diff --git a/data/tutorials/doc.ftr b/data/tutorials/doc.ftr index 046152d534..9e4909d7f5 100644 --- a/data/tutorials/doc.ftr +++ b/data/tutorials/doc.ftr @@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
FreeBSD Home Page
- www@freebsd.org
- @@UPDATE@@ + www@freebsd.org
diff --git a/data/tutorials/index.sgml b/data/tutorials/index.sgml index 0f785a2caf..fb075548f2 100644 --- a/data/tutorials/index.sgml +++ b/data/tutorials/index.sgml @@ -1,48 +1,47 @@ - + %includes; ]> &header;

Here lie assorted documents on various aspects of FreeBSD, FreeBSD software, and hardare. If you have comments or would like to contribute a document, please contact us at freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.org.

&footer; diff --git a/data/tutorials/mh/Makefile b/data/tutorials/mh/Makefile index 656c29a14a..7b496e9773 100644 --- a/data/tutorials/mh/Makefile +++ b/data/tutorials/mh/Makefile @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -DOC= mh -SRCS= mh.sgml +DOCS= mh.docb +INDEXLINK= mh.html -.include +.include "../../web.mk" diff --git a/data/tutorials/mh/mh.docb b/data/tutorials/mh/mh.docb new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..60425b8e9d --- /dev/null +++ b/data/tutorials/mh/mh.docb @@ -0,0 +1,704 @@ + + + + + + + + +An MH Primer + + + +Matt +Midboe + +
+matt@garply.com +
+ + + +v1.0, 16 January 1996 + +This document contains an introduction to using MH on +FreeBSD + + + + + +Introduction + +MH started back in 1977 at the RAND Corporation, where the +initial philosophies behind MH were developed. MH isn't so much a +monolithic email program but a philosophy about how best to develop +tools for reading email. The MH developers have done a great job +adhering to the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. +Rather than have one large program for reading, sending and handling +email they have written specialized programs for each part of your +email life. One might liken MH to the specialization that one finds +in insects and nature. Each tool in MH does one thing, and does it +very well. + +Beyond just the various tools that one uses to handle their +email MH has done an excellent job keeping the configuration of each +of these tools consistent and uniform. In fact, if you are not quite +sure how something is supposed to work or what the arguments for some +command are supposed to be then you can generally guess and be right. +Each MH command is consistent about how it handles reading the +configuration files and how it takes arguments on the command line. +One useful thing to remember is that you can always add a + to the command to have it display the options +for that command. + +The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that you have +installed the MH package on your FreeBSD machine. If you installed +from CDROM you should be able to execute the following to load mh: + +# pkg_add /cdrom/packages/mh-6.8.3.tgz + +You will notice that it created a /usr/local/lib/mh +directory for you as well as adding several binaries to the +/usr/local/bin directory. If you would prefer to compile +it yourself then you can anonymous ftp it from ftp.ics.uci.edu or louie.udel.edu. + +This primer is not a full comprehensive explanation of how MH +works. This is just intended to get you started on the road to +happier, faster mail reading. You should read the man pages for the +various commands. Also you might want to read the comp.mail.mh newsgroup. Also you can +read the FAQ +for MH. The best resource for MH is the O'Reilly and Associates book +written by Jerry Peek. + + + + +Reading Mail + +This section covers how to use inc, +show, scan, next, +prev, rmm, rmf, and +msgchk. One of the best things about MH is the +consistent interface between programs. A few things to keep in mind +when using these commands is how to specify message lists. In the +case of inc this doesn't really make any sense but with +commands like show it is useful to know. + +A message list can consist of something like 23 20 +16 which will act on messages 23, 20 and 16. This is fairly simple +but you can do more useful things like 23-30 which will +act on all the messages between 23 and 30. You can also specify +something like cur:10 which will act on the current +message and the next 9 messages. The cur, +last, and first messages are special +messages that refer to the current, last or first message in the +folder. + + + +<command>inc</>, <command>msgchk</>—read in your new email or check it + +If you just type in inc and hit return +you will be well on your way to getting started with MH. The first +time you run inc it will setup your account to use all +the MH defaults and ask you about creating a Mail directory. If you +have mail waiting to be downloaded you will see something that looks +like: + + 29 01/15 Doug White Re: Another Failed to boot problem<<On Mon, 15 J + 30 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: FBSD 2.1<<> Do you want a library instead of + 31 01/16 Bruce Evans Re: location of bad144 table<<>> >It would appea + 32 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: video is up<<> Anyway, mrouted won't run, ev + 33 01/16 Michael Smith Re: FBSD 2.1<<Nate Williams stands accused of sa + +This is the same thing you will see from a scan (see +). If you just run inc with no +arguments it will look on your computer for email that is supposed to +be coming to you. + +A lot of people like to use POP for grabbing their email. MH can do +POP to grab your email. You will need to give inc a few command +line arguments. + +tempest% inc -host mail.pop.org -user username -norpop + +That tells inc to go to mail.pop.org to +download your email, and that your username on their system is +username. The option tells +inc to use plain POP3 for downloading your email. MH has +support for a few different dialects of POP. More than likely you +will never ever need to use them though. While you can do more +complex things with inc such as audit files and scan format files +this will get you going. + +The msgchk command is used to get information on +whether or not you have new email. msgchk takes the same + and options that +inc takes. + + + + +<command>show</>, <command>next</> and <command>prev</>—displaying and moving through email + +show is to show a letter in your current folder. +Like inc, show is a fairly straightforward +command. If you just type show and hit return +then it displays the current message. You can also give specific +message numbers to show: + +tempest% show 32 45 56 + +This would display message numbers 