VAX-to-UNIX mail conversion | This is a memo prepared by Bill Seligman on 11-Jan-1999. It describes how to convert VAX mail folders into a form that can be read by standard mail programs such as Pine. This memo is a supplement to the VAX Migration memo by Dave Leon |
![]() | Quick Summary |
The actual procedure for converting VAX mail to UNIX format is now quite simple. The following is a brief command summary of what's needed. The procedure is explained in more detail below.
On the VAX | On Nevis1 |
---|---|
$ MAIL $ SET FORWARD SMTP%"""unixname@NEVIS1.COLUMBIA.EDU""" $ DIR/FOL $ SET FOL foldername $ EXTRACT/ALL/MAIL foldername.VXM ! ... repeat the above two lines for all ! your folders, including MAIL $ EXIT $ FTP NEVIS1 $ MPUT *.VXM $ EXIT |
# /usr/local/adm/vax2unix.pl *.vxm # mkdir mail/ # mv *.vxm mail/ # # If unixname .NE. vaxname, make # # sure that /etc/aliases is set # # up (see below). |
Note added 16-Mar-2009: This was the Perl script that we used: vax2unix.pl.
![]() | The VAX part of the conversion |
SHOW FILEUnless you have a really unusual setup, your mail is stored in MAIL.MAI. What you should note is the VAX directory in which MAIL.MAI is located; typically this is either your home directory or in [.MAIL]. The location of this directory is important because, when you get to the EXTRACT step below, the extracted files will be located in this same directory.
SET FORWARD SMTP%"""jsmith@NEVIS1.COLUMBIA.EDU"""Note the tripling of the double quotes. If you forget this, the fowarding address will not be interpreted properly. Test that it's done right:
SHOW FORWARD Your mail is being forwarded to SMTP%"jsmith@nevis1.columbia.edu".If you didn't triple the quotes, you won't see any quotes in the computer's response.
DIR/FOLEven if you don't think you have any folders, check anyway. Remember, "MAIL" and "NEWMAIL" are also folders. (Don't bother converting WASTEBASKET, unless you want to convert the mail you're about to delete.)
SET FOL foldername EXTRACT/ALL/MAIL foldername.VXMYou don't have to name the text file "foldername.VXM"; if you want to rename your folders, now is the perfect opportunity. There's nothing special about the extension "VXM" (for "VAX Mail"); I'm only using it as a unique file extension for subsequent conversion steps.
Don't forget to convert the MAIL folder along with the others!
EXIT SET DEF [.MAIL]
FTP NEVIS1 ! You'll be prompted for your UNIX name and password MPUT *.VXM EXIT
Note that by using the .VXM extension for your mail files, you can FTP them all with one command.
All the remaining steps take place on Nevis1.
![]() | The UNIX part of the conversion |
/usr/local/adm/vax2unix.pl *.vxmThis program updates each .vxm file "in place"; that is, the contents of mail.vxm (for example) are copied to mail.vxm.orig, and then the format of mail.vxm is changed.
Do not run vax2unix.pl on the same .vxm file more than once. The UNIX file system is not like the VAX; no backup versions of old files are kept. If you wish to re-run vax2unix.pl for some reason, copy the .orig file first:
cp mail.vxm.orig mail.vxm /usr/local/adm/vax2unix.pl mail.vxm
First, make sure that the mail/ directory exists:
mkdir mail/If the system responds "mkdir: cannot make directory `mail': File exists" then your mail directory already existed. If you've just created your own mail directory, and you'd like your mail to be private, "lock" the directory so only you can read it:
chmod 700 mail/Now move your converted mail files to this directory:
mv *.vxm mail/
alpine...and follow the directions. You should see your .vxm files in your list of folders.
If your account name on Nevis1 is x901jqs, then nothing more need be done. But if your account name is different, then the Nevis1 mail program sendmail has to know that it should route your mail to the new account name. You have to ask Dave Leon or Bill Seligman to edit /etc/aliases and run the newaliases command. The line to be added is (continuing the example above):
x901jqs: jsmith
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