Q77926: PC DB: Description of Mail Database Subdirectories
Article: Q77926
Product(s): Microsoft Mail For PC Networks
Version(s): WINDOWS:2.1x,3.0,3.2
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 18-FEB-2000
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Mail for PC Networks, versions 2.1x, 3.0, 3.2
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SUMMARY
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This article provides descriptions of each of the Mail database subdirectories.
It also lists the versions of Mail in which that subdirectory exists.
If a customer is experiencing a problem, the Mail administrator should NEVER
modify file sizes without first consulting with Microsoft Product Support
Services.
The following is a brief description of the database subdirectories (where
appropriate, default file sizes are listed):
Subdir Description Version(s)
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ATT This subdirectory has 16 subdirectories that contain All
any attachment files that are used in the Mail system.
Each of the 16 subdirectories contain encrypted
attachment files. Files that have the .ATT extension are
files that have been attached to a particular mail item.
The reference to an attachment file is in the mail (.MAI)
file itself. A single mail file can reference several
attachments, but a single attachment file cannot be
referenced more than once.
CAL This subdirectory stores the online calendar files when 3.0
Schedule+ is installed. The files are stored according 3.2
to a hexadecimal (hexid) number that is assigned when
the Schedule+ user first logs on.
NOTE: The hexid number is NOT the same number as the
one used by the Mail system!
FOLDERS This subdirectory is used by the folders subsystem. All
All folder files are stored here initially. Mail users
may optionally move individual private folders to local
storage. Individual private folders are stored in the
FOLDERS\LOC\<hexid> subdirectory. Group and shared
folders are stored in the FOLDERS\PUB subdirectory. This
storage method is used by all versions of the MS-DOS
client, OS/2 client, and Macintosh client. It is also
used by the version 2.1 Windows client.
the <serialno>.IDX file in the FOLDERS subdirectory is
4 bytes (fixed size). Individual <nnnnnnnn>.IDX files
and the FOLDROOT.IDX file are (file size - 100 bytes) and
should be divisible by 158.
GLB The files in this directory are at the top of the All
hierarchy of the database and serve a variety of
purposes. These files contain the core of the postoffice
configuration. The GLB directory also contains error
message and other types of files that do not contain
postoffice configuration information. This is also the
default location for modem scripts.
File Sizes
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ACCESS.GLB should be divisible by 586.
ACCESS2.GLB should be divisible by 69.
ACCESS3.GLB should be divisible by 512.
The result for the three access files should be the same
number.
CONTROL.GLB 8 bytes fixed size
FLAG.GLB 2 bytes fixed size
GLOBAL.GLB 512 bytes fixed size
GROUP.GLB (file size - 4 bytes)
Should be divisible by 51
GRPMEM.GLB (file size - 4 bytes)
Should be divisible by 128
MASTER.GLB 176 bytes fixed size
MODEM.GLB 64 bytes fixed size
NETPO.GLB (file size - 4 bytes)
Should be divisible by 43
NETWORK.GLB Should be divisible by 122
PROCESS.GLB (file size - 512 bytes)
Should be divisible by 197
REQCONF.GLB 512 bytes fixed size
SERVER.GLB Should be divisible by 181
SVRCONF.GLB On directory synchronization server only
1024 bytes + (1024 bytes * total number of POs)
TID.GLB 4 bytes fixed size
GRP This subdirectory contains the group pointer files for All
public and private distribution lists.
The file size should be divisible by 8.
HLP This subdirectory contains the Help files for the All
individual Mail programs. Help is opened when the F1
key is pressed.
INF This subdirectory contains the information files that All
correspond to the postoffice-defined template files.
The INF file contains template ("about") information for
every user defined in a .USR file. The .USR file is the
user list for external Mail for PC Networks postoffices
and has the same filename prefix as the postoffice's MBG
file. The .INF file also has this same filename prefix.
There may also be an ADMIN.INF file if the local postoffice
administrator has defined a custom template. External
postoffice .INF files only exist if another postoffice
administrator exports templates. The record format of the
.INF file is defined by the associated .TPL file. There is
always an associated .TPL file with every .INF file.
INI This subdirectory is the default location for .INI files 3.2
used by the system; notably, by the Dispatch and External
Mail programs.
KEY This subdirectory contains the index files that are used All
to determine the location of the mail header in the
individual user's mailbag (.MBG) file. There will always
be a corresponding .MBG file in the MBG subdirectory. The
.KEY file contains information such as the number of new
mail items since the user last logged in, the amount of
unread mail in the user's mailbag, and a bitmap of deleted
records in the corresponding .MBG file. The bitmap is used
so that when mail is sent to a user, a vacant record
position in the user's .MBG file can be found directly by
examining the bitmap rather than having to sequentially
process the .MBG file looking for deleted records.