32, 45 and 56 right after each +other. Unless you change the default behavior show +basically just does a more on the email message. + +next is used to move onto the next message and +prev will go to the previous message. Both commands have +an implied show command so that when you go to the next +message it automatically displays it. + + + + +<command>scan</>—shows you a scan of your messages + +scan will display a brief listing of the messages +in your current folder. This is an example of what the +scan command will give you. + + 30+ 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: FBSD 2.1<<> Do you want a library instead of + 31 01/16 Bruce Evans Re: location of bad144 table<<>> >It would appea + 32 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: video is up<<> Anyway, mrouted won't run, ev + 33 01/16 Michael Smith Re: FBSD 2.1<<Nate Williams stands accused of sa + +Like just about everything in MH this display is very configurable. +This is the typical default display. It gives you the message number, +the date on the email, the sender, the subject line, and a sentence +fragment from the very beginning of the email if it can fit it. The ++ means that message is the current message, so if you do +a show it will display that message. + +One useful option for scan is the +option. This will list your messages with the highest message number +first and lowest message number last. Another useful option with +scan is to have it read from a file. If you want to scan +your incoming mailbox on FreeBSD without having to inc it +you can do scan -file +/var/mail/username. This can be used with +any file that is in the mbox format. + + + + +<command>rmm</> and <command>rmf</>—remove the current message or folder + +rmm is used to remove a mail message. The default +is typically to not actually remove the message but to rename the +file to one that is ignored by the MH commands. You will need to +through periodically and physically delete the removed +messages. + +The rmf command is used to remove folders. This +doesn't just rename the files but actually removes the from the hard +drive so you should be careful when you use this command. + + + + +A typical session of reading with MH + +The first thing that you will want to do is inc +your new mail. So at a shell prompt just type in inc and +hit return. + +tempest% inc +Incorporating new mail into inbox... + + 36+ 01/19 "Stephen L. Lange Request...<<Please remove me as contact for pind + 37 01/19 Matt Thomas Re: kern/950: Two PCI bridge chips fail (multipl + 38 01/19 "Amancio Hasty Jr Re: FreeBSD and VAT<<>>> Bill Fenner said: > In +tempest% + +This shows you the new email that has been added to your mailbox. So +the next thing to do is show the email and move around. + +tempest% show +Received: by sashimi.wwa.com (Smail3.1.29.1 #2) + id m0tdMZ2-001W2UC; Fri, 19 Jan 96 13:33 CST +Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 13:33:31 -0600 (CST) +From: "Stephen L. Lange" <stvlange@wwa.com> +To: matt@garply.com +Subject: Request... +Message-Id: <Pine.BSD.3.91.960119133211.824A-100000@sashimi.wwa.com> +Mime-Version: 1.0 +Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII + + +Please remove me as contact for pindat.com + +tempest% rmm +tempest% next +Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by whydos.lkg.dec.com (8.6.11/8 +.6.9) with SMTP id RAA24416; Fri, 19 Jan 1996 17:56:48 GMT +Message-Id: <199601191756.RAA24416@whydos.lkg.dec.com> +X-Authentication-Warning: whydos.lkg.dec.com: Host localhost didn't use HELO pro +tocol +To: hsu@clinet.fi +Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.org +Subject: Re: kern/950: Two PCI bridge chips fail (multiple multiport ethernet + boards) +In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 19 Jan 1996 00:18:36 +0100." + <199601182318.AA11772@Sysiphos> +X-Mailer: exmh version 1.5omega 10/6/94 +Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 17:56:40 +0000 +From: Matt Thomas <matt@lkg.dec.com> +Sender: owner-hackers@FreeBSD.org +Precedence: bulk + + +This is due to a typo in pcireg.h (to +which I am probably the guilty party). + + +The rmm removed the current message and the +next command moved me on to the next message. +Now if I wanted to look at ten most recent messages so I could read +one of them here is what I would do: + +tempest% scan last:10 + 26 01/16 maddy Re: Testing some stuff<<yeah, well, Trinity has + 27 01/17 Automatic digest NET-HAPPENINGS Digest - 16 Jan 1996 to 17 Jan 19 + 28 01/17 Evans A Criswell Re: Hey dude<<>From matt@tempest.garply.com Tue + 29 01/16 Karl Heuer need configure/make volunteers<<The FSF is looki + 30 01/18 Paul Stephanouk Re: [alt.religion.scientology] Raw Meat (humor)< + 31 01/18 Bill Lenherr Re: Linux NIS Solaris<<--- On Thu, 18 Jan 1996 1 + 34 01/19 John Fieber Re: Stuff for the email section?<<On Fri, 19 Jan + 35 01/19 support@foo.garpl [garply.com #1138] parlor<<Hello. This is the Ne + 37+ 01/19 Matt Thomas Re: kern/950: Two PCI bridge chips fail (multipl + 38 01/19 "Amancio Hasty Jr Re: FreeBSD and VAT<<>>> Bill Fenner said: > In +tempest% + +Then if I wanted to read message number 27 I would do a +show 27 and it would be displayed. As you can probably +tell from this sample session MH is pretty easy to use and looking +through emails and displaying them is fairly intuitive and easy. + + + + + + +Folders and Mail Searching + +Anybody who gets lots of email definitely wants to be able to +prioritize, stamp, brief, de-brief, and number their emails in a +variety of different ways. MH can do this better than just about +anything. One thing that we haven't really talked about is the +concept of folders. You have undoubtedly come across the folders +concept using other email programs. MH has folders too. MH can even +do sub-folders of a folder. One thing you should keep in mind with MH +is that when you ran inc for the first time and it asked +you if it could create a Mail directory it began storing +everything in that directory. If you look at that directory you will +find a directory named inbox. The inbox +directory houses all of your incoming mail that hasn't been thrown +anywhere else. + +Whenever you create a new folder a new directory is going to be +created underneath your MH Mail directory, and messages +in that folder are going to be stored in that directory. When new +email comes in that new email is thrown into your inbox +directory with a file name that is equivalent to the message number. +So even if you didn't have any of the MH tools to read your email you +could still use standard UNIX commands to munge around in those +directories and just more your files. It's this simplicity that +really gives you a lot of power with what you can do with your +email. + +Just as you can use message lists like 23 16 42 +with most MH commands there is a folder option you can specify with +just about every MH command. If you do a scan +freebsd it +will scan your freebsd folder, and your current folder +will be changed to freebsd. If you do a show ++freebsd 23 16 42, show is going to switch to your +freebsd folder and display messages 23, 16 and 42. So +remember that + + + +<command>pick</>—search email that matches certain criteria + +pick is one of the more complex commands in the MH +system. So you might want to read the +pick1 man page for a +more thorough understanding. At its simplest level you can do +something like + +tempest% pick -search pci +15 +42 +55 +56 +57 + + +This will tell pick to look through every single line in +every message in your current folder and tell you which message +numbers it found the word pci in. You can then +show those messages and read them if you wish or +rmm them. You would have to specify something like +show 15 42 55-57 to display them though. A slightly more +useful thing to do is this: + +tempest% pick -search pci -seq pick +5 hits +tempest% show pick + +This will show you the same messages you just didn't have to work as +hard to do it. The option is really an +abbreviation of and pick is +just a sequence which contains the message numbers that matched. You +can use sequences with just about any MH command. So you could have +done an rmm pick and all those messages would be removed +instead. You sequence can be named anything. If you run pick again it +will overwrite the old sequence if you use the same name. + +Doing a pick -search can be a bit more time +consuming than just searching for message from someone, or to +someone. So pick allows you to use the following +predefined search criteria: + + + + + + +search based upon who the message is to + + + + + + +search based on who is in the cc list + + + + + + +search for who sent the message + + + + + + +search for emails with this subject + + + + + + +find emails with a matching dat + + + + + + +search for any other component in the header. (i.e. + + + + + + +This allows you to do things like + +tempest% pick -to freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org -seq hackers + +to get a list of all the email send to the FreeBSD hackers mailing +list. pick also allows you to group these criteria in +different ways using the following options: + + + +… … + + + +… &hellip + + + + … + + + + … + + + +These commands allow you to do things like + +tempest% pick -to freebsd-hackers -and -cc freebsd-hackers + +That will grab all the email in your inbox that was sent to +freebsd-hackers or cc'd to that list. The brace options allow you to +group search criteria together. This is sometimes very necessary as +in the following example + +tempest% pick -lbrace -to freebsd-hackers -and + -not -cc freebsd-questions -rbrace -and -subject pci + + +Basically this says pick (to freebsd-hackers and not cc'd on +freebsd-questions) and the subject is pci. It should look through your +folder and find all messages sent to the freebsd-hackers list that +aren't cc'd to the freebsd-questions list that contain something on +pci in the subject line. Ordinarily you might have to worry about +something called operator precedence. Remember in math how you +evaluate from left to right and you do multiplication and division +first and addition and subtraction second? MH has the same type of +rules for pick. It's fairly complex so you might want to study +the man page. This document is just to help you get acquainted with +MH. + + + + +<command>folder</>, <command>folders</>, <command>refile</>—three useful programs for folder maintenance + +There are three programs which are primarily just for +manipulating your folders. The folder program is used to +switch between folders, pack them, and list them. At its simplest +level you can do a folder +newfolder and +you will be switched into newfolder. From there on +out all your MH commands like comp, repl, +scan, and show will act on that +newfolder folder. + +Sometimes when you are reading and deleting messages you will +develop holes in your folders. If you do a scan +you might just see messages 34, 35, 36, 43, 55, 56, 57, 80. If you do +a folder -pack this will renumber all your +messages so that there are no holes. It doesn't actually delete any +messages though. So you may need to periodically go through and +physically delete rmm'd messages. + +If you need statistics on your folders you can do a +folders or folder -all to list all +your folders, how many messages they have, what the current message +is in each one and so on. This line of stats it displays for all your +folders is the same one you get when you change to a folder with +folder +foldername. A folders command looks +like this: + + Folder # of messages ( range ); cur msg (other files) + announce has 1 message ( 1- 1). + drafts has no messages. + f-hackers has 43 messages ( 1- 43). + f-questions has 16 messages ( 1- 16). + inbox+ has 35 messages ( 1- 38); cur= 37. + lists has 8 messages ( 1- 8). + netfuture has 1 message ( 1- 1). + out has 31 messages ( 1- 31). + personal has 6 messages ( 1- 6). + todo has 58 messages ( 1- 58); cur= 1. + + TOTAL= 199 messages in 13 folders. + + + +The refile command is what you use to move messages +between folders. When you do something like refile 23 ++netfuture message number 23 is moved into the +netfuture folder. You could also do something like +refile 23 +netfuture/latest which would put message +number 23 in a subfolder called latest under the +netfuture folder. If you want to keep a message in the +current folder and link it you can do a refile -link 23 ++netfuture which would keep 23 in your current +inbox but also list in your netfuture +folder. You are probably beginning to realize some of the really +powerful things you can do with MH. + + + + + +Sending Mail + +Email is a two way street for most people so you want to be +able to send something back. The way MH handles sending mail can be a +bit difficult to follow at first, but it allows for incredible +flexibility. The first thing MH does is to copy a components file +into your outgoing email. A components file is basically a skeleton +email letter with stuff like the To: and Subject: headers already in +it. You are then sent into your editor