<!doctype HTML public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Frameset//EN">

<html>

<head>

<title>How Rules are Stored and Processed</title>

<!--(Meta)==========================================================-->


<meta name=generator-major-version content=0.1>
<meta name=generator-minor-version content=1>
<meta name=filetype content=kadov>
<meta name=filetype-version content=1>
<meta name=page-count content=1>
<meta name=layout-height content=378>
<meta name=layout-width content=769>
<meta name=date content="02 12, 2003 12:04:53 PM">
<meta name=x-ignored-words content="rules.ima;XMSMailPriority(High;userid-newbox;mr-fred-account@ipswitch.com;mr-fred;Num">


<!--(Links)=========================================================-->

 <LINK rel='StyleSheet' href='helpstyle_ns.html'>
<SCRIPT language="javascript" title="WebHelpSplitCss">
<!--
if (navigator.appName !="Netscape")
{   document.write("<LINK rel='StyleSheet' href='helpstyle.html'>");}
//-->
</SCRIPT><style>
<!--
ul.whs1 {list-style: disc;}
hr.whs2 {width: 95%; color: #808080; /*begin!kadov{{*/ float: aligncenter; /*}}end!kadov*/ }

--></style><script language="javascript" title="WebHelpInlineScript">
<!--
function reDo() {
  if (innerWidth != origWidth || innerHeight != origHeight)
     location.reload();
}
if ((parseInt(navigator.appVersion) == 4) && (navigator.appName == "Netscape")) {
	origWidth = innerWidth;
	origHeight = innerHeight;
	onresize = reDo;
}
//-->
</script>
</head>

<!--(Body)==========================================================-->


<body>


<h1>How Rules are Stored and Processed</h1>

<p>By default, <!--kadov_tag{{<spaces>}}-->&nbsp;<!--kadov_tag{{</spaces>}}-->inbound 
 rules are stored in the <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>rules.ima</I></span> 
 file. Since inbound rules can be created for mail hosts, users, and mailing 
 lists, there can be multiple <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>rules.ima</I></span> 
 files on your IMail Server system. The location of <!--kadov_tag{{<spaces>}}-->&nbsp;<!--kadov_tag{{</spaces>}}-->the<span 
 style="font-style: italic;"><I> rules.ima</I></span> file, differs depending 
 on whether the rule is for a mail host, a user, or a list server mailing 
 list.</p>

<ul type="disc" class="whs1">
	
	<li class=kadov-p-CTopic-Text-Bulleted><p class=Topic-Text-Bulleted>For 
 a mail host, the <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>rules.ima</I></span> file 
 is located in the mail host's folder. </p></li>
	
	<li class=kadov-p-CTopic-Text-Bulleted><p class=Topic-Text-Bulleted>For 
 a user, the <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>rules.ima</I></span> file is 
 located in the user's folder. </p></li>
	
	<li class=kadov-p-CTopic-Text-Bulleted><p class=Topic-Text-Bulleted>For 
 a list server mailing list, the<span style="font-style: italic;"><I> rules.ima</I></span> 
 file is stored in the list's folder.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Outbound processing rules are stored in the <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>orules.ima</I></span> 
 file. Since only mail hosts can create outbound rules, the<span style="font-style: italic;"><I> 
 orule.ima</I></span> file is located in the mail host's folder. If you have 
 more than one mail host on your IMail Server system, you may have multiple 
 <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>orules.ima</I></span> files, one file for 
 each host.</p>

<p>IMail Server reads the <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>rules.ima</I></span> 
 and <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>orules.ima</I></span> files during the 
 processing process. The rule files for the virtual host are evaluated 
 first, and then the rules <!--kadov_tag{{<spaces>}}-->&nbsp;<!--kadov_tag{{</spaces>}}-->for 
 users and lists. See also <a href="t_Processing_order.html">Processing 
 Order</a>.</p>

<p>Any<span style="font-style: italic;"><I> rules.ima</I></span> or <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>orules.ima</I></span> 
 file can be copied to other directories. For example, if you create processing 
 rules for one user, you can copy the <span style="font-style: italic;"><I>rules.ima</I></span> 
 file to the directories of other users to apply the same rules to them.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


<!--(HR)============================================================-->
<hr width="95%" color="#808080" align="center" class="whs2">


<p class=Tip-Note-Heading>Related Topics</p>

<p><a href="t_Overview_of_Processing_Rules.html">Overview of Processing 
 Rules</a></p>

<p><a href="t_Rule_Syntax.html">Rule Syntax</a></p>

</body>

</html>
