Linux Desktop Hacks

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Chapter 8, Desktop Programs

#60 Configure Firefox Under the Covers

HACK

To tell it where to convert the files in a specific folder:

foo@bar:~$ perl mb2md.pl –s sourcefolder

To convert the files in a folder recursively (for nested folders):

foo@bar:~$ perl mb2md.pl –s sourcefolder –R

Converting maildir to mbox

The main conversion from maildir to mbox is achieved in a much more

hack-ish way, by writing a small shell script that uses the

formail tool to fil-

ter input into mbox format. Create a file called md2mb.sh in you home

folder, making sure you replace

maildir with your own mailbox. Insert the

following text into the file:

#!/bin/bash

for file in `find maildir/.$1/cur/ -type f`

do

cat $file | formail –a Date: >> mbox

done

Make the script executable with:

foo@bar:~$ chmod +x md2mb.sh

Then run it with:

foo@bar:~$ ./md2mb.sh

To process a particular folder, run it with:

foo@bar:~$ ./md2mb.sh foldername

This appends any email in the maildir folder to an mbox file that can be read

with

mail or your favorite MUA.

—David Murphy

HACK

#60

Configure Firefox Under the Covers Hack #60

To keep the Firefox GUI preferences simple, some of the more interesting but

less common options were moved under the covers by the developers.

Almost every application allows you to customize it to some extent. For

most graphical programs, these configuration options are available through

dialog boxes and settings menus, whereas console ...