where you fill in the header +information and then type the body of your message below the dashed +lines in the message. Then to the whatnow program. When +you are at the What now? prompt you can tell it to +send, list, edit, +edit, push, and quit. Most of +these commands are self-explanatory. So the message sending process +involves copying a component file, editing your email, and then +telling the whatnow program what to do with your +email. + + + +<command>comp</>, <command>forw</>, <command>reply</>—compose, forward or reply to a message to someone + +The comp program has a few useful command line +options. The most important one to know right now is the + option. When MH is installed the default +editor is usually a program called prompter which comes +with MH. It's not a very exciting editor and basically just gets the +job done. So when you go to compose a message to someone you might +want to use comp -editor /usr/bin/vi/ or comp +-editor /usr/local/bin/pico/ instead. Once you have run +comp you are in your editor and you see +something that looks like this: + +To: +cc: +Subject: +-------- + + + +You need to put the person you are sending the mail to after the +To: line. It works the same way for the other headers +also, so you would need to put your subject after the +Subject: line. Then you would just put the body of your +message after the dashed lines. It may seem a bit simplistic since a +lot of email programs have special requesters that ask you for this +information but there really isn't any point to that. Plus this +really gives you excellent flexibility. + +To:freebsd-rave@freebsd.org +cc: +Subject:And on the 8th day God created the FreeBSD core team +-------- +Wow this is an amazing operating system. Thanks! + +You can now save this message and exit your editor. You will see the +What now? prompt and you can type in +send or s and hit +return. Then the freebsd core team will receive their just +rewards. As I mentioned earlier you can also use other commands, for +example quit if you don't want to send the +message. + +The forw command is stunningly similar. The big +difference being that the message you are forwarding is automatically +included in the outgoing message. When you run forw it +will forward your current message. You can always tell it to forward +something else by doing something like forw 23 and then +message number 23 will be put in your outgoing message instead of the +current message. Beyond those small differences forw +functions exactly the same as comp. You go through the +exact same message sending process. + +The repl command will reply to whatever your +current message is, unless you give it a different message to reply +to. repl will do its best to go ahead and fill in some of +the email headers already. So you will notice that the +To: header already has the address of the recipient in +there. Also the Subject: line will already be filled in. +You then go about the normal message composition process and you are +done. One useful command line option to know here is the + option. You can use all, +to, cc, me after the + option to have repl automatically +add the various addresses to the cc list in the message. You have +probably noticed that the original message isn't included. This is +because most MH setups are configured to do this from the +start. + + + + +<filename>components</>, and <filename>replcomps</>—components files for <command>comp</> and <command>repl</> + +The components file is usually in +/usr/local/lib/mh. You can copy that file into +your MH Mail directory and edit to contain what you want it to +contain. It is a fairly basic file. You have various email headers at +the top, a dashed line and then nothing. The +comp command just copies this +components file and then edits it. You can add any +kind of valid RFC822 header you want. For instance you could have +something like this in your components file: + +To: +Fcc: out +Subject: +X-Mailer: MH 6.8.3 +X-Home-Page: http://www.freebsd.org/ +------- + + +MH would then copy this components file and throw you into your +editor. The components file is fairly simple. If you +wanted to have a signature on those messages you would just put your +signature in that components file. + +The replcomps file is a bit more complex. The default +replcomps looks like this: + +%(lit)%(formataddr %<{reply-to}%?{from}%?{sender}%?{return-path}%>)\ +%<(nonnull)%(void(width))%(putaddr To: )\n%>\ +%(lit)%(formataddr{to})%(formataddr{cc})%(formataddr(me))\ +%<(nonnull)%(void(width))%(putaddr cc: )\n%>\ +%<{fcc}Fcc: %{fcc}\n%>\ +%<{subject}Subject: Re: %{subject}\n%>\ +%<{date}In-reply-to: Your message of "\ +%<(nodate{date})%{date}%|%(pretty{date})%>."%<{message-id} + %{message-id}%>\n%>\ +-------- + + + +It's in the same basic format as the components file but +it contains quite a few extra formatting codes. The +%(lit) command makes room for the address. The +%(formataddr is a function that returns a proper email +address. The next part is %< which means if and +the {reply-to} means the reply-to field in the original +message. So that might be translated this way: + +%<if {reply-to} the original message has a reply-to +then give that to formataddr, %? else {from} take the +from address, %? else {sender} take the sender address, %? +else {return-path} take the return-path from the original +message, %> endif. + + +As you can tell MH formatting can get rather involved. You can +probably decipher what most of the other functions and variables +mean. All of the information on writing these format strings is in the +MH-Format man page. The really nice thing is that once you have built +your customized replcomps file you won't need to touch it +again. No other email program really gives you the power and +flexibility that MH gives you. + + + + diff --git a/data/tutorials/mh/mh.sgml b/data/tutorials/mh/mh.sgml deleted file mode 100644 index 465787a182..0000000000 --- a/data/tutorials/mh/mh.sgml +++ /dev/null @@ -1,573 +0,0 @@ - - - - - - -
