This section provides detailed information on some of MailDoor's more advanced features.
Forwarding mail for unspecified account names
MailDoor is capable of forwarding mail destined for a configured domain name but specifying an account name which has not been configured for that domain. To have MailDoor forward such mail, check the box labeled "Forward all other mail for domain to" and specify a forwarding address. With this box checked, instead of leaving such mail in its input folder (or forwarding the mail to the "no such recipient" address as indicated below), MailDoor will simply forward the mail to the specified address. This option eliminates the need to specify forwarding addresses for every account name within a domain.
Configuring AIMS to pass additional mail to MailDoor
AIMS will normally only pass MailDoor messages destined for MailDoor accounts (that is, for accounts which have been specifically configured to save mail to the MailDoor input folder). It is possible to configure AIMS to pass practically all messages it receives to MailDoor, thus greatly increasing the utility of MailDoor's "forward all other mail for domain" option. Specifically, AIMS can be configured to pass all messages to MailDoor which are not specifically addressed to a non-MailDoor account (that is, to accounts which users log in to directly, or accounts used for mailing lists or direct forwarding by AIMS).
To configure AIMS to pass MailDoor all such messages, you enable the special AIMS account called <any-name>, which is always in the AIMS account list in the "Account Information" window. Enabling the <any-name> account tells AIMS to accept mail sent to any account name, rather than rejecting the mail by returning an error message if there's no account by that name. You then configure the <any-name> account for use with MailDoor precisely as you do any other MailDoor account. That is, you set the forwarding to "Save as files..." and indicate the MailDoor input folder. Be sure to check the box which enables the <any-name> account, which is unchecked by default.
Configuring MailDoor's "no such recipient" address
MailDoor provides a special forwarding address referred to as the MailDoor "no such recipient" (NSR) address. The NSR address is the address to which MailDoor will forward all mail that it cannot successfully forward otherwise.
Mail is forwarded by MailDoor to the NSR address under either of the following conditions:
If you do not configure an NSR address, MailDoor will leave unforwardable e-mail in its input folder, and recheck such e-mail periodically to see if that mail can be delivered due to a change in MailDoor's configuration.
To configure the NSR address, simply select the "Preferences" item from the file menu and enter the e-mail address to forward NSR mail to in the field labeled "forward e-mail for unknown recipients to".
Setting MailDoor's other Preferences
In addition to the NSR address, MailDoor includes other Preference items which you can set. These are the mail checking interval and the maximum forwarding count. In general the defaults for these items should be fine for your needs, but you may wish to fine-tune these items, especially on a heavily loaded server.
The mail checking interval is the time that MailDoor waits before looking into its input folder to see if there's any mail that needs to be forwarded. MailDoor looks in its input folder when it is first run, and then waits for the mail checking interval before looking again.
The maximum forwarding count is the maximum number of mail messages that MailDoor will forward in one mail checking interval. Messages not forwarded in one interval should be forwarded in the next one.
You can configure any of MailDoor's Preferences, including its input folder, by selecting the "Preferences" item from the file menu. Preferences changes take effect immediately.
MailDoor in operation
The MailDoor application must be running for MailDoor to be processing mail. If MailDoor is not running, messages for MailDoor accounts will be saved by AIMS to the MailDoor input folder, but will not be processed by MailDoor. When you next run MailDoor, it will then process these messages. Whenever MailDoor is running, it will periodically check for and process mail, as indicated through the Preferences dialog.
MailDoor generally displays its setup window while it is running. This window can be closed using the "Close Setup Window" command from the file menu, or through the close box. The window can be opened again through the "Open Setup Window" command. When opened, the window can be zoomed between a condensed and expanded view through the zoom box. As long as it is running, MailDoor will continue processing mail regardless of the status of the setup window.
Making changes to MailDoor's configuration
Changes to MailDoor's configuration can be made at any time, and take effect immediately.
To add a new domain, simply click on the "New" button underneath the domain name list. Enter the domain name and then enter the desired forwarding information into the forwarding list to the right of the domain name list. Be sure the domain name has also been configured into the AIMS server names box of the Preferences dialog, and into the associated domain name server (see the Getting Started section for details).
To remove a domain name, simply select the domain name in the domain name list, click the "Remove" button and confirm the removal.
To add a new account name to the forwarding list for a specific domain, first select that domain in the domain list. The forwarding list for that domain will be displayed to the right of the domain name list. Then click on the "New" button underneath the forwarding list and enter the new account name and forwarding address.
To remove an account name from the forwarding list for a specific domain, select that account name in the forwarding list, hit the "Remove" button under that list and confirm the removal.
To change an entry in the forwarding list for a specific domain, select that entry, hit the "Edit" button and type in the new information. You can also double-click the entry in the forwarding list.
The AIMS Postmaster account
AIMS maintains a special account by the name of "Postmaster". Postmaster is an account that is required on all e-mail servers. Errors and problems with the mail server itself are usually sent to Postmaster. In all other ways, Postmaster acts just as any AIMS account. You can choose to configure Postmaster as a MailDoor account, in which case individual domain holders can receive mail sent to Postmaster within their domain. Alternatively, if you wish to handle the postmaster function for all your domains yourself, you can keep Postmaster as a non-MailDoor AIMS account.
Forwarding mail to multiple accounts
There may be situations in which you wish MailDoor to forward mail for a particular account to multiple other mail accounts. To do so, simply use MailDoor to forward the particular account to an AIMS account which has been set up using the "Mailing list..." forwarding option. Then create an AIMS mailing list for this AIMS account, indicating the desired forwarding addresses. See the AIMS documentation for details.
Keeping copies of forwarded mail
In addition to forwarding mail through MailDoor, it is possible to configure a particular AIMS account to also keep a copy of that mail. To do so, simply check the "Keep copies" button after selecting the "Save as files..." forwarding option. In this case, you'll probably want to enable login for the account and specify a password. Keeping copies in this manner allows, for instance, one master account holder (like a master Webmaster) to see mail addressed to all other account holders using the same name.
Abbreviated mail addresses and the AIMS default domain
AIMS allows the use of "abbreviated" mail addresses. Specifically, when using AIMS to forward mail from one account to another, or to a mailing list, if the destination account is on the same AIMS server, the domain name part of the e-mail address need not be specified. Instead of forwarding to "John@mydomainname.com", you can simply forward to "John". If there is no domain name specified, AIMS will always use the "default domain name" for the server. The default domain name is specified in the "Server names" part of the Preferences dialog box.
MailDoor also supports the use of abbreviated mail addresses in the "forward to" field, however such use is not recommended. In a multi-domain environment, it is quite easy to misconfigure or forget the default domain name for the server, resulting in mail being delivered to an account of the same name but for a different domain. Thus it is recommended that mail addresses always be fully specified.
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