Remote Server Control Via Email
Many functions of MDaemon Server v8 can be accessed remotely using the email transport system itself. For example, users can gain access to various aspects of their accounts and change or reconfigure them by sending email messages to the server. MDaemon maintains an account for its own use in the user base. This account is reached by sending mail to the mailbox "MDaemon@MDaemonsDomain.com". Messages sent to the server are stored in the server's message directory just like any other user. At queue run time the server will cycle through all the mail it has received and parse each message for special instructions.
Some of these control messages require a valid account on the server, and are password protected. Users can gain access to their accounts using their account password, and the messages to the server must be directed to "MDaemon@mydomain.com". For those commands which require a valid account on the server, the Subject field of the message must contain the user's email address and password separated with a comma character (e.g. "Bill@mydomain.com, MyPassword"). Commands are placed within the body of the message. There can be only one command per line but multiple commands can be batched in the same message.
Account Access and Control
The following section lists the current account access and control commands available to account holders. All of these commands require a "Login, Password" construction in the subject line. Parameters contained in [brackets] are optional. For example: "name [address]" could be entered as "Lois" alone, or with the optional parameter added ("Lois LLane@dailyplanet.com").
| COMMAND | PARAMS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| ACCOUNT INFO | none | The status of the account passed in the subject line is mailed back to the originator. |
| Ex: | ACCOUNT INFO | |
| PASSWORD | new password | The password of the account passed in the subject line will be changed to the one specified. |
| Ex: | PASSWORD kryptonite | |
| MAILFORMAT | MBF file | The mailbox storage format of the account specified in subject line will be changed to the one specified. A listing of the available formats can be obtained via the MAIL FORMATS command (see General Email Controls section below). |
| Ex: | MAILBOX RFC-822 | |
| AUTODECODE | Y/N | Automatic decoding of incoming MIME attachments for the account specified in the subject line will be turned on or off. Y=on, N=off. |
| Ex: | AUTODECODE Y | |
| BEGIN SIGNATURE | none | Begins recording of a new signature file to be appended to messages generated by the account passed in the subject line. Subsequent lines will be treated as the text of the signature file until the word END is encountered on a line by itself or the end of the control message is reached. |
| NOTE: | The signature file feature is only available for RAW format messages. RFC-822 mail that arrives at the server using SMTP or POP will not append the signature file. In these cases see your mail client's documentation for information concerning signature files. | |
| BEGIN AUTORESPONDER | none | Begins recording of a new autoresponder file. Subsequent lines will be treated as the text of the autoresponder until the word END is encountered on a line by itself or the end of the control message is reached. |
| Ex: | BEGIN AUTORESPONDER I?m on vacation right now. I?ll get back to you ASAP. END To erase an active autoresponder, use the same command but without any response text. Ex: BEGIN AUTORESPONDER END | |
| FORWARD TO | address | The forwarding address for the account passed in the subject line will be changed to [address] and mail forwarding will be activated for the account. Ex: FORWARD TO vacationing@myhost.com |
| UNFORWARD | none | Mail forwarding will be deactivated for the account specified in the subject line. Ex: UNFORWARD |
| MULTIPOP | on/off | MultiPOP will be enabled/disabled for the account specified in the subject line. Ex: MULTIPOP ON Ex: MULTIPOP OFF |
Mailing List and Catalog Control
None of these commands require an account on the server; thus the subject line need not contain any special value when specifying these instructions. Parameters contained in [brackets] are optional. For example: "name [address]" could be entered as "Clark" alone, or with the optional parameter added: "Clark CKent@dailyplanet.com". Command parameters listed in "{ }" or "( )" require those symbols to be used.