-An MH Primer -<author>Matt Midboe, <url url="mailto:matt@garply.com" -name="matt@garply.com"> -<date>v1.0, 16 January 1996 -<abstract>This document contains an introduction to using MH on -FreeBSD</abstract> -<toc> - -<sect>Introduction<label id="mhintro"> - -<p> -<!-- This section is here to explain the philosophy behind MH Also - make sure that the user has installed the mh package --> -MH started back in 1977 at the RAND Corporation, where the initial -philosophies behind MH were developed. MH isn't so much a monolithic -email program but a philosophy about how best to develop tools for -reading email. The MH developers have done a great job adhering to the -KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. Rather than have one large -program for reading, sending and handling email they have written -specialized programs for each part of your email life. One might liken -MH to the specialization that one finds in insects and nature. Each -tool in MH does one thing, and does it very well. - -Beyond just the various tools that one uses to handle their email MH -has done an excellent job keeping the configuration of each of these -tools consistent and uniform. In fact, if you are not quite sure how -something is supposed to work or what the arguments for some command -are supposed to be then you can generally guess and be right. Each MH -command is consistent about how it handles reading the configuration -files and how it takes arguments on the command line. One useful thing -to remember is that you can always add a <tt/-help/ to the command to -have it display the options for that command. - -The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that you have -installed the MH package on your FreeBSD machine. If you installed -from CDROM you should be able to execute the following to load mh: -<tscreen><verb> -pkg_add /cdrom/packages/mh-6.8.3.tgz -</verb></tscreen> -You will notice that it created a /usr/local/lib/mh directory for you -as well as adding several binaries to the /usr/local/bin directory. If -you would prefer to compile it yourself then you can anonymous ftp it -from <url url="ftp://ftp.ics.uci.edu/" name="ftp.ics.uci.edu"> or <url -url="ftp://louie.udel.edu/" name="louie.udel.edu">. - -This primer is not a full comprehensive explanation of how MH -works. This is just intended to get you started on the road to -happier, faster mail reading. You should read the man pages for the -various commands. Also you might want to read the <url -url="news:comp.mail.mh" name="comp.mail.mh"> newsgroup. Also you can -read the <url -url="http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/mh-faq/part1/faq.html" -name="FAQ"> for MH. The best resource for MH is the O'Reilly and -Associates book written by Jerry Peek. - -<sect>Reading Mail -<p> -<!-- This section covers how to use inc, msgchk, next, prev, rmm, and rmf --> -This section covers how to use <tt/inc/, <tt/show/, <tt/scan/, -<tt/next/, <tt/prev/, <tt/rmm/, <tt/rmf/, and <tt/msgchk/. -One of the best things about MH is the consistent interface between -programs. A few things to keep in mind when using these commands is -how to specify message lists. In the case of <em/inc/ this doesn't -really make any sense but with commands like <em/show/ it is useful to -know. - -A message list can consist of something like <tt/23 20 16/ which will -act on messages 23, 20 and 16. This is fairly simple but you can do -more useful things like <tt/23-30/ which will act on all the messages -between 23 and 30. You can also specify something like <tt/cur:10/ -which will act on the current message and the next 9 messages. The -<tt/cur/, <tt/last/, and <tt/first/ messages are special messages that -refer to the current, last or first message in the folder. - -<sect1><heading>inc, msgchk - read in your new email or check it<label id="inc"></> -<p> -If you just type in <em>inc</em> and hit return you will be well on your -way to getting started with MH. The first time you run <em>inc</em> it -will setup your account to use all the MH defaults and ask you about -creating a Mail directory. If you have mail waiting to be downloaded -you will see something that looks like: -<tscreen><verb> - 29 01/15 Doug White Re: Another Failed to boot problem<<On Mon, 15 J - 30 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: FBSD 2.1<<> Do you want a library instead of - 31 01/16 Bruce Evans Re: location of bad144 table<<>> >It would appea - 32 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: video is up<<> Anyway, mrouted won't run, ev - 33 01/16 Michael Smith Re: FBSD 2.1<<Nate Williams stands accused of sa -</verb></tscreen> -This is the same thing you will see from a ``<ref id="scan">''. If you -just run <em>inc</em> with no arguments it will look on your computer for email -that is supposed to be coming to you. - -A lot of people like to use POP for grabbing their email. MH can do -POP to grab your email. You will need to give <em>inc</em> a few command -line arguments. -<tscreen><verb> -inc -host mail.pop.org -user username -norpop -</verb></tscreen> -That tells <em>inc</> to go to <bf/mail.pop.org/ to download your -email, and that your username on their system is <bf/username/. The -<tt>-norpop</tt> option tells <em>inc</em> to use plain POP3 for -downloading your email. MH has support for a few different dialects of -POP. More than likely you will never ever need to use them -though. While you can do more complex things with inc such as audit -files and scan format files this will get you going. - -The <em/msgchk/ command is used to get information on whether or not -you have new email. <em/msgchk/ takes the same <tt/-host/ and -<tt/-user/ options that <em/inc/ takes. - -<sect1><heading>show, next and prev - displaying and moving through emails -<label id="show"></> -<p> -<em/show/ is to show a letter in your current folder. Like inc, -<em/show/ is a fairly straightforward command. If you just type -<em/show/ and hit return then it displays the current message. You can -also give specific message numbers to show: -<tscreen><verb> -show 32 45 56 -</verb></tscreen> -This would display message numbers 32, 45 and 56 right after each -other. Unless you change the default behavior <em/show/ basically just -does a more on the email message. - -<em/next/ is used to move onto the next message and <em/prev/ will go -to the previous message. Both commands have an implied <em/show/ -command so that when you go to the next message it automatically -displays it. - -<sect1><heading>scan - shows you a scan of your messages<label id="scan"></> -<p> - -<em/scan/ will display a brief listing of the messages in your current -folder. This is an example of what the <em/scan/ command will give you. -<tscreen><verb> - 30+ 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: FBSD 2.1<<> Do you want a library instead of - 31 01/16 Bruce Evans Re: location of bad144 table<<>> >It would appea - 32 01/16 "Jordan K. Hubbar Re: video is up<<> Anyway, mrouted won't run, ev - 33 01/16 Michael Smith Re: FBSD 2.1<<Nate Williams stands accused of sa -</verb></tscreen> -Like