where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

[lcharles]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

I renamed the files as suggested. There are however two *_resource_# files, #1 and #2. #1 contains:

[General]
Path[$e]=$HOME/.local/share/local-mail

#2 contains:

[General]
Path[$e]=$HOME/.local/share/local-mail
TopLevelIsContainer=true

Specialmailcollectionsrc is there and it has:

[SpecialCollections]
DefaultResourceId=akonadi_maildir_resource_2

So I assume the right thing to do is delete the resource #1 file.

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

So I assume the right thing to do is delete the resource #1 file.

I'd rename rather than delete, but it's probably safe to delete (it's likely left over for a previous local resource...and I'm not sure whether it's really causing any issues, but I'd rename/delete just to be sure)

EDIT:
btw, this

TopLevelIsContainer=true

is probably why your mail directories are inside local-mail rather than in .local.mail.directory (looks like I learn something new every day)

[lcharles]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

So I renamed the #1 file, started kmail and set up the account per step 9.

At step 10, when I check for mail I get a repeat of a previous error:

Local Folders: Maildir "for collection" is invalid

The hint here as to what's going bad is when kmail asked for my email account password the account was noted as,

'Account: akonadi_pop3_resource_3

It seems to have set up yet a new file that's numbered 3 not 2.

But when I look in ~/.kde/share/config there is no resource_3 file.

The folder set up in 'local-mail' and what's shown in kmail when I start it is the same as I noted before (that is they don't match).

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

The hint here as to what's going bad is when kmail asked for my email account password the account was noted as,

'Account: akonadi_pop3_resource_3

It seems to have set up yet a new file that's numbered 3 not 2.

But when I look in ~/.kde/share/config there is no resource_3 file.

Are you sure you're not confusing your pop3_resource_3 with maildir_resource_2, the maildir agent is in charge of locally stored mail (Local Folders) while the pop3 agent handles fetching mail from a remote pop3 server (in other words, there should be an akonadi_maildir_resource_2rc and an akonadi_pop3_resource_3rc in ~/.kde/share/config...there might be other pop3 resource configs there as well, from previous configuration attempts, but these really shouldn't cause issues although they should be safe to remove.)

Local Folders: Maildir "for collection" is invalid

This suggests (to me) that there is still something wrong with the Local folders (maildir) configuration...the pop3 resource might be able to connect to the remote server but doesn't know where to put the mail since your "inbox" should be found in the Local Folders. This is a bit of a headscratcher, but I'll get back to you after I take a closer look at the info you have provided during the thread.

The folder set up in 'local-mail' and what's shown in kmail when I start it is the same as I noted before (that is they don't match).

I missed the part where they don't match, I'll take another look.

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

The folder set up in 'local-mail' and what's shown in kmail when I start it is the same as I noted before (that is they don't match).

I missed the part where they don't match, I'll take another look.

Right, this one:

When I look at /~/.local/share/local-mail it contains the following directories. .Kmail-Import.directory (which is where the imported /Mail structure was put), templates, sent-mail, outbox, and Kmail-Import.

When I start kmail the folder structure I see (in order) is 'inbox, outbox, sent-mail, trash, drafts, templates, Kmail-Imports'.

1. So you're basically missing inbox, trash and drafts in ~/.local/share/local-mail?
2. And there is no hidden directory ~/.local/share/.local-mail.directory? (don't create it if there isn't)
3. What happens if you create inbox, drafts and trash manually (including the cur, new and tmp subdirectories for each one)?

[lcharles]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

First, you're right. I was confusing pop3_resource_3 with maildir_resource_2. They are both there.

On to the other items.

1. Yes I'm missing inbox, trash and drafts in ~/.local/share/local-mail.
2. There is no hidden directory ~/.local/share/.local-mail.directory. The hidden directory is .Kmail-Import.directory which I guess goes along with the Kmail-Import directory.
3. If I create inbox, drafts and trash manually, as I am creating them I get an error. So I create inbox and I get an error similar to the Local Folders error only it tells me there is no 'cur'. After I create the cur directory inside inbox things appear to be alright. The same thing happened when I created the trash and drafts directories.

