Using the Same Mail File from Different Computers

A user can access the same Mail message (.MMF) file from more than one computer by storing the message file on the postoffice server instead of the user's workstation. Mail message files can become very large, however, and so storing users' message files on the postoffice server may require a great deal of additional disk space beyond the basic requirements of the postoffice itself. Be sure the server has enough available disk space before storing users' message files on it.

To allow a user to access the same message file from more than one computer, the user should perform the following steps on the user's computer:

  1. Open Mail on the first computer and select the Options... command from the Mail menu. In the Options dialog box choose the Server... button. Then, in the Server dialog choose the Postoffice option button. Choose OK to close both dialog boxes.

    Windows NT moves the message file to the WGPO\MMF subdirectory and assigns it a name like 00000001.MMF.

  2. Select the Address Book... command from the Mail menu. In the Address Book dialog, select the user and choose the Details... button. Make note of the user's mailbox. Close both dialog boxes by choosing the Close button.
  3. Select Exit And Sign Out from the File menu.
  4. If Mail has already been installed on the other computer from which the user wants to access this message file, follow the procedure outlined in "Recreating the Mail Initialization Procedure" earlier in this chapter on that computer.
  5. Start Mail on the other computer. In the Welcome to Mail dialog, choose the Connect To An Existing Postoffice option button and then choose OK.
  6. Enter the location of the postoffice and choose OK.

    A message box appears that asks if you have an account on the postoffice.

  7. Choose Yes. When the Mail Sign In dialog appears, enter the user's mailbox name and password. Choose OK to close the dialog.

Repeat steps 4 through 6 on any other computer the user will use to access the message file.

Note that the message file can be accessed only by one computer at a time. The user cannot run mail simultaneously on more than one computer.