just about everything in MH this display is very -configurable. This is the typical default display. It gives you the -message number, the date on the email, the sender, the subject line, -and a sentence fragment from the very beginning of the email if it can -fit it. The + means that message is the current message, so if you do -a <em/show/ it will display that message. - -One useful option for scan is the <tt/-reverse/ option. This will list -your messages with the highest message number first and lowest message -number last. Another useful option with <em/scan/ is to have it -read from a file. If you want to scan your incoming mailbox on FreeBSD -without having to <em/inc/ it you can do <tt>scan -file -/var/mail/username</tt>. This can be used with any file that is in the -<bf/mbox/ format. - -<sect1><heading>rmm and rmf - remove the current message or folder -<label id="rmm"></> -<p> -<em/rmm/ is used to remove a mail message. The default is typically to -not actually remove the message but to rename the file to one that is -ignored by the MH commands. You will need to through periodically and -physically delete the "removed" messages. - -The <em/rmf/ command is used to remove folders. This doesn't just -rename the files but actually removes the from the hard drive so you -should be careful when you use this command. - -<sect1><heading>A typical session of reading with MH<label id="samplereading"></> -<p> -The first thing that you will want to do is <em/inc/ your new mail. So -at a shell prompt just type in <em/inc/ and hit return. -<tscreen><verb> -tempest% inc -Incorporating new mail into inbox... - - 36+ 01/19 "Stephen L. Lange Request...<<Please remove me as contact for pind - 37 01/19 Matt Thomas Re: kern/950: Two PCI bridge chips fail (multipl - 38 01/19 "Amancio Hasty Jr Re: FreeBSD and VAT<<>>> Bill Fenner said: > In -tempest% -</verb></tscreen> -This shows you the new email that has been added to your mailbox. So -the next thing to do is <em/show/ the email and move around. -<tscreen><verb> -tempest% show -Received: by sashimi.wwa.com (Smail3.1.29.1 #2) - id m0tdMZ2-001W2UC; Fri, 19 Jan 96 13:33 CST -Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 13:33:31 -0600 (CST) -From: "Stephen L. Lange" <stvlange@wwa.com> -To: matt@garply.com -Subject: Request... -Message-Id: <Pine.BSD.3.91.960119133211.824A-100000@sashimi.wwa.com> -Mime-Version: 1.0 -Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII - - -Please remove me as contact for pindat.com - -tempest% rmm -tempest% next -Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by whydos.lkg.dec.com (8.6.11/8 -.6.9) with SMTP id RAA24416; Fri, 19 Jan 1996 17:56:48 GMT -Message-Id: <199601191756.RAA24416@whydos.lkg.dec.com> -X-Authentication-Warning: whydos.lkg.dec.com: Host localhost didn't use HELO pro -tocol -To: hsu@clinet.fi -Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.org -Subject: Re: kern/950: Two PCI bridge chips fail (multiple multiport ethernet - boards) -In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 19 Jan 1996 00:18:36 +0100." - <199601182318.AA11772@Sysiphos> -X-Mailer: exmh version 1.5omega 10/6/94 -Date: Fri, 19 Jan 1996 17:56:40 +0000 -From: Matt Thomas <matt@lkg.dec.com> -Sender: owner-hackers@FreeBSD.org -Precedence: bulk - - -This is due to a typo in pcireg.h (to -which I am probably the guilty party). -</verb></tscreen> -The <em/rmm/ removed the current message and the <em/next/ command -moved me on to the next message. Now if I wanted to look at ten most -recent messages so I could read one of them here is what I would do: -<tscreen><verb> -tempest% scan last:10 - 26 01/16 maddy Re: Testing some stuff<<yeah, well, Trinity has - 27 01/17 Automatic digest NET-HAPPENINGS Digest - 16 Jan 1996 to 17 Jan 19 - 28 01/17 Evans A Criswell Re: Hey dude<<>From matt@tempest.garply.com Tue - 29 01/16 Karl Heuer need configure/make volunteers<<The FSF is looki - 30 01/18 Paul Stephanouk Re: [alt.religion.scientology] Raw Meat (humor)< - 31 01/18 Bill Lenherr Re: Linux NIS Solaris<<--- On Thu, 18 Jan 1996 1 - 34 01/19 John Fieber Re: Stuff for the email section?<<On Fri, 19 Jan - 35 01/19 support@foo.garpl [garply.com #1138] parlor<<Hello. This is the Ne - 37+ 01/19 Matt Thomas Re: kern/950: Two PCI bridge chips fail (multipl - 38 01/19 "Amancio Hasty Jr Re: FreeBSD and VAT<<>>> Bill Fenner said: > In -tempest% -</verb></tscreen> -Then if I wanted to read message number 27 I would do a <tt/show 27/ -and it would be displayed. As you can probably tell from this sample -session MH is pretty easy to use and looking through emails and -displaying them is fairly intuitive and easy. - -<sect>Folders and Mail Searching -<p> -Anybody who gets lots of email definitely wants to be able to -prioritize, stamp, brief, de-brief, and number their emails in a -variety of different ways. MH can do this better than just about -anything. One thing that we haven't really talked about is the concept -of folders. You have undoubtedly come across the folders concept using -other email programs. MH has folders too. MH can even do sub-folders -of a folder. One thing you should keep in mind with MH is that when -you ran <em/inc/ for the first time and it asked you if it could -create a Mail directory it began storing everything in that -directory. If you look at that directory you will find a directory -named <bf/inbox/. The <bf/inbox/ directory houses all of your incoming -mail that hasn't been thrown anywhere else. - -Whenever you create a new folder a new directory is going to be -created underneath your MH Mail directory, and messages in that folder -are going to be stored in that directory. When new email comes in that -new email is thrown into your inbox directory with a file name that is -equivalent to the message number. So even if you didn't have any of -the MH tools to read your email you could still use standard UNIX -commands to munge around in those directories and just more your -files. It's this simplicity that really gives you a lot of power with -what you can do with your email. - -Just as you can use message lists like <tt/23 16 42/ with most MH -commands there is a folder option you can specify with just about -every MH command. If you do a <tt/scan +freebsd/ it will scan your -freebsd folder, and your current folder will be changed to freebsd. If -you do a <tt/show +freebsd 23 16 42/ <em/show/ is going to switch to -your freebsd folder and display messages 23, 16 and 42. So remember -that +folder syntax. You will need to make sure you use it to make -commands process different folders. Remember you default folder for -mail is inbox so doing a <tt/folder +inbox/ should always get you back -to your mail. Of course, in MH's infinite flexibility this can be -changed but most places have probably left it as inbox. - -<!