E-mails are managed by Mail in the following folder: "UserAccount/Library/Mail". How to change this path, so as to manage all your e-mails on some external disk, and therefore have them always with you ? I found the answer starting from an article in Macworld [trad: probably the French edition], and here it is (different steps are described for people not used to XML): 1) Get the application Property List Editor. It is available if you installed the DevTools on Panther, but you can also download it. 2) Move the whole Mail folder from the Library folder to your external drive (at the root of the device, in the example). 3)Localize the file named "com.apple.mail.plist" in "UserAccount/Library/Preferences" and duplicate it (never know, it's safer that way...) |
4) Open the original pref file with Property List Editor, and modify the access path you'll find there, using triangles if needed. That way, on the screenshot, the value "~/Library/Mail/Mailboxes" of the parameter "AccountPath" will be turned into "~/Volumes/MyOtherDrive/Mail/Mailboxes". Make the same changes with every access path found in the file, and make sure you haven't forgotten any (there are several ones). 5) Save the modified file and quit. Launch Mail, and Cowabunga! that's it! 6) Copy this pref file on your external drive, and copy it in any other "Host" Mac where you have an account. Now, your "Mail" folder is ready to follow you everywhere. 7) If ever this hack failed because of some typrewriting mistake, you can always throw the modified file, and rename the copied file (cf. 3) in "com.apple.mail.plist". I made sure it works, starting with on the second partition of my internal drive, then using an external drive as a shuttle between workplace and home, where I have accounts on Mac servers. At work, I put the pref file in "UserAccountOnTheServer/Library/Preferences". Everything works just fine. May this hack on preferences files give some ideas to others MacHackers, not only about Mail... That's all I hope! |