| COMMANDS PARMS | DESCRIPTIONS |
|---|---|
| USERS none | A listing of all user accounts which are not flagged to hide their information will be mailed back to the message originator. Ex: USERS |
| LIST none | A listing of all non-concealed named lists (Mailing Lists that are configured to respond to LIST commands) along with the names and addresses of all members will be mailed back to the message originator. Ex: LIST |
| [listname] | Retrieves the membership of the list "LISTNAME" if it is configured to respond to the LIST command. Ex: LIST MDSUPP |
| [listname (listpass)] | This command retrieves the membership of the list "LISTNAME" even if it is configured to ignore the LIST command; as long as the list password is correct. Parentheses around the list password ARE required. Ex: LIST MDSUPP (THERIGHTPASSWORD) |
| SUBSCRIBE listname [address] [{real name}] [(pass)] | The originator is added to the membership of the specified list provided that list exists and allows remote subscriptions. If an optional address is specified after the list name then that address is added to the list's membership rather than the address found in the FROM: field of the subscription message. A real name can be added for the subscriber by including it in braces (e.g. {Frank Thomas}. If the list's password follows this command (parentheses around it are required) then the command will be honored even if this list's subscribe function is switched off. Ex: SUBSCRIBE mdsupp Ex: SUBSCRIBE mdsupp me@mydomain.com {Frank Thomas} Ex: SUBSCRIBE mdsupp you@yourdom.com (MDPASS) |
| UNSUBSCRIBE listname [address] [(pass)] or SIGNOFF | The originator is removed from the membership of the specified list provided that list exists and contains the originator as a current member. If an optional address is specified after the list's name then that address is removed from the list's membership rather than the address found in the FROM: field of the unsubscribe message. If the list's password follows this command (parentheses around it are required) then the command will be honored even if this list's unsubscribe function is switched off. Ex: UNSUBSCRIBE MDSUPP (MDSPASS) Ex: SIGNOFF MDSupportList me@mydomain.com |
| UPDATE listname old-address new-address {real name} (password) | Removes "old-address" from the list and replaces it with "new-address". An optional real name and password value may be given. Ex: UPDATE mdsupp@altn.com old@my.com new@my.com {Mr. M} Ex: UPDATE mdsupp@altn.com old@my.com new@my.com (pass) |
| SUPPRESS listname address (password) | This command adds 'address' to the lists suppression file. The list's password must be provided and the list must already have a suppression file associated with it. Ex: SUPPRESS list@mydomain.com Ex: SUPPRESS me@mydomain.com (PASS) |
| UNSUPPRESS listname address (password) | This command removes 'address' from the lists suppression file. The list's password must be provided and the list must already have a suppression file associated with it. Ex: UNSUPPRESS list@mydomain.com Ex: UNSUPPRESS me@mydomain.com (PASS) |
| DIGEST listname [address] | The sender is set to receive mail from the list in digest format. If an optional address is specified after the list name then that address is set to digest mode. Ex: DIGEST MDSupportList Ex: DIGEST mdsupp joe@mdaemon.com |
| NORMAL listname [address] | The sender is set to receive mail from "list" in normal (non-digest) format. If an optional address is specifed after the list name then that address is set to receive in normal format instead of the sender. Ex: NORMAL MDSupportList@mydomain.com Ex: NORMAL mdsupp@mydomain.com joe@mdaemon.com |
| NOMAIL listname [address] | This command sets 'address' to nomail mode. The account will enter a suspended state and will no longer receive list traffic. If no address is specified then the originator of the message will be used. ex: NOMAIL list@mydomain.com me@mydomain.com |
| MAIL listname [address] | This command returns 'address' to normal mode from nomail mode. If no address is specified then the originator of the message will be used. Ex: MAIL list@mydomain.com Ex: MAIL list@mydomain.com me@mydomain.com |
| REALNAME listname [address] {real name} | This command sets the real name value for "address" who is a member of list "listname" to the given value. The real name must be enclosed in { and } characters. Ex: REALNAME mdsupp@altn.com {Frank Thomas}NOTE:The special PUBLIC catalog doesn't require a catalog name or password in order to retrieve a file. |
| GET catalog magic-name (password) | Retrieves a file from the specified catalog, MIME encodes it in an email message, and sends that message to the originating account or to the one specified in a RESULTS TO directive. Ex: GET utils myutil (mypass) |
| DIR catalog | Retrieves a directory of the files and magic names available through the catalog. Ex: DIR public. |
General Email Controls
| COMMANDS | PARMS | DESCRIPTIONS |
|---|---|---|
| HELP | none | A copy of the help.dat is processed and mailed back to the message originator. |
| RESULTS TO | address | The results of subsequent instructions are redirected to the email address specified rather than to that of the message originator. Ex: RESULTS TO someone@somewhere.com |
| STATUS | none | A status report on server operations and current conditions will be mailed back to the message originator. Since the information contained in this status report is considered private the subject of the requesting message must contain the an Administrator level user and password such as: Administrator, Password Ex: STATUS |
| MAIL FORMATS | none | A listing of all the supported mailbox formats will be mailed back to the originator. Ex: MAIL FORMATS |
| GET ADDRESS | none | MDaemon will send a message back to the originator which will contain the current machine name and IP address assigned to MDaemon's computer. This is useful when you want to find out the IP address assigned by your ISP when using a dynamic dial-up situation. Since the information contained in this message is considered private the subject of the requesting message must contain an Administrator level user and password such as: Administrator, Password Ex: GET ADDRESS |