-- This section covers how to use pick, folder{s}, and slocal -This needs to cover the general +folder format and an overview on the -directory structure here. --> -<sect1>pick - search email that matches certain criteria -<p> -<em/pick/ is one of the more complex commands in the MH system. So you -might want to read the pick man page for a more thorough -understanding. At its simplest level you can do something like -<tscreen><verb> -tempest% pick -search pci -15 -42 -55 -56 -57 -</verb></tscreen> -This will tell <em/pick/ to look through every single line in every -message in your current folder and tell you which message numbers it -found the word pci in. You can then <em/show/ those messages and read -them if you wish or <em/rmm/ them. You would have to specify something -like <tt/show 15 42 55-57/ to display them though. A slightly more -useful thing to do is this: -<tscreen><verb> -tempest% pick -search pci -seq pick -5 hits -tempest% show pick -</verb></tscreen> -This will show you the same messages you just didn't have to work as -hard to do it. The <tt/-seq/ option is really an abbreviation of -<tt/-sequence/ and <bf/pick/ is just a sequence which contains the -message numbers that matched. You can use sequences with just about -any MH command. So you could have done an <tt/rmm pick/ and all those -messages would be removed instead. You sequence can be named -anything. If you run pick again it will overwrite the old sequence if -you use the same name. - -Doing a <tt/pick -search/ can be a bit more time consuming than just -searching for message from someone, or to someone. So <em/pick/ allows -you to use the following predefined search criteria: -<itemize> -<item><tt/-to/ search based upon who the message is to -<item><tt/-cc/ search based on who is in the cc list -<item><tt/-from/ search for who sent the message -<item><tt/-subject/ search for emails with this subject -<item><tt/-date/ find emails with a matching dat -<item><tt>--<em>component</em></tt> search for any other component in -the header. (i.e. --reply-to to find all emails with a certain -reply-to in the header) -</itemize> - -This allows you to do things like -<tscreen><verb> -pick -to freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org -seq hackers -</verb></tscreen> -to get a list of all the email send to the FreeBSD hackers mailing -list. <em/pick/ also allows you to group these criteria in different -ways using the following options: -<itemize> -<item>... <tt/-and/ ... -<item>... <tt/-or/ ... -<item><tt/-not/ ... -<item><tt/-lbrace/ ... <tt/-rbrace/ -</itemize> -These commands allow you to do things like -<tscreen><verb> -pick -to freebsd-hackers -and -cc freebsd-hackers -</verb></tscreen> -That will grab all the email in your inbox that was sent to -freebsd-hackers or cc'd to that list. The brace options allow you to -group search criteria together. This is sometimes very necessary as -in the following example -<tscreen><verb> -pick -lbrace -to freebsd-hackers -and -not -cc freebsd-questions -rbrace --and -subject pci -</verb></tscreen> -Basically this says pick (to freebsd-hackers and not cc'd on -freebsd-questions) and the subject is pci. It should look through your -folder and find all messages send to the freebsd-hackers list that -aren't cc'd to the freebsd-questions list that contain something on -pci in the subject line. Ordinarily you might have to worry about -something called operator precedence. Remember in math how you -evaluate from left to right and you do multiplication and division -first and addition and subtraction second? MH has the same type of -rules for <em/pick/. It's fairly complex so you might want to study -the man page. This document is just to help you get acquainted with -MH. - -<sect1>folder, folders, refile - three useful programs for folder maintenance -<p> -There are three programs which are primarily just for manipulating -your folders. The <em/folder/ program is used to switch between -folders, pack them, and list them. At its simplest level you can do a -<tt/folder +newfolder/ and you will be switched into -<bf/newfolder/. From there on out all your MH commands like <em/comp/, -<em/repl/, <em/scan/, and <em/show/ will act on that <bf/newfolder/ -folder. Sometimes when you are reading and deleting messages you will -develop ``holes'' in your folders. - -If you do a <em/scan/ you might just see messages -34, 35, 36, 43, 55, 56, 57, 80. If you do a <tt/folder -pack/ this -will renumber all your messages so that there are no holes. It doesn't -actually delete any messages though. So you may need to periodically -go through and physically delete <em/rmm/'d messages. - -If you need statistics on your folders you can do a <em/folders/ or -<tt/folder -all/ to list all your folders, how many messages they -have, what the current message is in each one and so on. This line of -stats it displays for all your folders is the same one you get when -you change to a folder with <tt/folder +foldername/. A <em/folders/ -command looks like this: -<tscreen><verb> - Folder # of messages ( range ); cur msg (other files) - announce has 1 message ( 1- 1). - drafts has no messages. - f-hackers has 43 messages ( 1- 43). - f-questions has 16 messages ( 1- 16). - inbox+ has 35 messages ( 1- 38); cur= 37. - lists has 8 messages ( 1- 8). - netfuture has 1 message ( 1- 1). - out has 31 messages ( 1- 31). - personal has 6 messages ( 1- 6). - todo has 58 messages ( 1- 58); cur= 1. - - TOTAL= 199 messages in 13 folders. - -</verb></tscreen> - -The <em/refile/ command is what you use to move messages between -folders. When you do something like <tt/refile 23 +netfuture/ message -number 23 is moved into the netfuture folder. You could also do -something like <tt/refile 23 +netfuture/latest/ which would put -message number 23 in a subfolder called latest under the netfuture -folder. If you want to keep a message in the current folder and link -it you can do a <tt/refile -link 23 +netfuture/ which would keep 23 in -your current inbox but also list in your netfuture folder. You are -probably beginning to realize some of the really powerful things you -can do with MH. - -<sect>Sending Mail -<p> -<!