Running a dovecot IMAPS server

[Timothy Murphy]

Tim wrote:

>> Suppose you have a standard maildir setup on computer X,
>> with directories ~/Maildir/inbox/[cur,new,tmp]/ ,
>> ~/Maildir/family/[cur,new,tmp]/ , etc.
>> 
>> Suppose now you start dovecot IMAP on computer X.
>> Then you will not be able to see the family folder on computer Y,
>> running as an IMAP client, ie with an IMAP kmail account
>> pointing to computer X.
> 
> Those maildirs on X, were they set up through the IMAP server, using a
> mail client on Y, or through a mail client running on that X computer?

I thought I made this clear, 
but in any case the mail directories on machine X
were set up using kmail with a Local account, 
specifying that I was using maildir format,
and creating folders "family", etc, with the kmail GUI.

> Ordinarily, a mail server is something that's remote, and you create
> things in it through a remote client.  Mail folders, and the like, are
> created as part of the mail server operation, not through direct file
> system manipulation by the client.

My question was about setting up a mail-server on machine X
where there were already mail folders in place,
set up as described above.

> If you're running a server and a client on the same box, you really want
> to configure one to use a different location than the other.  You'll
> find various mail programs not only differ in how they use some storage
> techniques, they may also add their own custom things into some
> locations.

When you say they should use different locations,
do you mean that the two sets of email messages are completely disjoint?
I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that.
Maybe I misunderstood what you meant?

> Yes, you *can* run a server and client on the same box, using the same
> files.  But you'd have to pick software that does it in ways compatible
> with each other.

That was exactly my question: 
Are dovecot and kmail compatible in this sense?

> e.g. I use Evolution and Dovecot on one box.  Evolution's own copies of
> mail are within its own directories.  Dovecot is using the usual mail
> folder location.

So can you transfer email from one to the other?
Can you read evolution's email with an IMAP client?
Or can you read dovecot's email with evolution?