[X4U] Following a link to a message in Mail.app?

[robert at elastica.com]

I think the best thing although it doesn't help re: space etc is to attach the
original message as a mime attachment to the message I create for the log. Then
when I want to view the message I simply click on the attachment. I'm pretty
sure Mail will let you click on a .elmx file and it does the right thing.

Quoting Stroller <macmonster at myrealbox.com>:

> 
> On 13 Jul 2006, at 15:32, Robert Nicholson wrote:
> >
> > I maintain a log of incoming email and how it's processed as it's  
> > own mail folder using IMAP. So all I basically do is copy the  
> > original headers and make the body a short notice about how the  
> > mail was filtered.
> >
> > Q. I want to put a link in the body that actually directs me to the  
> > actual message.
> >
> > Any url style that Mail.app can follow using an IMAP connection if  
> > I give it the path to the folder and message id say in the link?
> >
> > So for example I have the following as the headers
> >
> > From:   devlists at softchaos.com
> > Subject: Re: Newbie - Transparent Path stroking/filling question  
> > [Solved]
> > Date: July 13, 2006 9:20:28 AM CDT
> > To:   vinayprabhu at tataelxsi.co.in
> > ....
> >
> > and the body is just
> >
> >    Accepting to folder lists/mac/apple/quartz-dev
> >
> > to let me know where it was processed. I'd like to be able to  
> > follow a link in the body to the actual message.
> 
> Because, as you say in your later message, your IMAP server doesn't  
> know where Mail is going to store the message, I don't think there's  
> any way to create a direct link that Mail.app will be able to use to  
> open ITS copy of the message.
> 
> I can immediately think of two alternatives:
> - run a webserver on the mailserver & export the maildir over http.  
> It would then be relatively simple to have a link to http:// 
> mail.myserver/lists/mac/apple/quartz-dev
> - export the maildir over Samba or AFP and have the messages  
> associated as an email message filetype. Again, it would be easy to  
> create a link.
> 
> In both cases the mailserver (realistically) has to use the maildir  
> format for storing messages. This stores each message individually,  
> rather than as a single file (as in mbox).
> 
> In the former case, the message would open in your browser & you can  
> only view it, and do nothing else useful with it.
> In the latter case you have some work to do for the file association  
> (recompile your mailserver to name messages with a reasonably short  
> UID & an .emlx suffix??) ; the message opens in Mail.app but you  
> still can't do much that's useful with it (beyond clicking "reply" or  
> "forward"). The message will not be marked as read on the IMAP server  
> (or therefore within Mail.app) and you won't be able to move it  
> within folders (without using Finder); I'm not sure what effect  
> clicking the delete button would have, but it -might- work as expected.
> 
> It seems to me that the best thing to do is have the milter (is that  
> the right word? the mail filter on the server - procmail or I use  
> Courier's maildrop) add a custom header or a tag to the subject of  
> the email (such as "[interesting]") and create a Smart Mailbox  
> (10.4.x) to show these messages. I'm not sure, but doubt, if  
> Spotlight will search on custom headers, so you might find all the  
> square brackets in a subject like "[interesting] Re:  
> [NameOfMailingList] Newbie - Transparent Path stroking/filling  
> question [Solved]" annoying.
> 
> Throwing out more ideas here, it might be possible to modify the  
> message subject uniquely, so that one message gets the tag [12345]  
> and another [12346]  (use a UUID not a counter, tho'. See `apropos  
> uuid`); you may then be able to embed a link into your logging email  
> which calls a Spotlight search for [12345] or whatever that unique  
> identifier is (something like <spotlight://[12345]> would do this??).
> 
> I hope this makes sense. It's kinda early in the morning for me here,  
> and -someone- has been sufficiently demanding of attention that my  
> brain hasn't had a chance to wake up yet.
> 
> Stroller.
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