Resolved Avoid root folder path (INBOX).

[Jon Saldaña]

Hi!

I am using PLESK ONYX and Dovecot server for IMAP.

I already configured my mailbox in outlook. But i detected a big problem with the folders proper to the mailbox.

If i configure the mailbox without root folder path: "INBOX" the result is:



I do not understand why the folders are under the inbox.

I do not understand either why my mailbox has two folders for "sent messages" and two folders for "deleted messages". (Spanish and English).

Otherwise, if i put INBOX in the root folder path, the result was just what i was looking for:



BUT, I do not want to put every time and to every client-config the damn "inbox" in the config.


How can I avoid this? How can I solve it ...?


Thanks in advanced!
Regards.

Jon Saldaña

 

[Jon Saldaña]

Please...Any idea...

 

[Jon Saldaña]

Up...

 

[UFHH01]

Hi Jon Saldaña,

your described issue is not at all "Plesk - related", it is a "Microsoft Outlook" issue.



If you desire to discuss non - plesk - related issues/problems/questions, pls. consider to open such a thread at:

=> Home > Forum > General Discussion > Open Topics​

 

[mr-wolf]

@UFHH01 Is it really?

AFAIK it is the choice of Plesk to configure Courier / Dovecot this way.
I know for years that we need to put "INBOX" (in capitals) there and I revisited this need quite recently when I created an autodiscovery for email.

It seems to be the preferred method for Courier (or is it fixed here?).
On Dovecot this can be changed.
On this page a compatibility solution is given. Maybe that should be the way to configure Dovecot in Plesk

Namespaces - Dovecot Wiki

The INBOX prefix has 1 big disadvantage.
I can't set it with neither of the 2 autoprovisioning methods.
Not the Microsoft method (autodiscover.xml) nor the Mozilla method (config-v1.1.xml)

There must be a way to configure dovecot/courier in another way?
I don't know the reason why Plesk chose this configuration nor do I know if it can be changed.
(Not that I will change it as all my clients have it now configured with that prefix.)

It is a shame however that a user intervention is needed to configure an IMAP-account for a Plesk server.

BTW... The local names of the special folders is indeed a "Microsoft Outlook" issue. In the RFC's they should have made these folders obligatory and in the English language. The translation could have been done in the mail client. But that's far too late now and we have to live with that IMAP-folder hell.

Even their own Exchange has those special folders in the local language (how silly).

It's clear that Microsoft wants us to dislike IMAP and move to Exchange...

 

[UFHH01]

Hi mr-wolf,

@UFHH01 Is it really?

Yes, it is.

I know for years that we need to put "INBOX" (in capitals) there and I revisited this need quite recently when I created an autodiscovery for email.

Well, I don't have to do that, for any domain, but Plesk provides as well a KB - article for it ( but for Outlook 2013 ) :

=> IMAP folders are not listed in Outlook 2013​

Pls. read the full article and the provided Microsoft - links.​

I can't set it using the Microsoft method (autodiscover.xml) nor the Mozilla method (config-v1.1.xml)

When I have the time and mood, I will provide a working solution in the new forum article section, where you should be able to follow the step-by-step guide in order to reach your goal.

 

[mr-wolf]

If I have the time and mood, I will provide a working solution in the new forum article section, where you should be able to follow the step-by-step guide in order to reach your goal.

Come on UFHH01
I have searched for this and only found others that were searching the same....

This is what I present Thunderbird.
You're saying there is some hidden directive for the prefix?

cat /var/www/autoconfig_autodiscover/config-v1.1.xml.php

<?php
header ("Content-Type:text/xml");
$mail = $_GET['emailaddress'];
$host = $_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"];

$domain = str_replace("autoconfig.","",$host);
$server = str_replace(".","-",$domain) . ".wolf.com";

echo <<<EOP
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<clientConfig version="1.1">
<emailProvider id="{$domain}">
<domain>{$domain}</domain>
<displayName>{$mail}</displayName>
<displayShortName>{$mail}</displayShortName>
<incomingServer type="imap">
<hostname>{$server}</hostname>
<port>143</port>
<socketType>STARTTLS</socketType>
<username>{$mail}</username>
<authentication>password-cleartext</authentication>
</incomingServer>
<outgoingServer type="smtp">
<hostname>{$server}</hostname>
<port>587</port>
<socketType>STARTTLS</socketType>
<authentication>password-cleartext</authentication>
<username>{$mail}</username>
</outgoingServer>
</emailProvider>
</clientConfig>
EOP;

And this is Microsoft
cat /var/www/autoconfig_autodiscover/autodiscover.xml.php

<?php
preg_match("/\<EMailAddress\>(.*?)\<\/EMailAddress\>/", file_get_contents("php://input"), $matches);
$server = $_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"];

//set Content-Type
header("Content-Type: application/xml");
?>
<?php echo '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>'; ?>
<Autodiscover xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/autodiscover/responseschema/2006">
<Response xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/autodiscover/outlook/responseschema/2006a">
<Account>
<AccountType>email</AccountType>
<Action>settings</Action>
<Protocol>
<Type>IMAP</Type>
<Server><?php echo $server; ?></Server>
<Port>993</Port>
<DomainRequired>off</DomainRequired>
<LoginName><?php echo $matches[1]; ?></LoginName>
<SPA>off</SPA>
<SSL>on</SSL>
<AuthRequired>on</AuthRequired>
</Protocol>
<Protocol>
<Type>SMTP</Type>
<Server><?php echo $server; ?></Server>
<Port>587</Port>
<DomainRequired>off</DomainRequired>
<LoginName><?php echo $matches[1]; ?></LoginName>
<SPA>off</SPA>
<AuthRequired>on</AuthRequired>
<UsePOPAuth>off</UsePOPAuth>
<SMTPLast>off</SMTPLast>
<Encryption>TLS</Encryption>
<TLS>on</TLS>
</Protocol>
</Account>
</Response>
</Autodiscover>

 

[Linulex]

This is the result of a plesk feature.
INBOX. is the way courier-imap works.

Because it is possible to switch between courier en dovecot in plesk it is needed to configure the mail to be compatible with both.
There is a compatibility mode that existing mailboxes would work with INBOX and new work without, switching from courier to dovecot would work then, but from dovecot to courier would not. New mailboxes created in dovecot would not work in courier.
That is why plesk configures dovecot to be fully compatible with courier and why INBOX is still needed.

Namespaces - Dovecot Wiki


Backwards Compatibility: Courier IMAP
Recommended: You can continue using the same INBOX. namespace as Courier:


namespace inbox {
separator = .
prefix = INBOX.
inbox = yes
}


Alternatively: Create the INBOX. as a compatibility name, so old clients can continue using it while new clients will use the empty prefix namespace:


namespace inbox {
separator = /
prefix =
inbox = yes
}
namespace compat {
separator = .
prefix = INBOX.
inbox = no
hidden = yes
list = no
alias_for =
}


Regards
Jan

 

[mr-wolf]

I can't set it using the Microsoft method (autodiscover.xml) nor the Mozilla method (config-v1.1.xml)

When I have the time and mood, I will provide a working solution in the new forum article section, where you should be able to follow the step-by-step guide in order to reach your goal.

Your answer is cryptic and leads me to think that it doesn't contain the answer to the problem I'm having.
If you do, why not just post it?

My autodiscovery works as best as it possibly can IMHO.
There is, AFAIK, no way to set the prefix in autodiscovery.

Is that a hidden feature or do you propose to change Dovecot to use no prefix?