The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Internet Mailbox Problems Stan Johnstone stanj@melbpc.org.au

As administrators of the Melb PC Internet Service we often receive calls from subscribers who have a large file blocking their mailbox and ask if we can remove it for them so their mail will flow normally.

Yes, we can do this - but so can you!

There are a number of programs that enable you to access your mailbox to look inside and then select messages for deletion from the server prior to opening your mailer program. One of the problems a system administrator faces is the large number of unwanted messages, some of which may be very large. Before opening my mailer program I always check the contents of my mailbox first, and delete any unwanted or oversized messages.

An excellent program is ScanMail. It is freeware and available from http://www.kempston.demon.co.uk/smb/. To use ScanMail you will may need to obtain the file VB40032.DLL. Copy it into your C:\Windows\System folder. A ScanMail icon on your desktop makes it readily available to use whenever needed.

Configuration of ScanMail is very simple - use File | Configure | Accounts to add a new Account, with the POP3 Server address (popa.melbpc.org.au for Melb PC subscribers), your Login Name eg stanj, and your Password where indicated. For each e-mail account, you can specify the information you require by selecting Connection I Account Options and then the Mail List tab. As can be seen from Figure 1 below, ScanMail lists the headers of all e-mail currently in your mailbox, and can be configured individually for accounts at different ISPs.

In the sample shown there are three files marked for deletion, and to delete these it was a simple matter to move to the pull-down menu under Message and select to delete the highlighted messages, which occurs on exiting the program. Although only the message headers are shown, the full details of the message size, date, sender, etc. are listed for your information. Another excellent feature is that a double-click on any header will allow a preview of the contents of the message. Not bad for a program available free for non-commercial use!

It is important to remember that only one program can access a mailbox at any one time. To download normally ensure that all other programs such as ScanMail are closed. Mailbox "lock" In Place

When your mailbox is accessed using a mailer program or one of these mailbox management programs, the mailbox is locked by the system and on occasions you may receive an error message to this effect. This locking of the mailbox delays any further incoming messages until the mailbox has been freed by the mailer program advising that it had finished downloading mail.

Sometimes a mailbox may not be successfully freed due to an interrupted download or similar factor, and the mailbox will remain in locked condition until the system detects the problem. This may take some minutes before the system resets the mailbox and is then ready for access or to accept messages which may have been held back.

Removing Downloaded Mail from the Server

The default setting for all mailer programs is to delete all downloaded mail from the server after it has been successfully downloaded. This is done by your mailer program advising the server that the e-mail has been downloaded, and unless requested otherwise it will be deleted from the system. As a program such as ScanMail lists all the contents of your mailbox, it becomes obvious very quickly if messages are not being deleted.

In some cases you may wish to retain downloaded mail on the server for one reason or another, such as when travelling and although reading from a remote site while away, you may want to be able to download and retain copies on your return home. However for normal use leaving a copy on the server is considered unwise as your mailbox steadily increases in size. This means that the mailer program has to sort through all messages in your mailbox each time of access and select only those e-mail messages which are to be downloaded. If the mailbox is allowed to continue to accumulate mail it and can become overfull, and having reached this limit, messages will be returned to the sender with appropriate notification.

Mailbox Size and Capacity

Melb PC subscribers have a mailbox capacity of 8 MB which is about the practical limit of e-mail that can be downloaded during a normal access period. Many ISPs make only 2 MB available, and with increased use of e-mail for attachments this can be restrictive. New mail will continue to be received provided the limit has not been reached, and once the limit has been reached no further mail can be accepted. Melb PC has a policy to automatically advise senders the that their message was not received by a automatic message similar to:

Reprinted from the September 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

[About Melbourne PC User Group]