On 2 August Jay S. wrote: > ... there are ways to archive emails in PowerMail, and I'm > sure that somebody who has done that will contribute to this > thread.
I got into the habit of archiving my emails with the arrival of Emailer 2. I use two methods, one 'direct' and the other 'indirect'. The 'direct' method means using software that will do all that one wants without any intervention from the user beyond setting it up; for me this means archiving the designated email folders and moving the archived messages to the folder of choice (which can include Mail Trash) or deleting them. My preferred system here, used for regular correspondence and lists such as this, is eMA (eMessageArchiver) <http:// homepage.mac.com/thinkagain/Mac/eMA/>. Developed by John Carlsen, this uses Applescript to archive to a FileMaker database. It is not necessary to own FileMaker as John offers a free eMA-only version of FileMaker Pro 6. It works 'native' with PowerMail as well as several other mail programmes and some newsreaders. Because, I suspect, of its use of Applescript, it is not especially fast. The visual design is perhaps best described as functional. The only downside that I've found is in its error message; fortunately they do not appear too often as they are pretty incomprehensible to an 'average' user such as I. John does support the system and there is a discussion list. Recently I have found another 'direct' system, Mail Archiver X <http:// www.mothsoftware.com/home.html>. This is in beta now. In my limited testing I find it faster than eMA and visually more appealing; one interesting feature (that I have not tested) is its ability to 'burst' digests. The author is responsive to suggestions and her to-do list includes most of weak points that I have found. I use an 'indirect' method for newsletters such as the Scout Report, CryptoGram etc. Originally this used C&G's InfoGenie. With the demise of C&G, the code reverted to its author who has developed it further and named it iData <http://www.idata2.com/>. The strength of iData is fast text searching which can include several databases (which need not be open). iData will import email messages from several programmes including PowerMail. In the case of PM the selected messages/folders must first be exported in PowerMail Exchange format and then iData told to import them. It might be possible to script these operations, in part or completely, but I lack the skills to attempt this. In fairness I should mention MailSteward <http://www.mailsteward.com/>. I have not tried it as my reading of the site suggests that it is integrated only with Mail. To use it with PM would appear to require the export of the selected messages/folders as mbox files and so I would categorise it as an 'indirect' method and not very appealing. -- Charles PM 5.2.3 - Intel iMac - OS 10.4.7