-- This section covers how to use comp, repl and forw --> -Email is a two way street for most people so you want to be able to -send something back. The way MH handles sending mail can be a bit -difficult to follow at first, but it allows for incredible -flexibility. The first thing MH does is to copy a components file into -your outgoing email. A components file is basically a skeleton email -letter with stuff like the To: and Subject: headers already in it. -You are then sent into your editor where you fill in the header -information and then type the body of your message below the dashed -lines in the message. Then to the <em/whatnow/ program. When you are at the -``What now?'' prompt you can tell it to <bf/send/, <bf/list/, -<bf/edit/, <bf/edit/, <bf/push/, and <bf/quit/. Most of these commands -are self-explanatory. So the message sending process involves copying -a component file, editing your email, and then telling the -<em/whatnow/ program what to do with your email. - -<sect1><heading>comp, forw, reply - compose, forward or reply to a message to someone</> -<p> -The <em/comp/ program has a few useful command line options. The most -important one to know right now is the <tt/-editor/ option. When MH is -installed the default editor is usually a program called <em/prompter/ -which comes with MH. It's not a very exciting editor and basically -just gets the job done. So when you go to compose a message to someone -you might want to use <tt/comp -editor /usr/bin/vi/ or <tt/comp --editor /usr/local/bin/pico/ instead. Once you have run <em/comp/ you -are in your editor and you see something that looks like this: -<tscreen><verb> -To: -cc: -Subject: --------- - -</verb></tscreen> -You need to put the person you are sending the mail to after the To: -line. It works the same way for the other headers also, so you would -need to put your subject after the Subject: line. Then you would just -put the body of your message after the dashed lines. It may seem a bit -simplistic since a lot of email programs have special requesters that -ask you for this information but there really isn't any point to -that. Plus this really gives you excellent flexibility. -<tscreen><verb> -To:freebsd-rave@freebsd.org -cc: -Subject:And on the 8th day God created the FreeBSD core team --------- -Wow this is an amazing operating system. Thanks! -</verb></tscreen> -You can now save this message and exit your editor. You will see the -<tt/What now?/ prompt and you can type in <tt/send/ or <tt/s/ and hit -return. Then the freebsd core team will receive their just rewards. As -I mentioned earlier you can also send other commands, for example -<tt/quit/ if you don't want to send the message. - -The <em/forw/ command is stunningly similar. The big difference -being that the message you are forwarding is automatically included in -the outgoing message. When you run <em/forw/ it will forward your -current message. You can always tell it to forward something else by -doing something like <tt/forw 23/ and then message number 23 will be -put in your outgoing message instead of the current message. Beyond -those small differences <em/forw/ functions exactly the same as -<em/comp/. You go through the exact same message sending process. - -The <em/repl/ command will reply to whatever your current message is, -unless you give it a different message to reply to. <em/repl/ will do -its best to go ahead and fill in some of the email headers already. So -you will notice that the To: header already has the address of the -recipient in there. Also the Subject: line will already be filled -in. You then go about the normal message composition process and you -are done. One useful command line option to know here is the <tt/-cc/ -option. You can use <bf/all/, <bf/to/, <bf/cc/, <bf/me/ after the -<tt/-cc/ option to have <em/repl/ automatically add the various -addresses to the cc list in the message. You have probably noticed -that the original message isn't included. This is because most MH -setups are configured to do this from the start. - -<sect1> components, and replcomps - components files for comp and repl -<p> -The <em/components/ file is usually in <tt>/usr/local/lib/mh</tt>. You -can copy that file into your MH Mail directory and edit to contain -what you want it to contain. It is a fairly basic file. You have -various email headers at the top, a dashed line and then nothing. The -<em/comp/ command just copies this <em/components/ file and then edits -it. You can any kind of valid RFC822 header you want. For instance you -could have something like this in your <em/components/ file: -<tscreen><verb> -To: -Fcc: out -Subject: -X-Mailer: MH 6.8.3 -X-Home-Page: http://www.freebsd.org/ -------- -</verb></tscreen> -MH would then copy this components file and throw you into your -editor. The <em/components/ file is fairly simple. If you wanted to -have a signature on those messages you would just put your signature -in that <em/components/ file. - -The <em/replcomps/ file is a bit more complex. The default -<em/replcomps/ looks like this: -<tscreen><verb> -%(lit)%(formataddr %<{reply-to}%?{from}%?{sender}%?{return-path}%>)\ -%<(nonnull)%(void(width))%(putaddr To: )\n%>\ -%(lit)%(formataddr{to})%(formataddr{cc})%(formataddr(me))\ -%<(nonnull)%(void(width))%(putaddr cc: )\n%>\ -%<{fcc}Fcc: %{fcc}\n%>\ -%<{subject}Subject: Re: %{subject}\n%>\ -%<{date}In-reply-to: Your message of "\ -%<(nodate{date})%{date}%|%(pretty{date})%>."%<{message-id} - %{message-id}%>\n%>\ --------- - -</verb></tscreen> -It's in the same basic format as the <em/components/ file but it -contains quite a few extra formatting codes. The %(lit) command makes -room for the address. The %(formataddr is a function that returns a -proper email address. The next part is %< which means if and the -{reply-to} means the reply-to field in the original message. So that -might be translated this way: - -<tscreen> -%<<bf/if/ {reply-to} <bf/the original message has a reply-to/ -then give that to formataddr, %? <bf/else/ {from} <bf/take the -from address/, %? <bf/else/ {sender} <bf/take the sender address/, %? -<bf/else/ {return-path} <bf/take the return-path from the original -message/, %> <bf/endif/. -</tscreen> - -As you can tell MH formatting can get rather involved. You can -probably decipher what most of the other functions and variables -mean. All of the information on writing these format strings is in the -MH-Format man page. The really nice thing is that once you have built -your customized <em/replcomps/ file you won't need to touch it -again. No other email program really gives you the power and -flexibility that MH gives you. -</article>