The file size should be 560 bytes (fixed size).
LOG This subdirectory is the default location for the log All
files created by the External Mail, Dispatch, and other
gateway programs. The creation of these files is
determined by the parameters that are specified when the
various programs are started.
MAI This subdirectory has 16 subdirectories that contain All
any message files that are used in the Mail system. Each
of the 16 subdirectories contains encrypted message files.
MBG This subdirectory contains the individual mailbag files All
that are used to store the Mail headers for an individual
user. It is basically the file format of the first screen
a user sees when he or she starts up the MS-DOS Mail or
Monitor program. There will always be a corresponding key
index (.KEY) file in the KEY subdirectory.
The records contained in the mailbag (.MBG) file serve two
purposes:
- A non-deleted record acts as an index pointer to a mail
item. Thus, a single mail file can be pointed to by many
mailbag records. Each of these mailbag records must
reside in separate .MBG files because two records in a
single mailbag can never point to the same item of mail.
- .MBG records contain summary information about the
particular mail item. This information is used by the
user agent programs to display a list of mail headers in
the opening display of the user's mail. The mail file
itself does not have to be read until the user selects
it for processing (for example, by reading, deleting, and
so forth). There is no delete flag in the .MBG record
structure. Deleted status is maintained in the .KEY file,
which has the same filename prefix as the .MBG file.
There is a single .MBG file for every local user, of the
format <nnnnnnnn>.MBG; there is a single .MBG file for
every external postoffice or gateway that is defined; and
there is an INQUEUE3.MBG file that is used to receive any
mail from external sources and an INQUEUE.MBG file that is
used for directory synchronization (Dir-Sync).
Mail is delivered from the INQUEUE3.MBG file to individual
mailbags via the Mailer process. The version 3.0 postoffice
contains a special mailbag: SYSTEM.MBG. Mail addressed to
network/postoffice/$system will be put here. This mailbag
is currently used for Dir-Sync mail, but in future versions
it may also be used for other system mail functions.
The file size should be divisible by 116.
MEM This subdirectory contains only the local members of All
global groups defined at this postoffice. External
addresses are not part of the member list. Each record
represents a user mailbag number. These files are only
created for administrator-defined groups (that is,
postoffice groups) and are used for quick access by
Mailer for resolving groups.
The file size should be divisible by 4.
The maximum size should 2000 bytes.
MMF This subdirectory contains the Mail message files (.MMF) 3.0
used by the Windows clients in versions 3.0 and later. 3.2
These files are stored by user hexid number.
NME This subdirectory contains the files for the postoffice All
address list (POL), the global address list (GAL),
gateway address lists, and the individual personal address
lists (PALs) used by all clients in version 2.1, and in
the MS-DOS, OS/2, and Macintosh clients in Mail versions
3.0 and later. The concept of these lists is to allow
dissimilar address types to reside in the same address list.
The file size should be divisible by 45.
P1 This subdirectory is used by the External Mail program to All
store temporary mail files during a communications or
postoffice-to-postoffice (PO-to-PO) delivery session.
TPL This subdirectory contains the template files used by the All
local postoffice and gateways.
USR This file is the address list of users and groups for a All
particular postoffice. The postoffice that this list
represents is an externally defined postoffice. If this
file exists, its prefix filename will match the external
postoffice's .MBG filename. This file can be created or
updated using the Mail Administrator program (ADMIN.EXE)
or it can be created or replaced by the External Mail
program when it receives an exported user list from this
postoffice.
The file size should be divisible by 53.
XTN This subdirectory contains the external postoffice All
definition files. Each .XTN file contains all of the
postoffices that are defined at an individual network.
For each network that is defined in the NETWORK.GLB file,
there is an associated .XTN file. This file is a series
of records, where each record defines a different
postoffice at this network. The purpose of this file is
to provide routing, naming, and sign-on information for
external services/postoffices. Postoffice records also
contain connection information, statistics, and various
configuration options for that postoffice. Each postoffice
record contains a file pointer reference to its mailbag.
When an address list of users is created for this
postoffice, there will also be a .USR file and, possibly,
.TPL and .INF files with the same file prefix as the .MBG
file.
The file size should be divisible by 698.
Additional query words: 2.10 2.10c 2.10d 2.10e 3.00 3.00b 3.20 3.20a
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Keywords :
Technology : kbMailSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbMailPCN320 kbMailPCN300 kbMailPCN21xSearch
Version : WINDOWS:2.1x,3.0,3.2
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