TWIG is a very useful web based e-mail client based on the PHP programming language. TWIG is extremely easy to use and offers a browser independent way of viewing and sending e-mail.

We have made two versions of TWIG available. The version that does not include address book functionality is easier to install and is recommended for most users. If address book functionality is required see the additional instructions at the bottom of this page.

Installation and Configuration
To install TWIG, Telnet or SSH to your Virtual Server and run the following command:

% cd   (change to your home directory)

Then, choose one of the following commands:

Standard TWIG
% tar -xvf /usr/local/contrib/twig.tar

TWIG with address book support
% tar -xvf /usr/local/contrib/twig-addr_book.tar

You will now need to edit the TWIG config.inc file found in the directory ~/usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs/twig/config directory. You can either use the "pico" command in Unix to edit the file, or you can use your favorite FTP Client to download the file, edit the file, and upload it back to your Virtual Server (be sure to download and upload the config.inc file from and to your Virtual Server in ASCII mode).

You can edit the file using either method. Your goal is to find the occurrence of "YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME" in the config.inc file and modify it to define the domain name from which TWIG will send mail. The occurrence of "YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME" is very near the top of the config.inc file and should be easy to locate.

 

Installing PHP
TWIG requires PHP to be installed. To install a version of PHP compatible with TWIG on your Virtual Server, you need to simply make three minor changes to your "httpd.conf" file located in your "~/usr/local/etc/httpd/conf" directory. First, you will need to add the PHP dynamic module to your Apache web server by adding a "LoadModule" directive near the top of your httpd.conf file. The directive you must add is shown below:

LoadModule php3_module modules/mod_php3-3.0.7-module-mysql-imap.so

Second, find and edit the DirectoryIndex directive to include "index.php3". An example is shown below:

DirectoryIndex index.php3 index.html index.htm

Finally, you must use the AddType directive to identify the mime type of PHP files. The following two lines may already exist in your httpd.conf file, but if they don't add them in the section of the httpd.conf file where the other AddType directives exist.

AddType application/x-httpd-php3 .php3 .phtml
AddType application/x-httpd-php3-source .phps

NOTE: If your Virtual Server was configured before Dec 8, 1998 you should add/edit the previous DirectoryIndex and AddType directives to the ~/www/conf/srm.conf file instead of the ~/www/conf/httpd.conf file.

Updating the DB version of your Password File
In order for TWIG to properly recognize the usernames, passwords, and home directories of the users in your Password File (~/etc/passwd), you will need to Telnet or SSH to your Virtual Server and run the following command:

% vpwd_mkdb ~/etc/passwd

If the text version of your password file and the DB version of the password file get out of sync (via manual editing, vrmuser, or iRoot) you can run the above command to rebuild the DB version from the text version.

If you do not require address book functionality, then the installation and configuration are complete.

Additional Instructions for Address Book Functionality
The address book features of TWIG require that the MySQL database program be installed on your Virtual Server.

Installing MySQL
If you have not previously installed MySQL on your Virutal Server, you will need to do so in order to take advantage of the contact directory and schedule capabilities of TWIG. To install MySQL, simply Telnet or SSH to your Virtual Server and run the following command:

% installmysql

Once you have MySQL running on your Virtual Server, you need to create a twig user with appropriate privileges and some twig tables in the MySQL database. This is easily done using two MySQL command files we have created for you and included in the TWIG installation archive you have already installed. Telnet or SSH to your Virtual Server and run the following commands:

% mysql -u root < ~/usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs/twig/twig.table.mysql
% mysqladmin -u root reload

NOTE: If you have previously installed MySQL on your Virtual Server and have already set a root password for MySQL, use the following commands instead of those above:

% mysql -u root -pPASSWD < ~/usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs/twig/twig.table.mysql
% mysqladmin -u root -pPASSWD reload

Substitute the password you have set for MySQL for PASSWD above.

Using TWIG
After TWIG is properly installed and configured, you will be able to read your e-mail with any browser (e.g. Netscape or MSIE). You simply need to access the URL- "http://your.domain.name/twig/". TWIG will prompt you for your e-mail username and password. After successful authentication, the contents of your mailbox will be displayed.

NOTE: TWIG uses IMAP to access the incoming mail folder and can be used to create additional mail folders to sort and store incoming mail. Any additional mail folders that a user creates will be created in the user's home directory as listed in your local password file (~/etc/passwd). If the user's home directory happens to be defined as a directory in the ~/www/htdocs/ or ~/www/vhosts directory structure (typically created in this fashion such that the user can upload and download content to and from a Virtual Subhost via FTP) then any mail folders these users create using TWIG will be accessible to anyone via a web client. Therefore, it is highly recommended that these users create any additional mail folders under a Mail subdirectory and create a .htaccess file and store it in such a Mail directory to protect the confidentiality of the mail stored therein. Contents of a suitable .htaccess file is shown below:

<Limit GET POST PUT DELETE>
deny from all
</Limit>