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Mail Message Files

The mail message files (MMFs) store mail, attachments, and PABs for users of the Windows and OS/2® clients for Microsoft Mail (PC) 3.x. The MMFs can be stored in the postoffice share in the MMF directory, or they can be moved to another location by the client.

If the MMF for a mailbox is on the postoffice, it is migrated by the Migration Wizard to a Microsoft Exchange Server private information store. The PAB data is extracted and sent to the new mailbox. The MMF is not deleted and can be archived as a backup.

Important    If the MMF is copied to the correct directory in the postoffice and has the correct name, the Migration Wizard migrates it. If the user has already imported the messages into a Personal Information Store file, this could lead to duplicate mail.

If the MMF for a mailbox is on the workstation or stored on a server, the user migrates the contents using the MMF file import option in Outlook.

If the user has used multiple information services (such as AT&T, MHS, or CompuServe) with this MMF, there may be multiple PABs in the MMF. If the MMF is migrated with the Profile Wizard or the Migration Wizard, all the PABs are migrated. If the MMF is migrated with the Import command, the user can choose which PABs to migrate.

   To import an MMF file with the 32-bit version of Microsoft Outlook

  1. From the File menu, choose Import and Export.
  2. In the Import and Export Wizard, select the Import from a Microsoft Mail file (.mmf) option, and choose Next.
  3. Select the MMF file.
  4. In the Import Mail Data dialog box, type the password for this MMF file.
  5. Specify the location where the messages will be imported to.

   To import an MMF file with the 16-bit version of Microsoft Outlook

  1. From the File menu, choose Import.
  2. In the Specify File to Import dialog box, select the MMF file.
  3. In the Import Mail Data dialog box, type the password for this MMF file.
  4. Select Import Messages to import all messages and folders.
  5. Select Import Personal Address Book Entries to create a Microsoft Exchange PAB file.
  6. Choose OK.

The following table describes the options for MMF file location.

Location of MMF files Benefits Drawbacks
Users can move MMFs to the postoffice. MMFs can be purged of old information with MMFClean before migration.

Data is migrated with the Migration Wizard.

Reduces the burden on the Help Desk the day after migration.

 Can add to the time the Migration Wizard needs to migrate the MMF.

Administrator can't reset mailbox password until after MMF is migrated.

Users must import their PAB entries.

Space on the server for the postoffice could be insufficient.
Users can move MMFs to local storage. Migration Wizard can migrate the postoffice quickly.

Migration of the postoffice won't log errors due to corrupt MMFs.

 Adds extra burden on the users and Help Desk to support users migrating their own MMFs.

Prevents you from purging locally stored information .
Users of Microsoft Outlook with the MS Mail information service must move personal folder files to local storage. Personal folder files do not need to be migrated.  

When migrating MMFs, keep the following points in mind:

Network errors

If there is a network failure during MMF migration, the client or Migration Wizard retries the network connection 4 times in the next 2 seconds, and then repeats these multiple retries every 10 minutes. An error message is displayed during the 10 minute retry time.

Error log

Any errors during client MMF migration are logged to a file in the client directory with the same file name as the MMF name and an extension of .LOG. You can view the log in Notepad or any other text editor.