And for the finale when I try to run kmail I get a fatal error;

"failed to fetch the resource collection"

I click "OK" and kmail shuts down.

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

2. The hidden directory is .Kmail-Import.directory which I guess goes along with the Kmail-Import directory.

That's per the maildir spec, maildir directories should only have cur, new and tmp in them (any subdirectories for a maildir are stored in a separate hidden directory (Kmail-Import subdirectories are in .Kmail-Import.directory), so that's normal.

3. If I create inbox, drafts and trash manually, as I am creating them I get an error.

I meant creating them in dolphin while kmail and the Local Folders akonadi resource (stop the resource in akonadiconsole) weren't running, which I obviously failed to mention :P ...I'm sorry for that

After I create the cur directory inside inbox things appear to be alright. The same thing happened when I created the trash and drafts directories.

Did you also create new and tmp subdirectories?

If these don't help, keep reading...

---
I wonder if the fact that we cleared the configs only after creating the local folders resource was created (and your mail imported) has something to do with the problems (it probably would have been better to clear everything first and then start from a clean slate).

If you're up to it (and not too frustrated with the whole thing) you could go through the steps again (you probably already know how to do them by now...just doing them in a different order)
You still have your old mail backed up safely, yes?
1. Remove the maildir and pop3 resource (akonadiconsole)
2. Clear the related kmail (same list as before) and resource config files in (~/.kde/share/config)
3. remove the directories under ~/.local/share/local-mail (leave the top-level local-mail directory)
4. Start kmail to see if it starts (and whether it might automatically create the local folders resource correctly)
5. If the local folders resource wasn't created, create it manually (quit kmail and create in akonadiconsole)
6. At this point, compare the directories in kmail and the maildir directory once again to see if they match.
7. create your mail account and see if it fetches.
8. If things are working...import your old mail to kmail again.

[lcharles]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

So just to begin, of course it's a bit frustrating, but I really appreciate the time your taking to walk me through this. Besides I get to learn a bit more about Linux.

So I didn't get to far in relation to your last post. Previously I did create new and tmp subdirectories along with cur before I tried to get mail.

I tried step 1 in your new post. But I can't remove the maildir from akonadiconsole. I assume what your asking me to remove are the agents for the pop3 and 'Local Folders". But Local Folders keeps getting recreated after I delete it and the resource number increases by one. So now in my ~/.kde/share/config directory I have 8 akonadi_maildir_resource_(1-8) files. So I thought I should stop here before going any further.

An addition note. I have Conky installed and one of the things it monitors is cpu activity. After I tried to delete the Local Folders they are running like crazy even though I've closed adonadiconsole. The processes running are, dbus-daemon, mysqld, akonadiserver, and akonadi_maildis. I don't know if that's useful information or not to pass on.

One other strange thing (from my perspective, since it's obvious I'm relatively ignorant about Linux). Kmail runs while all of these other things are running. No fatal error message. Clicking on get mail doesn't do anything but the rest of the package seems to be there and working.

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

I tried step 1 in your new post. But I can't remove the maildir from akonadiconsole. I assume what your asking me to remove are the agents for the pop3 and 'Local Folders".

Yes.

But Local Folders keeps getting recreated after I delete it and the resource number increases by one.

The first thing on my list should have been "quit kmail"...if that doesn't help and the local folders resource keeps reappearing, you can stop akonadiserver temporarily in akonadiconsole>Server>StopServer...if you stop it, don't forget to restart after step 3 (clear mail directories). Don't do anything yet, though, read the next paragraph first.

Kmail runs while all of these other things are running. No fatal error message. Clicking on get mail doesn't do anything but the rest of the package seems to be there and working.

Do you still have that pop3 resource set? if not, that might be the reason "getting mail" is not functional. I'd try configuring your pop3 account before doing anything else (it's possible that the Local Folders resource that was automatically created when you tried to remove the old one actually works...especially if you put those missing directories in the maildir). Worth a shot anyway, before going around in the carousel once more.

[lcharles]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

Well hooray! I configured my pop3 account and I can get and receive email!!!!!

Now being paranoid, before I change anything else and import my old emails.

