The "Load DArcMail Data" screen asks for the following information:
- Name. This is the DArcMail name of the email account. This can be the email address that is associated with the email account (e.g., "john.smith@jamestowncolony.com") or any other format (e.g., "John Smith", "Smith, J; Jamestown", etc.). If the email account name does not aleady exist in the DArcMail database, it will be created in the loading process.
- Directory. This is the account directory. This must already exist and must contain (directly or indirectly) one or more mbox-format files with the .mbox file extension. If you have already loaded some email folders for this account, and if you are trying to load another email folder into the same account, then the account directory you specify must be the same as the account directory already recorded in the database (alternatively, you can delete all account data from the database and start over with the new account directory)
- Folder. If no folder is specified, then the program will load message data from all the mbox files that are contained below the account directory. If the "yes" box is checked and a folder "archive/deleted items" is specified, then the program will load message data only from the mbox file with the path "<account_directory>\archive\deleted items.mbox". If the specified folder has already been loaded, you must first delete it before reloading.
- Max size for internal storage. The upper limit, in bytes, of the size of a message part if the part is to be stored internally in the database. See message content storage for further information.
- Subdirectories for external storage. If "yes" is checked, then message content that is stored externally will be distributed among subdirectories of the applicable folder directory. Use this feature to prevent the creation of directories with thousands of files. See message content storage for further information.
The load process produces one output file, dm_load.log.txt, in the account directory. The contents of this file are also displayed in a pop-up window when the load process has completed.
It is possible for the set of Mbox files for an account to contain multiple copies of a message. The "Message-ID" message header in an Mbox determines the unique identity of a message; this value appears as the "Global Id" field in a DArcMail Info page. Typically, duplication arises when the originating mail system allows a user to copy (rather than move) a message across mail folders. DArcMail does not preserve redundant copies of a message; DArcMail retains only the first copy of a message that is loaded.
Suppose Inbox.mbox and Budget.mbox both have copies of the same message. If you load the Inbox folder first, then the message will appear only in the Inbox folder. On the other hand, if the loading process loads the Budget folder first, then the message will appear only in the Budget folder.
Elimination of duplicate messages applies only within a single account; if multiple accounts each have a copy of the same message, the load process preserves one copy in each account.