-mailutils} option.
+The two @command{mailtool} versions support the same
command line syntax and the same basic subset of options. However, the
Mailutils version offers additional features.
- The Emacs version of @code{movemail} is able to retrieve mail from
-the usual Unix mailbox formats and from remote mailboxes using the
-POP3 protocol.
+ The Emacs version of @command{movemail} can retrieve mail from the
+usual Unix mailbox formats. Although it can also use the POP3
+protocol, this is not recommended because it does not support POP3 via
+encrypted TLS channels.
The Mailutils version is able to handle a wide set of mailbox
formats, such as plain Unix mailboxes, @code{maildir} and @code{MH}
@@ -1401,7 +1403,7 @@ in @ref{URL,,,mailutils,Mailbox URL Formats}. In short, a
@acronym{URL} is:
@smallexample
-@var{proto}://[@var{user}[:@var{password}]@@]@var{host-or-file-name}
+@var{proto}://[@var{user}[:@var{password}]@@]@var{host-or-file-name}[:@var{port}]
@end smallexample
@noindent
@@ -1422,6 +1424,9 @@ User password to access the remote mailbox.
@item host-or-file-name
Hostname of the remote server for remote mailboxes or file name of a
local mailbox.
+
+@item port
+Optional port number, if not the default for that protocal.
@end table
@noindent
@@ -1429,19 +1434,20 @@ local mailbox.
@table @code
@item mbox
-Usual Unix mailbox format. In this case, neither @var{user} nor
-@var{pass} are used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the file name
-of the mailbox file, e.g., @code{mbox://var/spool/mail/smith}.
+Usual Unix mailbox format. In this case, @var{user}, @var{pass} and
+@var{port} are not used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the file
+name of the mailbox file, e.g., @code{mbox://var/spool/mail/smith}.
@item mh
-A local mailbox in the @acronym{MH} format. @var{user} and
-@var{pass} are not used. @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the name of
-@acronym{MH} folder, e.g., @code{mh://Mail/inbox}.
+A local mailbox in the @acronym{MH} format. @var{user}, @var{pass}
+and @var{port} are not used. @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the name
+of @acronym{MH} folder, e.g., @code{mh://Mail/inbox}.
@item maildir
-A local mailbox in the @acronym{maildir} format. @var{user} and
-@var{pass} are not used, and @var{host-or-file-name} denotes the name of
-@code{maildir} mailbox, e.g., @code{maildir://mail/inbox}.
+A local mailbox in the @acronym{maildir} format. @var{user},
+@var{pass} and @var{port} are not used, and @var{host-or-file-name}
+denotes the name of @code{maildir} mailbox, e.g.,
+@code{maildir://mail/inbox}.
@item file
Any local mailbox format. Its actual format is detected automatically
@@ -1451,15 +1457,15 @@ by @code{movemail}.
A remote mailbox to be accessed via POP3 protocol. @var{user}
specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to
specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP
-address of the remote mail server to connect to; e.g.,
-@code{pop://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}.
+address of the remote mail server to connect to, and @var{port} is the
+port number; e.g., @code{pop://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net:995}.
@item imap
A remote mailbox to be accessed via IMAP4 protocol. @var{user}
specifies the remote user name to use, @var{pass} may be used to
specify the user password, @var{host-or-file-name} is the name or IP
-address of the remote mail server to connect to;
-e.g., @code{imap://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net}.
+address of the remote mail server to connect to, and @var{port} is the
+port number; e.g., @code{imap://smith:guessme@@remote.server.net:993}.
@end table
Alternatively, you can specify the file name of the mailbox to use.
@@ -1483,44 +1489,40 @@ listed in @code{rmail-movemail-search-path}, then in @code{exec-path}
@pindex movemail
Some sites use a method called POP for accessing users' inbox data
-instead of storing the data in inbox files. By default, the @code{Emacs
-movemail} can work with POP (unless the Emacs @code{configure} script
-was run with the option @samp{--without-pop}).
-
-Similarly, the Mailutils @code{movemail} by default supports POP, unless
-it was configured with the @samp{--disable-pop} option.
-
-Both versions of @code{movemail} only work with POP3, not with older
-versions of POP.
+instead of storing the data in inbox files. The Mailutils
+@command{movemail} by default supports POP with TLS encryption.
+Although the @command{Emacs movemail} supports unencrypted POP, this
+is not recommended due to the lack of encryption. Both versions of
+@command{movemail} work only with POP3, not with older versions of
+POP.
@cindex @env{MAILHOST} environment variable
@cindex POP mailboxes
- No matter which flavor of @code{movemail} you use, you can specify
+ You can specify
a POP inbox by using a POP @dfn{URL} (@pxref{Movemail}). A POP
@acronym{URL} is of the form
-@samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}, where
-@var{hostname} is the host name or IP address of the remote mail
+@samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}:@var{port}}, where
+@var{hostname} and @var{port} are the host name (or IP address)
+and port number of the remote mail
server and @var{username} is the user name on that server.
Additionally, you may specify the password in the mailbox @acronym{URL}:
-@samp{pop://@var{username}:@var{password}@@@var{hostname}}. In this
+@samp{pop://@var{username}:@var{password}@@@var{hostname}:@var{port}}. In this
case, @var{password} takes preference over the one set by
@code{rmail-remote-password} (see below). This is especially useful
if you have several remote mailboxes with different passwords.
For backward compatibility, Rmail also supports an alternative way of
specifying remote POP mailboxes. Specifying an inbox name in the form
-@samp{po:@var{username}:@var{hostname}} is equivalent to
-@samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}}. If you omit the
+@samp{po:@var{username}:@var{hostname}:@var{port}} is equivalent to
+@samp{pop://@var{username}@@@var{hostname}:@var{port}}. If you omit the
@var{:hostname} part, the @env{MAILHOST} environment variable specifies
the machine on which to look for the POP server.
-@c FIXME mention --with-hesiod "support Hesiod to get the POP server host"?
-
@cindex IMAP mailboxes
Another method for accessing remote mailboxes is IMAP@. This method is
supported only by the Mailutils @code{movemail}. To specify an IMAP
mailbox in the inbox list, use the following mailbox @acronym{URL}:
-@samp{imap://@var{username}[:@var{password}]@@@var{hostname}}. The
+@samp{imap://@var{username}[:@var{password}]@@@var{hostname}:@var{port}}. The
@var{password} part is optional, as described above.
@vindex rmail-remote-password
@@ -1550,9 +1552,7 @@ preserve your inbox contents; use @code{rmail-preserve-inbox} instead.
@cindex Kerberos POP authentication
The @code{movemail} program installed at your site may support
-Kerberos authentication (the Emacs @code{movemail} does so if Emacs was
-configured with the option @code{--with-kerberos} or
-@code{--with-kerberos5}). If it is supported, it is used by default
+Kerberos authentication. If it is supported, it is used by default
whenever you attempt to retrieve POP mail when
@code{rmail-remote-password} and @code{rmail-remote-password-required}
are unset.