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How to make VPOP3 re-download POP3 messages from the ISP

If you have the VPOP3 Mail Collector setting Leave Mail On Server enabled, then VPOP3 will leave your messages on the ISP POP3 server for the specified number of days after downloading it.

If, during this time, you want to make VPOP3 download those messages again, then you can do so.

If you have VPOP3 version 5, go to Settings → Mail Collector → (collector) → Messages tab. You can select the message(s) you want to re-download and check the 'Get' box for them. (Or check the 'Get' box in the table header to get all the messages).

If you have VPOP3 version 4 or earlier, you do this by following the procedure below.

Note that you cannot selectively download messages again using VPOP3 (there are other utilities available on the Internet to do this) - you have to re-download all the left messages again.

Procedure

Find the numeric ID

To find the numeric ID of the Mail Collector you want to re-download mail for, go to Mail Connectors in the VPOP3 settings, and select the appropriate Mail Collector. Look in the address bar of your web browser, and you will see something like:

http:/ /<server IP address>:5108/admin/index.html#connectors_206

Subtract 200 from the number after 'connectors_', and that will give you the numeric ID - in this example, that is '6'.

Delete the download ID file

Notes

  1. You can do this procedure whilst VPOP3 is running, and you do not need to restart VPOP3, but you should NOT do it whilst VPOP3 is connected to the Internet, so if VPOP3 connects very often, it may be safer to close VPOP3 down or pause the connection schedule whilst you carry out the procedure below.
  2. The SRVRUIDL.DAT or SRVUIDLx.DAT file will be automatically created by VPOP3 the next time it connects to the Internet
  3. The main VPOP3 directory is usually C:\PROGRAM FILES\VPOP3 or C:\VPOP3, but you may have installed it elsewhere on your hard disk. If you can't find it search your computer for VPOP3.EXE.

Advanced

If you just wish to download a few messages again, you can avoid disruption to most of your users by using the following technique.

  1. Make a copy of the current SRVRUIDL.DAT or SRVUIDLx.DAT file to a safe place
  2. Modify your Mail Collector configuration to send all messages to a specific mailbox (either your mailbox, or a dummy mailbox you set up for this occasion). Make a note of your previous settings!
  3. Delete your SRVRUIDL.DAT or SRVUIDLx.DAT file as above
  4. Make VPOP3 connect. All the old mail will be downloaded to the mailbox specified in (2)
  5. Restore your Mail Collector configuration to the previous settings.
  6. Restore the SRVRUIDL.DAT or SRVUIDLx.DAT file from the location you saved it to in (1)
  7. Go through the mailbox specified in (2), forwarding or moving the desired messages to the desired mailbox(es).