🚀 go-pugleaf

I am interested in using vm in conjuctions with other mail readers.  In
particular, I would like to be able to access my mail from several machines,
none of which is the linux machine where the mail is received and stored and
where I keep the archives of old messages.  I currently use vm via a remote
X session, but this is not convenient for launching local applications or
viewing inlined images.  vm is my workhorse for handling email, and I don't
want to give it up in favor of IMAP clients that support the kind of access
I desire, but are comparatively lacking in so many ways.

The best solution I can think of is to take my mail through an IMAP server
and access the mail and all archived folders via *both* vm and an IMAP
client (like netscape mail or outlook express).  I can then use vm for
"everyday" matters, and switch to the IMAP client when needing to run local
apps to view attached files, links, etc.  The problem is that, when I do
this, the IMAP client touches the files and they need to be refreshed within
vm, which is a bit of a nuisance.  Does anyone have a suggestion of how to
handle this problem, or perhaps a suggestion about an alternative way to go?

Thanks for any advice,
Brian