How to switch Pegasus Mail for Windows
from
Single-user to Multi-user setup.

Updated 23-december-2003

Note for version 4.x users:
Starting with version 4.x, Pegasus Mail for Windows will always install in multi user mode, when not using Novell Netware. There will be a default user called admin and when only that user exists Pegasus Mail will not ask for a user login. When multiple users are created using the Address | User management menu entry, Pegasus Mail will ask you which user to use at startup.

• When you have multiple users on your computer using different e-mail addresses, each user can have it's own setup,  folder structure and  addressbooks etc etc.
• Transferring mail folders from one computer to another can be performed smoother from multi user mode (creating a special user for this purpose).
• Whenever you want to archive mail folders or test special settings, you can do so by creating a specific user for that purpose.
• Private mail vs. business mail.....

Many questions arise about the difference between using Multiple Users and using Identities. The big difference is that a USER has his own set of folders, addressbook's, distribution lists and filter rules and such. Identities share those from the user they belong to.

When your ISP has given you a domain POP3 mailbox it's advisable to install the Mercury/32 mail transport system on your computer after switching from Single User to Multiple user mode:
Mercury/32 (module MercuryD) can be used to download mail from a POP3 domain mailbox. A domain mailbox is a mailbox in which mail for multiple e-mail addresses gets stored into a single POP3 mailbox.

These are the procedures for converting from single user to multi-user.

This process assumes that you used the default settings when installing WinPmail in single user mode, therefore the basic directory is c:\pmail and the current mail directory is c:\pmail\mail.

If you have other directories (you can find them in Help | About Pegasus Mail | Info) replace them in the directories mentioned below.

Furthermore you need to give yourself a user name. In the process below, you are referred to as USER1. So everywhere you see USER1, don't forget to replace that with the user name you choose. A user name cannot consist of more than 8 characters.

1. Close down Pegasus Mail and open a DOS box (you can perform the same tasks using Windows Explorer....)

2. Find yourself a suitable user name (keep the name simple and not more than 8 characters) and create a directory for your current mail files using this name.

   (Remember to enter the actual location and the actual user name here - you need to create the subdirectory directly under the current home mail box location, as found in Help -> About -> Info.)

   DOS:
   MD c:\pmail\mail\USER1

   Windows:
   In explorer select the directory c:\pmail\mail and choose File -> New -> Folder and give the folder the name of the user1.

3. Move your current mail files from the current c:\pmail\mail directory to the new location c:\pmail\mail\USER1 directory.

   DOS:
   MOVE c:\pmail\mail\*.* c:\pmail\mail\user1

   Windows:
   Open the folder c:\pmail\mail and press CTRL-A to select all files, now select CUT from the edit menu and open the folder user1, select paste to perform the move.

4. Edit the file pmail.ini and change all instances of c:\pmail\mail to c:\pmail\mail\user1. Use an ascii editor, like Notepad or the dos EDIT command. Don't use your wordprocessor to edit that file.

5. Delete the file c:\pmail\pmail.cfg. This will remove your current configuration and force WinPmail to go the install process.

6. Double click on the WinPmail icon or use
   start -> programs -> Pegasus Mail
   to launch the program (as you usually do). Since the pmail.cfg is missing, this will cause WinPmail to go through the install process.
   You are next prompted for the root mailbox path. Type in the parent directory under which all the mailboxes exists. For instance, if your mailbox is now c:\pmail\mail\USER1, then you would type in: c:\pmail\mail followed by enter.

7. Select the multi-user option. Now, do keep the default location (C:\PMAIL\MAIL) for the mailbox structure. Next, you should see the Manage Users dialog with one user already defined.

8. You will be asked to enter information about users. Add the user with the name user1 (remember to use the name you choose here) and any other users you wish. Make sure you give administrator privileges to at least one user name (pick your own here) so you will be able to administer to users. Select close.

9. You will now be asked to select a user name, use user1 (again enter the actual name here). This should now open WinPmail using your previous mail information. You will now have an additional menu item under Addresses that will allow you to administer your WinPmail users.

10. You now can create an icon for each user with the

    -i <user name>

    commandline option to enable starting WinPmail without having to enter the user name each time. For more information about changing the command line, refer to the "Commandline options" in the Help menu entry.

    The commandline will look something like:
    c:\pmail\winpm-32.exe -i USER1
    or
    "c:\program files\winpm-32.exe" -i USER1
    

You now have completed the process and you can continue to work with Pegasus Mail for windows, as always....

Enjoy!