Exim Specification - 41. Multiple user mailboxes

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# 41. Multiple user mailboxes

The wildcard facility of the generic prefix and suffix options for directors allows you to configure Exim to permit users to make use of arbitrary local part prefixes or suffixes in any way they wish. A director such as

    userforward:
      driver = forwardfile
      file = .forward
      suffix = -*
      suffix_optional
      filter

runs a user's ``.forward'` file for all local parts of the form *username-**. Within the filter file the user can distinguish different cases by testing the variable $local_part_suffix. For example:

    if $local_part_suffix contains -special then
      save /home/$local_part/Mail/special
    endif

If the filter file does not exist, or does not deal with such addresses, they fall through to subsequent directors, and, assuming no subsequent use of the suffix option is made, they presumably fail. Thus users have control over which suffixes are valid.

Alternatively, a suffix can be used to trigger the use of a different ``.forward'` file -- which is the way a similar facility is implemented in another MTA:

    userforward:
      driver = forwardfile
      file = .forward${local_part_suffix}
      suffix = -*
      suffix_optional
      filter

If there is no suffix, ``.forward'` is used; if the suffix is -special, for example, .forward-special is used. Once again, if the appropriate file does not exist, or does not deal with the address, it is passed on to subsequent directors, which could, if required, look for an unqualified ``.forward'` file to use as a default.

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