| +OfflineIMAP has a pluggable user interface system +that lets you choose how the program communicates +information to you. There are two graphical interfaces, one +terminal interface, and two noninteractive interfaces +suitable for scripting or logging purposes. The ui +option in the configuration file specifies the user +interface preferences. The -u command-line option can +override the configuration file. The available values for +the configuration file or command-line are describef in this +section. |
| +Tk.Blinkenlights |
| +This is an interface designed to be sleek, fun to watch, and +informative of the overall picture of what +OfflineIMAP is doing. I consider it to be the best +general-purpose interface in OfflineIMAP. +Tk.Blinkenlights contains, by default, a small window with a +row of LEDs and a row of command buttons. The total size of +the window is very small, so it uses little desktop space, +yet it is quite functional. There is also an optional, +toggable, log that shows more detail about what is happening +and is color-coded to match the color of the +lights. |
| +Tk.Blinkenlights is the only user interface that has +configurable parameters; see the example +offlineimap.conf for more details. |
| +Each light in the Tk.Blinkenlights interface represents a +thread of execution -- that is, a particular task that +OfflineIMAP is performing right now. The color +indicates what task the particular thread is performing, and +are as follows: |
| +Black |
| +indicates that this light's thread has terminated; it will +light up again later when new threads start up. So, black +indicates no activity. |
| +Red (Meaning 1) |
| +is the color of the main program's thread, which basically +does nothing but monitor the others. It might remind you of +HAL 9000 in 2001. |
| +Purple |
| +is the color of an account synchronization thread that is +monitoring the progress of the folders in that account (not +generating any I/O). |
| +Cyan |
| +indicates that the thread is syncing a folder. |
| +Green |
| +means that a folder's message list is being +loaded. |
| +Blue |
| +is the color of a message synchronization controller +thread. |
| +Orange |
| +indicates that an actual message is being +copied. |
| +Red (Meaning 2) |
| +indicates that a message is being deleted. |
| +Yellow |
| +(bright orange) indicates that message flags are being +added. |
| +Pink |
| +(bright red) indicates that message flags are being +removed. |
| +Red / Black Flashing |
| +corresponds to the countdown timer that runs between +synchronizations. |
| +The name of this interface derives from a bit of computer +science history. Eric Raymond's Jargon File defines +blinkenlights, in part, as: |
| +Front-panel diagnostic lights on a computer, esp. a +dinosaur. Now that dinosaurs are rare, this term usually +refers to status lights on a modem, network hub, or the +like. |
| +This term derives from the last word of the famous +blackletter-Gothic sign in mangled pseudo-German that once +graced about half the computer rooms in the English-speaking +world. One version ran in its entirety as +follows: |
| +ACHTUNG! ALLES LOOKENSPEEPERS! |
| +Tk.VerboseUI |
| +This interface (formerly known as Tk.TkUI) is a graphical +interface that presents a variable-sized window. In the +window, each currently-executing thread has a section where +its name and current status are displayed. This interface is +best suited to people running on slower connections, as you +get a lot of detail, but for fast connections, the detail +may go by too quickly to be useful. People with fast +connections may wish to use Tk.Blinkenlights +instead. |
| +TTY.TTYUI |
| +This interface is the default for people running in +terminals. It prints out basic status messages, has an +interruptible timer like the graphical interfaces do, and is +generally friendly to use on a console or +xterm. |
| +Noninteractive.Basic |
| +This interface is designed for situations where +OfflineIMAP will be run non-attended and the status +of its execution will be logged. You might use it, for +instance, to have the system run automatically and e-mail +you the results of the synchronization. This user interface +is not capable of reading a password from the keyboard; +account passwords must be specified using one of the +configuration file options. |
| +Noninteractive.Quiet |
| +This interface is designed for non-attended running in +situations where normal status messages are not desired. It +will output nothing except errors and serious warnings. Like +Noninteractive.Basic, this user interface is not capable of +reading a password from the keyboard; account passwords must +be specified using one of the configuration file +options. |