The directory structure in kmail when is is running is:

inbox, outbox, sent-mail, trash, drafts, templates. My directory structure in my home folder is:

~/.local/share In this directory there is a hidden subdirectory .local-mail.directory

The sub directory set up in here duplicates what is in kmail when it is running. And my email seems to be stored here. However in ~/.local/share/local-mail I have:

.Kmail-import.directory, trash, tmp, templates, sent-mail, outbox, new, Kmail-Import, inbox, drafts, cur.

So where from here?

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

The directory structure in kmail when is is running is:
inbox, outbox, sent-mail, trash, drafts, templates. My directory structure in my home folder is:
~/.local/share In this directory there is a hidden subdirectory .local-mail.directory
The sub directory set up in here duplicates what is in kmail when it is running. And my email seems to be stored here.

That's the directory structure I was sort of expecting to "see" the first time.

However in ~/.local/share/local-mail I have:
.Kmail-import.directory, trash, tmp, templates, sent-mail, outbox, new, Kmail-Import, inbox, drafts, cur.

In here, you should (am I really going to suggest this after all that trouble :P) leave just cur, new and tmp and delete the rest (your real directory structure should be in the hidden ~/.local/share/.local-mail.directory like you concluded)...you might wish to quit kmail before you delete...just in case.

Before importing your mail you should try sending mail as well (just to check that maildispatcher agent is also working...that's the agent that sends your outgoing mail).

[lcharles]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

Great, that worked. Thanks so much for your help. I have two final questions. I notice that 12.04 is coming, probably sometime in April. In your opinion would it be better to upgrade or do a clean install?

If I do a clean install is there a current guide somewhere that will explain how to save my emails and get them back into kmail on the install? In fact are there guides for duplicating all of the software and settings and such from my current set up in a clean install?

(Sorry that's three questions)

Thanks again.

[kubicle]

Re: where is the kmail2 inbox folder located?

Great, that worked. Thanks so much for your help. I have two final questions. I notice that 12.04 is coming, probably sometime in April. In your opinion would it be better to upgrade or do a clean install?

I generally don't do blanket recommendations on upgrades/reinstalls, there are enough variables involved to make one method work best for some users/set-ups and the other work best for others.

*if* I had to recommend a method, I'd recommend preparing like you'd do a clean install, but try upgrading first:
1. Make back-ups of personal, important and hard to recreate data (and everything else you'd like to keep), even if you have /home on a separate partition you could keep intact during a re-installation. (Of course you should always have such backups anyway).
2. Try upgrading first, some issues/conflicts are certainly not unheard of, but are usually solvable. (as a general rule, the closer your system is to "standard", the better it goes (a lot of ppas, other 3rd party repos and exotic software installed are more likely to cause issues than a "vanilla" system.)
3. If upgrade fails catastrophically and unsolvably (which should be rare), you can always do a reinstall (as you've prepared to so)

If I do a clean install is there a current guide somewhere that will explain how to save my emails and get them back into kmail on the install?

Backing up and importing your mail should always be a safe and working choice (of course imap users can just resync), now that you've moved from kmail1 to kmail2 it should be a smoother experience the next time. If you upgrade (or re-install keeping a separate /home partition intact [not formatting and mounting as /home] your mail should be there once you boot up (this is not an excuse to not make backups, though).

In fact are there guides for duplicating all of the software and settings and such from my current set up in a clean install?

There probably are, but I can't (from the top of my head) point you to a complete guide, perhaps someone else can pitch in if they know a good one.

You can create a list of installed software packages that you can import on a fresh installation to mirror the package selection you had on the old installation. You can create a list and write it to your home directory with 'dpkg --get-selections > ~/mypackagelist.txt'. GUI Package managers may also have this functionality built in (I know Synaptic does [both "export" and "import"], but I don't use Muon so I don't whether it has it or not...feel free to pitch in if you do know).

Settings are somewhat more complicated, though. As there often are both subtle and not-so-subtle changes in configuration files between release versions, you can't really be sure your old configs can be a drop-in replacement in a new version (although they should be if you need to re-install the *same*version for some reason). Most configs will work most of the time, but some may not.